Split personality or what?

Is there any reason to panic or start looking for a clinical diagnosis if a coworker starts building this whole imaginary world and trying to drag everyone else into it? It’s getting weird. He’s basically "invented" a woman—someone who is just a mashup of several different people in our office regarding her looks, personality, and job—and now he’s acting like he’s living this perfect life with this imaginary person. What makes it even creepier is how he targets the specific people he used to "build" this dream woman, sharing such intense, intimate details about her that it honestly gives you the chills.

How should I handle this?
Who needs to be brought into the loop?
Is this guy actually dealing with some underlying mental health issue?
But most importantly—how can we actually help him?

Thanks for any advice you can give.

Jeremy Lee88

Super interesting... so how was this guy acting before all this? Is there any way to read this as him just messing around? And how long does this kind of thing usually go on for??

I’ve always felt he was a little off... just different... but I could never pin it down to anything specific. Lately, though, things have been ramping up over the last few days, and it gets more intense every single morning. To make matters worse, I’m actually one of the women he’s included in his "type," which just adds another layer of stress to all this. 😢

First off, we really need to make sure this isn't just some massive prank or some weird internal drama going on between certain people... if it's definitely not one of those things, then I’d say the person in question is someone who needs some serious professional eyes on them (and I’m being totally dead serious here). In this age of social media and Facebook, so many people are living these entire virtual lives—honestly, some seem more invested in their online personas than their actual reality. But thinking there's a person out there who doesn't even exist, and then trying to build a whole personality for them based on what coworkers think, is just straight-up bizarre.

It could be anything from a brain tumor to underlying mental health issues finally bubbling up to the surface, especially if they're creating this persona and acting this way without even realizing it... but then again, if they're doing this on purpose, they definitely need to go see a psychiatrist.

I'll say it again: if you (and the rest of the team) are 100% sure this isn't just some kind of joke, like I mentioned before, then that person really needs to get some help.

At first, we thought maybe he was just being a bit slow on the uptake. But then it became clear: he’s incredibly pushy about demanding our undivided attention while he gushes about this "new love." No one is even asking questions or showing interest; he just forces these moments where we’re expected to sit there, listen, and cheer him on. And get this—he actually seeks my validation for the relationship. He wants to know if she’s pretty, smart, or successful. It gets almost absurdly pathetic. He sent me an email with a random stock photo from the internet—looks like some advertisement featuring a Latina woman sitting in a car—and claimed, "This is my new love..."
I tried telling him once that his story just didn't feel real, and he snapped back at me, saying, "I'm not crazy. God forbid anyone would be so delusional as to make up a person like that."

I don't know... I'm getting a little worried. I just hope it isn't anything too serious. Someone mentioned that this kind of behavior can sometimes be a sign of schizophrenia.

Thanks for the comments and for sharing your thoughts.

It’s possible we’re looking at an emerging psychosis, potentially of a schizophrenic nature. Honestly, the best move you can make right now is to just ignore him and refuse to engage in any arguments. However, since his behavior has completely crossed the line of professional conduct, you really ought to have a conversation with his supervisor. If this keeps up or gets even worse, don't hesitate to reach out to the psychiatric team at Johns Hopkins for some professional guidance.

Melissa James70 said:Honestly, this sounds like someone might be having a psychotic break, maybe even schizophrenia. Your best bet is just to ignore them and stay out of any arguments. But since they're totally crossing the line for professional behavior, you really should talk to their manager. If things get worse or keep going like this, call a mental health crisis line or head to an ER like Mayo Clinic to get some professional advice.

Totally agree.