I had a strange encounter today: During travelling with the train, a roughly 45 year old male entered „my“ compartment and sat down a few seats further along the aisle. He was very understanding when someone pointed out that this seat was reserved (when buying tickets, one has the option of reserving a specific seat), and the man was happy to change seats to somewhere else. He apologised and didn’t seem to have a problem with interaction between humans.

But then, he continued to monologue very loudly, saying that he booked a first class ticket because one can never know in which compartment one ends up being, and he doesn’t want to have to explain to the police. That stroke me as really odd. He claimed to be a local radio reporter on his way to vacation, and it was supposed to be very quick until the next stop because the train was „super fast“. The trains have a 2h travel time between stops.

He then named all teams in the three major soccer leagues, and all games which have been played and will soon be played. He reiterated things he said before and seemed to be in discussion with a famous soccer game commentator.

My thoughts: Although he seemed disoriented, he knew where he was and he remembered recent events, so it doesn’t look like dementia. 45y would be pretty young too. Maybe scizophrenia although it didn’t quite seem like he was in discussion with himself until the very end. His insane memory made me think of autism, but he had no trouble conversing and he didn’t have his standard seat, any rituals or other typical autistic symptoms.

@Narusan That is not what we call dementia now. Since schizophrenia was called dementia praecox, that "now" seemed important. Which mental disorder it is might be harder to pin point with this info. But keep in mind that drugs (from prescription to plain speed) might be involved. Strangeness aside: You did not judge him as in trouble?

No, he was kind and caring, not aggressive. He seemed irritated or confused, but dealt with his irritation by talking to himself. Maybe he was asserting himself with repeating things he knew...

@LangLangC He didn’t seem high either. He had full spatial awareness and motorical abilities. I didn’t judge him a danger for himself or others, he knew who he was, where he was, and where to he was on his trip, and had enough money to purchase a 100$ ticket, so I didn’t take any actions.

@LangLangC That’s not what we call „dementia now“ - or that’s not what dementia is called nowadays? Also, what Is what? What I am describing, or what I am referring to as dementia?

@Narusan I've seen quiet a lot of "crazy" people acting like that. Some of them very disturbed some of them quite functional. Most cases I actually inquired into were indeed diagnosed, some institutionalised. Those "functioning" socially were usually on heavy meds for mental illness or on some recreational dopamine manipulator.

@LangLangC I strongly suspect that as well. I was interested in which direction his mental illness goes.

@Narusan Yeah, "Now" or "nowadays", means dementia like old age cognitive decline, like Alzheimer's. Sometimes I hear people using "dementia" almost synonymous for "irgendwie dumm".

@Narusan Without external chemicals: first bet is on schizoaffective disorder. But some of these chems…

@LangLangC No, I got the idea because he was repeating himself, something like short-term memory loss. But then he knew fairly recent soccer games, so that’s why I discarded the idea.

@LangLangC A quick read through the symptoms described in the Wikipedia article makes that fairly likely.

Food for thought for some helicopter parents....

@Narusan My second bet would then go to mania-phase in bipolar, then compulsion. Ferndiagnosen. When travelling and seeing/hearing such people I am actually quite entertained and listen often with quite some affection to their ramblings. What really gets me though are the most often stereotypical reactions of other people, up to plain hostility.

@Narusan Oh, wow. Without having numbers to support that: my little layman-statistician (a little non-rent paying resident lurking just below the neocortex, also quite the talker) tells me that parents seem to radicalise in recent years. Opting either for helicopter or neglect.

@LangLangC Basically, everyone was ignoring him. Still nicer than hostility.

@LangLangC I get the feeling that people in general get more extreme. Have i told you of the person visiting our first aid centre of a local festival because they suspected blood poisoning after a mosquito bite? (Without being able to show us where the modquito actually bit her). Or the people parking RTWs with Sondersignale somewhere else or starting fist fights with EMTs because their ambulance is in the way.

@Narusan And they called the 19th century the nervous one…

@Narusan That fist fight is a thing you witnessed personally?

No (Luckily). Local news and Stammtisch-Gerede.

google.com/…

Still happens to often.