My Wife Suddenly HATED Our Kids And Me... Then Abandoned Us

In this real Reddit story, his wife suddenly nuked their family by declaring them all clones and fleeing for what exactly? Softly tickle the like button by dropping a nuke on its head. Warning, [music] the following Reddit story mentions health struggles and trauma. Hi, this is my first time posting and I'm not an English native speaker. I'm also sorry for my mess of a text, but I'm just at the end mentally. I'm a 38-year-old male and my [music] wife's 36-year-old. She started to become increasingly hostile toward me, the kids, and her own parents. Our kids are 12, 9, and 4 years old. I first started [music] to notice it around 1 week ago when our 12-year-old tripped while [music] playing and fell on her face. I ran to her to reassure she was okay, but my wife didn't really bother. She just sat on [music] the bench and watched me and our daughter coldly. That evening, I asked her why she showed no reaction, and she shrugged it off and told me that [music] I looked after her, so it's okay. That's not her normal behavior at all. And if that had [music] happened a couple months ago, she would have dropped everything and immediately looked after our daughter. A day after that incident, we ate dinner and the 9-year-old asked her to pass him the ketchup. She didn't pass it, but responded with, "Why do you want to eat our ketchup?" That caught me off guard, and I was extremely baffled. He asked if [music] it isn't also his ketchup, but she insisted that it's hers and her family's ketchup. I thought she [music] was making a joke, but she looked extremely stern and sincere, so I gave him the ketchup. The rest of the day was uneventful, but she kept looking at me and the kids in this I really don't know aggressive stare or vision as if [music] we were a threat to her. During the last week, I received only one kiss, not a single hug or any other kind of affection. And even if she sometimes smiles at me, it just looks extremely forced. Sometimes she just looks at me [music] as if she searches something. Like she's searching for something and trying to find it by looking at me by different angles, if that makes any sense. Obviously, I asked her a couple times if something [music] was wrong, but she always denied it and said everything is fine. The problem is if she was only hostile towards me, I could somewhat [music] in some way understand it. Maybe I annoy her. Maybe she doesn't love me anymore. Or she [music] thinks I'm cheating or anything. But I don't effing know. But she also seems to hate or at least be cold neutral towards the children. When they talk about school, she doesn't care. When they have problems, she doesn't care. She doesn't tuck them [music] in at night anymore. And I tell our kids that she's just in a bad mood and has a lot on her plate. But she used to love to tuck them in. As much [music] as I try to cover for now, they obviously know, as sure as I do, that [music] something isn't right. It really got out of hand when 2 days ago her mother called me asking [music] me if something is wrong with her daughter. Apparently, she doesn't, or [music] at least only briefly answer her texts and doesn't want to meet her anymore. She told me that my wife told her that she isn't her real mother, which of course [music] is something horrible to say, and we both don't know why she said it or what she exactly meant by it. When she [music] asked my wife why, she just said that she excused herself and said that [music] it was a joke. She never or at least rarely had an argument with her mom. Excluding what she said, [music] it was totally out of character for her to do this. We all had a great relation up [music] to this week, and I just can't in any possible way find out what changed. It kept me up at night because my wife just feels like a different person. Now, I thought about a mental illness, maybe some [music] form of early Alzheimer's, but it doesn't seem to fit her behavior. She had a depression when she was younger, but that's 10 [music] years ago. She was as lovely as one can be, not even 2 weeks ago. There are a lot of other instances of her behavior, but I don't have the energy to write it down right now. That brings me to yesterday. I sat her down and asked her if something is wrong. Told her that I need an answer now or otherwise we will see a psychiatrist. She started telling me that everything was fine [music] and she just has to act as she always does. That sentence made me feel sick to [music] my stomach because I didn't know what it meant. Is she seeing someone? Is someone [music] freaking holding her hostage? Or what is happening? I asked her [music] what she meant, but she just brushed it off again, saying that she is okay. I then told her that we're seeing a psychologist, and she started screaming at me that I can't make her. No normal screaming. Full-blown yelling her lungs out. It threw me off a bit, but I insisted. So, she threw a cup at me, got up, and told me that she wants her real family back. I don't effing know what that means. We didn't change anything. Everything is as it was a month ago. She grabbed her purse and ran out of the house. She returned a couple hours later and told me [music] she is sorry for how she acted. She did a complete 360 and said everything is good now. Then she kissed me and told me she will explain it [music] tomorrow. But she is just tired now. When we got to bed later, she kept looking at me as if I'm a stranger, staring me down, following my movements. But I was also extremely exhausted from everything and just fell asleep. It's morning now and she left the house. I can't find her and it looks [music] like she packed some stuff of hers. Some jackets, her purse with two pairs of shoes. I called her parents, her friends, [music] everyone she knows. But they all haven't seen nor heard from her. Her friends told me all that they haven't had contact with her in the last week. [music] Should I call the police now? Have some of you experienced something similar? I just don't know what to do. I have never felt this helpless. Edit: I called the police a couple minutes after the [music] first people here told me to. The police responded and they took my [music] story very seriously. Said they would search for her immediately. I told them a couple places [music] she might be. I waited at home and distracted the children, saying that their mom took some time [music] for herself. Her parents are at my house and play with the children. They are just as [music] destroyed and unnerved as me. They have found my wife an hour ago at the local park 5 hours after they started searching for her. It didn't look like she was fleeing or in a hurry, but just waiting, [music] sitting on a bench. They told me, however, that she was extremely hostile towards [music] the police and punched an officer. She is now in a psychiatric [music] clinic, but I'm not allowed to meet her, nor anyone else. Doctors are caring for her and will call me as soon as they know more. Thanks for [music] everyone that replied. I'm extremely worried, and I'm reading into all the mental illnesses you have posted. I just hope it is something they can cure quickly. I still feel like we're all in a bad dream. I'm so sorry. This sounds terrifying. I would call the police right away. Absolutely. They may make you wait a full 24 hours to file a missing person's report, but you should get the ball rolling in whatever way you can immediately. In the meantime, maybe check out any places she frequents regularly and keep the line of communication [music] open with her closest friends and family. Definitely seek out psychiatric [music] help for her ASAP. I wish you the best. This sounds awful. Psych nurse here. You need to look up Capgrass delusion. This is what it sounds like is happening. Call police now. She may be in danger. Homie, this is way the f above your pay grade. This sounds like your wife is having some really serious mental issues. [music] Sounds like she is going through a really bad case of derealization. Possibly she also schizophrenic. [music] Possibly she got caprad illusion. Possibly early stages of dementia. She needs help in the worst way or she going to end up doing something really effing bad. Call the police immediately like right now. >> Royal AI. A lot of people seem to care and I got a ton of encouraging messages in these two days, so I will post an update for you. We live in Northern Europe for those that asked. Thanks for everyone that gave me their advice. A lot of you have assumed schizophrenia or the rare Capgrad delusion. Some of you assumed she was cheating, which is something I won't even address. Thinking about it, Capgraz really fitted the [music] symptoms, but I couldn't just accept that. Still hoping she was somehow messing with us or that it was something mild and temporary. And I just overreacted. After they took her in, I drove to the mental institute to give an exact explanation of what happened in the last week. The psychiatrist assumed some sort of schizophrenia. They told me they would look after her and I should go home to my children. I felt like I was drunk the entire time. I couldn't close a single eye that night. The psychiatrist called me yesterday evening and asked me to come to her office. I left my children with their grandparents and drove for what felt like an eternity. She told me straight up that she strongly assumes that it's Capgra. She never saw a case of Capgra before, but it fits everything [music] she gathered. She explained to me how the past two days went down. My wife arrived there being extremely hostile. She was put in a safe room where she couldn't hurt herself. She calmed down after a couple of hours and the psychiatrist was able to talk to her. The good news was that she quickly opened [music] up and explained to her what she thinks. She knows that her family and most of her friends have been swapped by clones. She assumed that we, the clones, have sent police officers to get her and that she was scared of what we might do to her. She flew in the first place because she felt that we might attack [music] her, but mostly to get some space. She still doubts if we'd attack her because she still isn't sure if the clones are malicious or not. That explains [music] why she was distrusting me and always searched for some signs in me and the kids. My wife said that we [music] act exactly like the real ones and pointed out how perfect our disguise was. But she knew that we aren't real because she didn't feel any love towards me or the kids or her own parents. Writing this down feels like a lance piercing through my chest. She also told her how she was trying to hide her distrust of us because she couldn't be sure if we know that she knows that we aren't the real we. Her delusion that we've been swapped came to her one day before I noticed it 10 days ago. She woke up, looked at me, and knew that I wasn't the same anymore. Not the real one. Same with the kids, [music] her parents, and her friends. She hadn't had those thoughts before. She asked the psychiatrist if she knows who swapped us or why it happened or if this [music] happens often. She tried to avoid answering her question because she wasn't sure how my wife would react if she gave in or took her out of her delusion. My wife [music] asked her when she can get out again. The psychiatrist asked her if she wants to get out and she answered [music] that she's okay being here. It gives her some comfort being with professionals and she now has time to think. It helps that my wife is a nurse and that she respects doctors a lot. The psychiatrist explained to me how they will try to slowly deconstruct her delusion and that it can take a short or a very long time until she fully recovers. She explained to me that it's possible that she might never truly recover, but the fact that she opened up about it and [music] doesn't necessarily feel scared is a good sign. I'm still not allowed to see [music] her as it could make her panic. She appears to be completely clear of mind about everything else. She knows names, dates, places, facts, and [music] everything she knew before. She's functioning completely normal for the rest. Only the thought that [music] we aren't the real ones is now a fact for her. Now I wait till they have some good or bad news of how she develops. Writing all of this down really helped me. I'm trying to wrap my head around this situation [music] and I'm mostly scared for her and the children. I can't hide how distressed I [music] am and that my wife isn't at home. So, I explained to them that she is in a hospital and she has to rest and recover. The four-year-old doesn't really understand, but the other two took it surprisingly well. It [music] helps that they heard all those morbid stories my wife told them from the hospital. I guess they asked me when they can see her, and I told them that I don't know, but I hope it will be soon. I haven't felt this empty, and I don't know if I should be sad or angry. Thanks to everyone here that helped me. I feel like I'm in a waiting room [music] at the dentist. It's so surreal. I feel better knowing what the problem is, but worse not knowing when it ends. OP, stay strong. Take care of your kids, and I hope that everything turns out okay in the end. The fact that this can happen to a person where your mind just suddenly completely turns on you possibly forever feels like the true meaning of terror. Hey OP, I had to study Capgrass syndrome a little for an exam a couple of weeks ago. One thing that stood out to me according to research from 1997. Hurst and Ramachandran says offer support. Their patient claimed his parents were imposters when he spoke to them in person but treated them as his real parents when he spoke to them on the telephone. consistent with the delusion resulting from discrepant visual information. If they will approve it, see if you can start gradually with phone calls. [music] It stood out to me as the best avenue for initial treatment. I wish you and your family all the best. I don't feel comfortable answering any more questions in OP's threat. [music] He's going through enough and should only listen to the doctors. Psychologist here. Capgrass can often happen because of localized brain damage. It damages the emotional recognition part of the process that recognizes familiar faces. So people see a face, [music] recognize its identity, but there is no feeling of familiarity. You should insist that [music] they do a CAT scan or MRI scan of her brain and look for signs of recent minstrokes or other localized brain damage. >> Hi you all. This will be the final update. It's been 3 months and I feel like I can give another update. Most, if not all of you, probably don't care or have forgot. But hey, if anyone wants to know, I haven't responded to most private messages because [music] I didn't feel good enough talking about it. I still kind of don't to address the elephant in the room. My wife is back [music] with us. She is at home and well, and she laughs about the whole incident more than I do, to be honest. But that's [music] just me. She immediately started her treatment at the mental health institute. At first, they kept her sealed off from me and the [music] rest of her family and friends. They taught her relations and how the brain works and how to process love and affection and all stuff like that. Meanwhile, I was at home [music] and biting my fingernails away while explaining to everyone what is happening. Turns out that many people I know and thought highly of don't believe in psychological damage and mental problems. So that was fun talking about too. Anyway, this isn't really about me here. They somehow convinced her that she has a delusion. Apparently, [music] she almost immediately believed them, but said she still doesn't feel anything towards us, even if she [music] knows that it's a delusion. Her trust in doctors and nurses made all of this so much simpler. and I'm so grateful for this. They worked with her more and let her first talk to her parents over the phone. She started gaining trust again and they rebonded. Later, they allowed me to talk to her and I wasn't [music] able to say a single word because I basically broke down in tears when I heard her saying or more like asking a simple hello. She told me it will be fine and she just needs some more time and that the doctors [music] know what they are doing. I regained some strength and told her she should call whenever she wants to. Later she talked to the kids and it really helped her. She laughed with them, told [music] them jokes about mental health and recollected some memories. Gradually they let her meet her friends, then her parents, her siblings, and finally me [music] and the kids. That was almost 5 weeks after she got turned in. When she saw me [music] and the kids, she started to cry too and kissed all of us. She said she was sorry, but I assured her there's nothing to be sorry about. They still kept her a couple of days for some final tests [music] and let her finally go. She got back into work fairly quickly and we have the great relation that we had before all of this. The kids are happy. Still don't 100% know what exactly happened. There are still some traces of distrust [music] in herself. She questions her feelings more often and glooms over stuff, but all in all, everything [music] turned out to be good. Also, it's still not 100% clear why it happened at all. She can't recall [music] banging her head against anything or anything different. It feels good writing [music] this down. I wanted to thank everyone who answered and helped me on the initial post. Thanks to the [music] people that almost immediately diagnosed her and made me call the police. I'm sorry that [music] I didn't answer your private messages. I was quite busy and talking about the mental health of my wife feels [music] weird and bitter to me. She knows about this post and about the last posts and sends her love, too. Brain glitches like that prove life's already absurd enough without adding drama. Count your real connections while they last, my loyal viewers. Softly tickle the like button by dropping a nuke on its head. Oh, especially if this episode also hit you right in the fields. Thank you so much for your support, my Patreon members. Let me know if you like this episode, [music] and if so, there's way more on my channel. See you in the next one. Bye-bye.