I have a friend who is dealing with a very unstable boyfriend.

He's seen psychologists, but never continues to see any. It seems in private he also a different person, especially towards her.

She has given me a message between the two, and wanted me to get opinions on it.

Would it be ok for me to post the conversation here, and allow you guys to analyze it and give your thoughts?

She is not sure if how he acts is due to drugs, withdrawal, or mental instability.

If the boyfriend is violent, consult local authorities. If there's friction between the two of them, then they should no longer be seeing each other. Personal conversations should not be posted for all to see on the internet.

Ok, thank you!

It's fine to share it, ath09. The person to ask is the girl who shared it with you. "Hey, I joined this random science forum... would you be okay with me quoting the text of that message as long as I don't provide your names?"

 

That shouldn't really be a problem, IMO.

I don't think the issue is anonymity or privacy. I think the issue is that nobody here, AFAIK, can give anything but an amateur opinion of what is going on, and that's no basis for anything. And I suspect a trained professional would have a difficult time with any diagnosis based on a single written exchange.

 

It's bad enough we see credentialed hacks on TV trying to diagnose the mental state of people they've never examined (as they do after mass shootings, for example). Doing it here would be worse, IMO. We might be able to tell you if he sounds like a jerk or a nice guy, or a lunatic. But not why.