Where does a person go?

My mother scares me, and yet there seems to be nothing I can do for her. I'm no psychologist, but I really think she is pschizophrenic. She's had extreme paranoia for the last few years, insisting that airplanes follow her to work and that people are coming in her house when she's gone. But here lately its gone to a whole new level, and she refuses to get help for herself.

In January she tried to commit suicide, or so she said. My aunt called someone with Adult Protective Services and since I had a key back then, we took him to her house to talk to her. She was relatively calm while he was there, and then went off on the family after he left. He said he would "keep in touch" but that the only thing we could do for her is call the police to come get her if she so much as spoke of suicide again. Now she knows not to call family members and talk about suicide like she had done before, but she's only getting worse.

She had the locks changed on her house and quit a couple of her cleaning jobs so she could be home more. But it hasn't stopped. She insists that there are cameras hidden in her house and that she is being videotaped constantly. It is so sad. I've been praying for her, but she simply has to get professional help.

We won't let her watch our 22 month old son. Her behavior is so erratic; she can be fine one minute and explode the next.

The other day she called me and said that I needed to bring boxes to her house to get things out. (She also thinks someone is plotting to come steal her personal possessions.) I went to her house to talk, but she clammed up when I got there. She refused to discuss what was going on. Since then, she's lured me to her house a few more times, just to act the same way. When I got back home that day, a friend of mine had called, left messages and a note on my door. I called her and she said that she had received a call from another lady we know who works at the local radio station.

It turns out my mother had called the station FOUR times that morning and urged them to quite videotaping her life. She identified herself and said that she was one of their "VIP" members, though they have no such of a club. She insisted that they do all kinds of things for her and she wants them to stop.

Mom never mentioned a word of it to me, but she had said she was quitting all her jobs because she couldn't take it anymore. When I asked how she was going to live, she just said, "As long as I can."

So I took action that day, first calling the lady from the radio station to get the full story of what was said, then calling the police to see what else I could do. They referred me to the Comprehensive Mental Health Center, so I called them. I had to tell the story to three people before finally getting through to a doctor. He took all the information, said he would see what he could do, and that he would call me back. Four hours later, no call.

So the next day I went in to this Center. Nobody knew what I was talking about and the doctor had already left for the day. So I spoke to a nurse who seemed very concerned. She wrote down the things I told her and said the doctor would call the next day.

Two weeks later, and still no call.

Meanwhile, mother has called, still depressed and insistent that she's being videotaped. But she also claims to be receiving "messages" through her TV and radio. I called a counselor we know, and she said that we could call our family doctor (though my mother doesn't have a doctor) and the doc could get an order from a judge to have her taken in for a 72 hour observation. So today after I left her house (she had me in tears with her rambling and yelling) I went to my doctor. The receptionist wouldn't let me talk to her, but she got a smile on her face and said that my mother "Is over 18 and our hands are tied in these situations." I left crying even harder.

I refuse to believe that there is nothing I can do, but I feel like I've tried all avenues. I even called back the guy from Adult Protective Services, but I always get his voicemail and he won't return my calls. I have been told that I can take her to the emergency room, but there is no getting her out of that house. She laughs maniacally when I tell her she needs to see a doctor.

So where does a person go to get help in a situation such as this? I don't want to wait until it is too late.

It is killing me.