Mental illness runs in my family but my mother has never officially been diagnosed. I’m not sure what she’s struggling with because it doesn’t align with any other typical mental illness and she refuses to seek help. My mom has lied about so many things I’ve lost count, but she doesn’t see them as lies. She genuinely thinks it’s the truth. I used to think she was lying and trying be manipulative until I realized how real it is to her. For example she used to tell me awful stories about my father that I believed until I finally got old enough to realize they weren’t true and logically didn’t add up. Now it’s to the point where some things she believes are so outlandish that there’s no doubt her thinking is in delusional territory. Now she thinks her ex husband is spying on her, lives in her neighborhood, and is hiring people to damage her house. She also thinks her husband is cheating on her when he goes to work or even a gas station with no proof whatsoever. She thinks the church she used to go to is out to get her, they’re stalking her, they’re plotting to sabotage her relationships and everything they say and do is directed towards her (even though it’s been over a year since she’s been).  She thinks they are still talking about her and plotting to ruin her life right now. She sees people walking in the neighborhood and thinks they’re being malicious and trying to spy or sabotage her relationship with her husband. Everything in life has an alternate meaning to my mom, and everyone has a secret malicious motive, even cashiers at grocery stores. She’s  fixated on this, and has a hard time ever changing the subject. This is exhausting for me because I’m all she has. She has no friends or family because she is so paranoid everyone’s out to get her. She used to tell me my friends were plotting to kill me and I could tell she genuinely believed it. If I go against any of these delusions I’m now part of the problem and she starts getting angry with me so the only option I have left is try to deescalate the situation. She just called and talked to me for two hours in a delusional rage. I hate not believing her because I love her and I feel guilty for even doubting her (for a long time I believed everything) but I know it’s a lie because when I ask her to elaborate on certain things she can’t and her argument begins to fall apart/not make any sense. It’s so sad because she is constantly hysterical and making her life miserable. She will never, ever, EVER seek any professional help, so I was really hoping for advice on how to reason with someone like this and still have a happy healthy relationship.