Anybody here ever dealt with a family member that developed schitzophrenia/psychosis. I'm going through it now, getting the support me and the wife can, but will appreciate any input.
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psychosis
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ElectronGuru
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I had a SO who had a significant personality disorder. Maybe bipolar. There were some nice days but she could easily slip into the alternative personality #2 without any provocation. It was hard to deal with her because you never knew which personality you would deal with in 20 minutes.
Crazyeddiethefirst
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I have a son who suffered brain damage when he was born two months early. He is developmentally disabled, but exhibits many characteristics of Psychosis. In addition, a very close family friend has a son the same age as my son(34), and he began developing schizophrenia/Psychosis two years ago. He believes every camera he sees is being used to monitor him(despite otherwise seeming average in his behavior otherwise). He refuses to take medication(they want to be able to control me) or to see any Drs to be evaluated. Sadly, it will probably get to the point where he will need to be committed involuntarily (5150) when he becomes a danger to himself or his family. Very challenging to deal with and it is breaking his parents hearts. Feel free to share any specific questions and I will do my best to answer them...
If I would have read this post four months ago, I would have no idea what you are talking about. But now I fully understand every word of it. We're at the point that my stepson was already committed, felt like I betrayed him because when the police took him away, he was no longer in a violent psychosis that started the whole process two nights before, but we realized he needed help. Hated us, didn't trust anybody. But after a month in a behavioral hospital he is taking his meds and doing better. He'll never be the same person as before, and everyday is a challenge. Every time my wife calls I cringe thinking what happened now.
Commiting somebody is a very hard call to make, but sometimes it's the only,albeit a hard one, choice you can make.
Crazyeddiethefirst
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It is indeed a hard thing to go through-so few people can understand it if they have not seen the overnight transformation. I am so glad you had the courage so soon to be able to take the steps necessary to get him the help he needs. I also am grateful you had the courage to post about it here-the more people we can educate about this disease the better. I pray that breakthroughs are made that can help to normalize brain chemistries more effectively. It can be especially hard when someone begins to feel better & thinks "I don't need these meds anymore" and a new cycle of terror can occur. Most people can empathize when someone loses a child, but no one knows how to react when a loving son or daughter starts hearing voices, seeing things, and you lose the person they were and must adapt to the person they become. I pray your stepson continues to improve and stays on his meds...
What you said is exactly what I think. And you said it so much better then I could have. I was originally thinking of going to underground, but then I thought there is no reason to hide this, bring it to light, there may be others out there dealing with this. Talking about it to other people going through it can relieve some stress.
Not taking his meds and going back to violent, paranoid confrontational behavior is constantly on my mind.At times I'll wake up at midnight and don't get back to sleep until I have to get up at 5:30. It takes a toll on you.
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peter yetman
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Mrs. Yeti's brother is paranoid schizophrenic. We worked out that the reason he stopped taking his meds was that life was so much more fun without them.
He was able to be a secret agent working for aliens, and of course in his head it was real. Once we sussed that it was a lot easier to deal with the medicaion problem.
He is now 66 and we've dealt with this simce he was 18.
I'm afraid we have had to distance ourselves from him as his destructive nature causes collateral damage.
We still see him, but have to hold back from being involved in his life.
We have a friend who is also our Doctor, who looked after us during the worse times. He said something that appalled us then, which has borne truth.
"You will have to stop being so involved with him as he will suck you dry."
I hope for your sake, that was due to the brother's personality rather than the disease.
I do hope that with modern treatment your boy manages to live a less self destructive life.
P
He was able to be a secret agent working for aliens, and of course in his head it was real. Once we sussed that it was a lot easier to deal with the medicaion problem.
He is now 66 and we've dealt with this simce he was 18.
I'm afraid we have had to distance ourselves from him as his destructive nature causes collateral damage.
We still see him, but have to hold back from being involved in his life.
We have a friend who is also our Doctor, who looked after us during the worse times. He said something that appalled us then, which has borne truth.
"You will have to stop being so involved with him as he will suck you dry."
I hope for your sake, that was due to the brother's personality rather than the disease.
I do hope that with modern treatment your boy manages to live a less self destructive life.
P
Thanks Peter. Right now he's doing fairly well. He's actually getting a job, only delivering pizzas, but it's a start. He has always been and still is a very safe driver. But absolutely everything depends on him taking the meds as directed. A visiting nurse visits everyday just to talk to him, Setup his daily doses, and count the remaining pills to make sure everything adds up.
Must have been tough for Mrs Yeti see the brother she knew disappear, and then distance herself from him. That scenario, and many others have run through my head, usually when I wake up in the middle of the night.
Thanks to all of you that replied to this post. Very much appreciated.
I spent 20 years as a therapist. Every case is different, but I can offer one strange truth.
Don't try to understand it.
I'm not suggesting giving up empathy.
I had a client early in my career who was solidly schizophrenic. I struggled with understanding his perspective on things. My clinical supervisor related a simple truth. Basically, that to understand, I'd have to be as crazy as him.
Don't try to understand it.
I'm not suggesting giving up empathy.
I had a client early in my career who was solidly schizophrenic. I struggled with understanding his perspective on things. My clinical supervisor related a simple truth. Basically, that to understand, I'd have to be as crazy as him.
Not for nothing, but I find the description "crazy" to be very, very offensive. He's not " crazy", he has a hopefully treatable mental illness. You were a therapist for twenty years and you use crazy as a description of a person?!
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No sir. Crazy is not a term I would use. Please re-read my post. That was a comment from a supervisor of mine. Crudely put as it was, he was saying I'd never truly understand or relate to a psychotic break, because I'd never had one.
Understood. I've tried to read up on how they think, but I know I'll never really know what he's believing and thinking,
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PartyPete
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It's really all about finding the right medication regimen, staying on it and tweaking it as need be.
I've dealt with major mental illness with several family members and in many severe cases, medicine is the only hope. Minor stuff, perhaps regular talk therapy with a counselor will help.
I've dealt with major mental illness with several family members and in many severe cases, medicine is the only hope. Minor stuff, perhaps regular talk therapy with a counselor will help.
Ozythemandias
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This is pretty good info.
Rory Miller says the same thing, focus on what you both can agree on instead of trying to understand or pretend to understand.
I agree with finding the right meds is important. But this guy won't be truthful with the therapist he would go through to have his prescription changed. He keeps trying to self med because we're all trying to control him.
