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Mental health

Schizophrenia??

2 replies

Marne · 20/02/2012 22:20

As some of you know my dss was taken to hospitil last week with some kind of breakdown, we now know that he had been smoking cannabis on and off for a couple weeks (maybe longer), he is suffering with parinoia, anxiety and he's phycotic. The past week has been hard and we have not seen much improvment, he has been up and down Sad. today Schizophrenia was mentioned as well a possible Asperger (huge family link to ASD). As i have a dd with Aspergers i am quite clued up but i don't know a lot about Scizophinia. Can anyone share their expereances?

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DerbysKangaskhan · 20/02/2012 23:30

My DH is schizophrenic. Many issues can be managed with medicine as well as other management like therapy and lifestyle management (such as ensuring enough sleep/stress management to prevent breakdowns). From a carer point of view, these things are often the worst when they first come to the forefront and become milder through conscious effort and understanding what's going on -- but the first while can be very rough for everyone. Obviously not every person with schizophrenia goes through the whole remit of issues, it varies a lot, but I can give you the common stuff.

The main issue of schizophrenia is seeing and/or hearing things that are not actually there. The hallucinations can be as 'mild' as seeing a flashing light that isn't there to very frustrating/draining as hearing the phone ringing when it isn't to extremely disturbing as seeing a person die in a graphic manner in front of you in a public place (and having to restrain yourself from reacting/trying to save the person for a moment to see if anyone else is reacting as that is the only way many people with schizophrenia can tell if what they are seeing is real or not they can even feel things in response to what they are seeing so if they see someone step in front of a bus they often feel the 'bump' of going over the person even if no one else feels it). There is the common portrayal of hearing voices that aren't there telling the person what to do, but clear ordering voices are quite rare, it's far more common to hear like a whispering that you can't quite make out. My DH describes his like a group talking about his life in Olde Nordic in his head he gets a feeling of what's being talked about (negative or positive), but the words don't make sense. The more in control/healthier the individual, usually the milder these things tend to be.

Another major part of it is emotional bluntness. It can take an effort for the person to care, to understand why doing X is important, or why doing X is more important right now than doing the Y they want to do. This can also lead to mood swings (the ups and downs), catatonic episodes as a response to stress, anxiety, paranoia particularly if the hallucinations aren't controlled/understood. There also has been some connection with schizophrenia and memory issues, but it's debateable about whether it's part of it or a condition that commonly runs alongside schizophrenia like paranoia.

The misunderstanding of it is a huge problem. My DH even had a close relative he respected tell him he needs to give up all his fantasy related hobbies and movies to 'cure' it (Lord of the Rings & Warhammer are not contributing factors to mental illness, even when enjoyed by grown men...). Though the first couple of years after it began were quite rough, it does get better & manageable for most people.

I hope your DSS gets the care he needs.

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NanaNina · 20/02/2012 23:45

Marne - I think the above post is very informative. Just wanted to say that the trouble with young people smoking cannabis these days, it is not the kind that wa about in the 60s. It is now more usually something called "skunk" and is stronger and potentially more harmful. It can actually cause mental illness in people who are vulnerable, and this can be psychosis (which you mention) which is a thinking disorder. Sometimes it can be accompanied by paranoia (when people think something or someone is trying to harm them). These are quite serious mental illnesses and he definitely needs to be in hospital at the present time. I wouldn't worry about schizophrenia (it's a sort of umbrella term for anyone with psychotic symptoms (which mean the sufferer is out of touch with reality)

The really difficult thing about these kinds of mental illness is that the sufferer doesn't really think he is ill, as his thinking is disordered. There are some very good drugs to treat these conditions and many people manage their illness so long as they take the necessary medication.

Have you had a chat with the ward manager or the psychiatrist on the ward? Patients almost always have a weekly review to see how things have been for them, whether the medication is causing any problems e.g. side effects and you will definitely be able to attend that review with your son. There will be staff nurses at the review and an OT (occupational therapist) as well as the psychiatrist who is responsible for your son's care. Don't be afraid to raise any issues that you need to, or mention something that is worrying you or anything you don't understand.

This is going to be very stressful for you too, so make sure you get some support for yourself too.

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