Dealing with a Family Member Who Has Schizophrenia

A family member of mine was recently diagnosed with Schizophrenia. This mental illness is highly inherited. In our case, there are no genes that we know of for this mental illness. As a mental health professional and teacher, it has been interesting to watch how family members react to my relative. While they are loving and accepting, there are certain things that can be done to make him feel more comfortable and accepted.

The most important thing is to love your relative as they are. This includes seeking proper medical care. A psychiatrist is the only one who can properly diagnose and treat schizoprhnia. Our family of course has taken this step for my relative.

While mentally ill patients are capable of taking their medications, they often forget. Family members will need to work out a medication routine for the patient. Having the medication in a visible place is important. In addition, patients do better remembering to take their medications if it is associated with a daily routine. For instance, the medication could be by the coffee pot with would trigger the memory that medications need to be taken first thing of the morning. Fortunately, my family member has parents who are nurses and already have taken this step.

Family members often mean well by trying to give directions to the schizophrenic patient. Everyone is trying to help, and I have found often give instructions. An average person would have problems with too many directives, but especially a mentally ill person. While their minds are as alert as anyone's, medications can make following instructions more difficult. In addition, a patient sometimes has processing deficits. When the family is together, it would be best to have one person be in charge of giving instructions. That way, the patient can process the directions easier.

Does the person really need directions and instructions? A schizophrenic patient has periods where they are very coherent. A person on the correct medications might even rarely have an episode. Whether or not the person needs direction and help depends on where they are in the illness and their treatment. Be sure and find out how they are doing at a particular time before deciding to give instructions. This is where my family fails my family member who is sick. He may end up with four directives in a short period of time and I watch as he tries to process information. With practice, I am sure my family will get better at dealing with this.

I often have found that family members tend to relate to a person with a mental illness as a child. They will give directions for the simplest of things. I have also found that often, family members will use smaller words, thinking this helps. Intelligence is not a problem for a schizophrenic patient. The issue is processing information. In addition, some people will yell at the patient, as if they are deaf. Thank goodness, my family does not make these mistakes.
Having a relative or friend who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia can be challenging. However, with a bit of effort and communication, the person can be treated with respect, as any adult would wish to be. After all, mental illness is like any other illness that is lifelong. The patient and family have to learn how to adjust and cope.