Family Caregiving Experiences in Schizophrenia

[@LoveForBluebirds]

I am the brother of a family member with psychosis, who is 11 years older than me and was on antipsychotics for 10 years for severely delusional thinking and paranoia. He developed the condition at age 23 while he was in medical school. Prior to this he was as far as I or my family knew a healthy, social, high-functioning individual. I never heard him officially diagnosed with schizophrenia but it's been the easiest way for me to understand his condition and put a label on it. The condition and the medications increasingly took his mind from him over the next 18 years and it was such an immense burden on me, a 12 year old at the time, and my single mom. I don't think words can describe how much stress it caused me and my mother over the years. He was medicated for about 10 years, the majority of which left him in a very sedate state, spending hours in bed and largely akin to a zombie. He was taken off medications for about 8-9 years now. Instead, in combination with some of the paranoid delusions, he has severe anxiety and constant obsessive thinking, frequent motor tics and is a source of constant stress. His cognition has severely diminished over the years. The brother who I as a very little kid used to play video games and watched as he engaged in athletics with his peer is no longer there. He is someone I cannot communicate or relate to anymore. A true hole in my heart left in the wake of this devastating illness.

[@lisaf5105]

Thanks for sharing, I'm so sorry you experienced this, praying for healing for you and your family. 🙏🏾

[@sweetea7035]

It's horrible and everyone looks the other way. No help. You feel so alone. You can't fix them, they lie to you, they break you physically, mentally and financially. But you love them and can't bear for them to be hungry or sick.

[@marcusjones2207]

I have a spouse who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. She has preexisting health conditions. When she's healthy, she is an amazing person, stunningly beautiful both inside and outside. She now believes that "The Holy Spirit" is telling us to separate because she believes that her and I are close of kin (cousins). She says that she loves me, and that I love her. It's difficult because she doesn't think that anything is wrong with her, and she believes that the hospital just made up a diagnosis. Everyone else around her thinks that she needs help, she just can't see it. It is beyond difficult.

[@dridume6042]

Thanks to Dr idume I got cured using *dr idume* herbal medicine and now I’m better and normal 👇👇👇 kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y5ilameNZr-Hd9E

[@cbebop5]

Marcus, prayers for you and your family in this most difficult of situations with your wife. My heart goes out to you. My younger brother has this illness and I can't begin to tell you how challenging this is for our entire family.

[@marycolton5024]

I am in the same situation yet it is my 32 year old son that I am 24/7 responsible for. I am so discouraged see no way for improvement because he refuses treatment or diagnosis, says nothing is wrong. It is destroying two lives as I have tried EVERYTHING and more in the last 7 years I'm giving up. Im out of ideas. I just exist in this horrible reality. My health is diminishing slowly as well.

[@MegaDolly10]

Thank you for that I’m a parent of a 24 year old beautiful son with paranoid schizophrenia, I really enjoyed your talk x

[@xMsFreyax]

My biggest frustration is the constant push back from systems (hospitals, doctors, therapists, etc). I was able to convince my brother to make me his POA and we wrote it with amendments that enables me to participate in his current affairs and in instances where he loses his grip. But it took YEARS to get to this point. Even with it, trying to navigate things, get help, deal with ignorant staff, people who are unhelpful.. you truly are left on your own. Hippa is a double edged sword too. Mental health basically states that people with mh dont realize they have a condition but LEGALLY they then must seek their own tx and no one else can be involved without their say so. For conditions that are not as serious this may work but for the tougher ones.... Its no wonder there is zero progress and ppl are forced out into the street and the jails are full. I want to advocate for more family rights when dealing with family members with MH. Give us some power back.

[@pamc7307]

that's exactly right, families Have to be included, in the recovery process

[@mariarodas9416]

You just described what everyone with a love one with this illness goes through in the system. At the end I knew my husband and I are by our own supporting my son. We are not given up.

[@G-Sagittastellium]

I agree. Thank you for this. My 19 year old son has schizophrenia

[@lisaheming1448]

@@G-Sagittastellium I feel your pain. My 21yo son does too.

[@KYhomes4u]

I agree 100%!

[@rabiaadam]

My brother has this disease, in long run I have to take care of him, I want to take care of him. I hope things get better for all

[@RobbiePfunder]

you want to?

[@averayugen1371]

I AM THE CARETAKER and its too hard for me. HELP me somebody!!!! No joke. Its 7/3/21 waiting now.....I AM THE CARETAKER not a parent or relative or his "loved one" and NO ONE CARES. For me that is. And no one in my real life to ask, I have exhausted everyone, but the problem won't just "go away"! This speaker can't IMAGINE.

[@angeliqueschmidts2555]

Is this a job or how did you end up caring for this person?

[@aboutmyfathersbusiness3764]

I was a psychology major and this is an Excellent research presentation done on caregivers who are dealing with love ones with this illness. I also have a close friend who has a child with this. There is NO help. You are on your OWN. It is expensive to deal with and reack havoc on families and the person suffering from this. The few services available to families, only want to help the easy less challenging cases. You know ones who could still live a better quality of life without the help The entire mental health system needs to be reconfigured to offer greater outcomes for families and thoes suffering from this debilitating illness. Pray that no one you love EVER gets this illness as it will be a silent hell on earth for you and the person

[@TakaraoftheElves]

My brother is currently an inpatient in a hospital psych ward, being evaluated for a potential schizophrenia diagnosis. After reading your comment, I am more terrified and despairing than I have been since the night the police took my brother to the hospital. I keep scouring the internet, researching about this nightmarish condition and looking for hope. I have yet to find any... Life is pain.

[@lisaheming1448]

Yes it is 😌

[@kristagaulin4482]

Had to quit my job because my son needs full-time supervision. There is no financial help for this decision but its the reality

[@averayugen1371]

Please see my remark.. a couple spots above this..

[@rabiaadam]

More power to you, prayers for him

[@MegaDolly10]

I’m in Ireland and it’s extremely bad trying to get help for a loved one with mental health problems

[@TheBowen747]

imin florida usa and the quickest and easiest way get apd to help you, .. it very cruel but, he will get in the system here this way. first must be baker acted, google it. .... once arrested on baker act charge they will hold the person and do a phyc evalu. once determended or labeled schitzo or retardation or what ever mental illness, they will be taken to a homeless shelter, there they sit n wait a few days to few weeks depending, then apd will provide the person a case number and a case wavior suport company, w/ a wavior support coordinator along with a 2 bed 2 bath housing, a full time 24/7 live in caregiver will be brought in and then the person is on autopilot from there on out.. all the persons physical needs will be provided.. my client likes the beach, hooters and pizza and diet coke keeps him happy..

[@Slidehhy]

​@@MegaDolly10 I know how you feel

[@mahdimohammed3579]

To a friend who took his life away Why brother, did you do it? I will never know You may forever regret it Yet I will pray That your soul be at peace You were a good friend Noble, kind, loving I will remember for your good moments And forgive this blow you hit your friends with My prayers are with you and your family May your soul ascend to the light And may you be forgiven It's not your fault It's the damn illness Some of us get it worse than others To my brother in arms Against the battle of schizophrenia Peace to you from me always friend

[@rabiaadam]

So sad dear brother Prayers for the soul

[@G-Sagittastellium]

So sorry for your loss

[@ceciliaarellano1407]

How can I get group support so I can meet other people who shares the same. I bottle it in and I need someone who understand

[@jackiecjcas9413]

Check out Nami, there’s have virtual support groups

[@RobbiePfunder]

i too share the burden so i get it. maybe start a meet up group?

[@AmyChappell]

@8:37 she starts her lecture

[@wesheart]

Five years later nothing has changed

[@john_smith_john]

what, you thought they'd cure it in 5 years?

[@linkinlago6431]

My mom has severe schizophrenia, I feel like the best way to comprehend this disease is to have years interacting with a person with the actual affliction. A few psychology classes doesn’t hurt, but I’ve known people who spent years studying stuff that don’t have any clue about it. My buddy who has doctorate in psych from Harvard has no clue what this disorder really entails, I have a degree in geology and it still feels incomplete.

[@RoyalTalks]

This is a great point. Educating ourselves in school has many benefits, but actual interactions with individuals with lived and living experiences are a fundamental part of understanding and supporting folks living with schizophrenia. Thank you for sharing!

[@Medietos]

Hahaha, I recognize myself there, having studied it, listened to YT lectures, read, - but the real understanding is built in being together with the sick one(s). I need support and instruction/practce with a professional though, to avoid unnecessary mistakes.

[@ryrez4478]

yes. as a brother to a brother with schizophrenia, it is mind boggling how many people who should know better dont actually know what schizophrenia is. my brother gets blamed all the time for things that he is a victim of. nurses who know he has the illness still blame him for things as foolish as "not looking people in the eye". my heart goes out to everyone with this illness

[@averayugen1371]

@@Medietos I am also alone in my role as caregiver, there is NO ONE to share this burden with!!! Please contact me if you can.

[@nurulfatinah9284]

@@averayugen1371 my mother has schizophrenia. As her caregiver i uderstand that its not easy. Feel exausted all the time. Sometimes i feel like im losing myself every day looking for her. Its mentally drained. Hope fully we get the patience to help her and never give up to help her.

[@romienomie]

I have been through most of this.Its scary at first. Ny son could be very violent until we got him on the right nedications. Hes not violent now .But he smokes marijuana a lot now ans thats a problem. Thanks for the video.I know I am not alone .Thanks for the GOOD aspects.

[@helenpeters4687]

Im a mother and carer. My daughter lives with me shes 44. She had a relapse with Skitzophrenia and paranio. She at present in The Mental Health Ward as is unstable. Im at home on my own. Its so hard ive been so stressed. I visit her sometimes she walks back in her room in hospital. Its a complicated and im trying to cope with visits. I miss her bad. My family dont visit me and support me as a carer. Ive Essential Thromboythemia blood condition. Im coping and its such a hard condition. I live in London.

[@mahdimohammed3579]

Dear Lisa, thank you for showing what parents go through, both negative and positive. I cried almost through out the video so glad I was not there or I might of ruined the presentation. I should have never given to the illness. I was shown a way - I was shown patience. I showed too much fear to Iblis and his forces. If I just resolved myself to courage and patience I was shown, and reliance on God that I was shown, the trials of madness would have been avoided. The trials that pained me little but pained my parents greatly. That distressed me little due to the irrational dark whispers I embraced over that of the light of reason and light of the Guide. I gave into a desert of despair with no hope of rain for too long. I can't approach this illness with 99% chances of cure, or 85% or whatever. I need a guarantee, and if God abandons me, then no one will save me, and if he saves me, no forces of Iblis will subdue me, by the name of God I go, and there is no power or will except through God. Nothing but sheer despair of God's mercy, evil thought of him, and running away from his court drove me to madness. I can't escape what reason call to but I did try, till I became mad. I don't know how everyone is driven mad. But I know why I was. The illness is one thing and one thing only me as far as it goes with me. It's me. I drove my brain to unhealthy overdrive till it went toxic. It was me, it was me who despite all the help of the Guides, and the Angels of reason and sanity, decided to give ear to irrational dark swords that drove me insane. I downloaded viruses that destroyed my mind. Sins as a child made way and broke barriers of protection. Rebellion and Self-Worship as I grew older. Deluded in self-deception, duped in love of dark idols. I am a hypocrite who can talk every talk, but have not walked an drop in an ocean of wisdom that I know. If I listened to even 1/4 of the advice of my parents, I would have avoided this illness on the onset, and after getting it, I would have healed and not burdened my family so much, but I was so arrogant, and this arrogance has not escaped the dark nature I have embraced till this day unfortunately.

[@RoyalTalks]

Hi Mahdi, thank you so much for sharing so openly about your experiences. I hope you can believe me when I say that this is not your fault. As you know from your experience, schizophrenia is a severe illness which makes it extremely difficult to make the "right" choices, even if the choices seem simple when you look at them in hindsight. I hope you can find it in your heart to show yourself compassion and forgiveness, and to know that you are not to blame for what you've been experiencing.

[@mahdimohammed3579]

@@RoyalTalks Unfortunately I can't believe you because you haven't presented any proof nor do you know how to present it - nor is there is ever a dialogue in mental health to weigh two sides or counter arguments and a debate - but just a monologue dictation as if you know by facts and this while some statics are interpreted to favor their view while hiding many stats that destroy their interpretation statistics like minority orphans which proves there is probably not even an element of genetics, and twin studies doesn't prove genetics when genetic twins tend to adapt traits of one another psychology (they tend to follow one another and walk the same road in personality) , and following the money trail it's obvious Gog and Magog have full control over this dictation. You can have all the information, but without self-honesty and sincerity to God and his Messengers, it will lead you to confusion and a wrong way of seeing all of it including the non-sensical stance against guilt. And mentally ill people are hard on themselves, but if they went all out in it, and went without an element of making excuses, it would cure them. Compassion is good, but that doesn't mean making excuses for yourself, it means crying your eyes out to God and he will help, through ways you guys don't know and will never know as long as you rely on conjecture. This neither guilty neither appreciative, but some limbo of illness and a unique wisdom meant for them, leads in this age statistically to more suicides then any age. And the further you rely on conjecture of your education system which the money trail leads to seeing control by Gog and Magog, the more suicide will happen, and not only that, but eventually, the system will legitimize depressed people to get doctors to kill them legally, and eventually, the same will extend to people afflicted by madness. I making this prediction now, and I see it, because the control is not even in your "science" but in English and the way literature and arts will present all this and keep at it, eventually, they will change the laws. Abortion was a red line, and this red line people don't think about it, but it will be crossed. Canada will be one of the first countries to allow doctors to help suicidal people commit suicide. This is where your system is leading - just as it has lead to more pain - whether it's people in groups homes lying in their beds or people leaving on their own - and more suicide and your whole "anti-stigma" will lead to more mental illness over all in society and not help in that regard. I swear, anyone goes to other then God's door for cure and relies on other then him and his guidance and rope - will perish and this is true of mental ill and non-mentally ill.

[@ryrez4478]

schizophrenia happens. it wasnt your fault. its nobodys fault. best wishes to you. 🙏

[@ibvest7123]

Do you have any consensus Doktor Mengel was not the first and not the last

[@misanthrope3190]

Getting help for your loved one and going up against the laws like the lanterman-petris-short act in California the parent caregiver is up against GOLIATH. Even the 5 smooth stones of David cannot overturn the corrupt system. In other words, unless you have a lot of money, a lot of functional family/friends that are wanting to help care for your loved one then for the CAREGIVERS => YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN AND OUT OF LUCK!

[@unkown6961]

Only took her 10 min to actually start 🤙

[@troyhayder6986]

Care giving.. Yeah right.. I had more freedom living in a closet..

[@averayugen1371]

Are you the caregiver or the patient? I need support in my role as caregiver and no "family members" to help me. No help from the "community" either. Will you kindly respond please?

[@MG-lg3qy]

Me, the caged poodle nobody wanted to deal with. Yeah we live with this and navigating multiple models of reality since the huge "hit job" this "care taker gamer" abused privileges and further exasperated my condition. IM NOT THE ONLY ONE. we suffer silently daily. Yeah these "care givers" some sociopaths and get away with organized community crime even after arrests, forensics with DNA proof to a felony such as strangulation with intent, against me, us ... they bond out and walk to their next vulnerable victim. They say they do it for greater good. This is a sickness but dont talk. They dont like the TRUTH. Nice front

[@troyhayder6986]

@@MG-lg3qy yeah your words strike truth...and i can tell you have been there, but is there any escape from this cage?

[@lukeychristinesmith6218]

This helps clear the voices: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4iynIipfsdoitU

[@jayaldridge4444]

she is smart.