Loved one with schizophrenia

[Aer Fixus]

Hey there.
About 4 years ago, my older brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
We've been struggling with it a lot since then.
But recently he got off his medication, started smoking pot, and has just really gotten a lot worse again.

I'll be moving out in the Fall, hopefully, but until then I may be around him more than I'd like.
Does anyone have any tips on how to deal with him, his anger, and his delusions without getting overwhelmed (I have pretty severe anxiety and the stuff he talks about really make me feel anxious) or starting a fight?

Also, if anyone who has schizophrenia or a loved one with it could share their story with me? Maybe provide me with a bit of insight and hope?

[Thyna]

First off, do your best not to take anything said or done personally. I know it's easier said than to practice, but in order to keep your sanity you can't hold a grudge. In most situations it's the hallucinations or the person's own fears about living with this illness that cause many of the problems. Do your best to work through what can and let go of the rest.

Also don't be afraid to walk away when you need to. Getting angry or anxious isn't going to help and most importantly you need to take care of yourself in order to help your brother. It's stressful and you will need your breaks, and if your brother has outbursts then getting out of the picture fast prevents you from being a target.

There are caregiver support groups for a variety of mental illnesses. They will offer a place to vent and occasionally may host seminars to help you cope with some of the stress yourself and your family are experiencing.

As a last resort, there are courses and seminars available through college/universities for behaviour management and the like. It would provide you with de-escalating techniques and ways of making sense of irrational thoughts your brother might experience. But I would only go that route if your community doesn't have any other supports in place or you are considering a profession in Social Services of some sort.

I'm a support worker and work with clients with various mental and physical disabilities. A couple of people I assist are schizophrenic and usually the medications they take are effective unless they are under high stress or anxiety. That is when we see an increase to the hallucinations, severe outbursts and the rare but worse destructive/dangerous behaviours. We have had the extreme situation where the police were involved to prevent the client from injuring himself and one of my co-workers and he had to be sedated by a medical team and hospitalized until he could regain control.

I hope that helps a little. Good luck and take care of yourself

[Aer Fixus]

Thyna

First off, do your best not to take anything said or done personally. I know it's easier said than to practice, but in order to keep your sanity you can't hold a grudge. In most situations it's the hallucinations or the person's own fears about living with this illness that cause many of the problems. Do your best to work through what can and let go of the rest.

Also don't be afraid to walk away when you need to. Getting angry or anxious isn't going to help and most importantly you need to take care of yourself in order to help your brother. It's stressful and you will need your breaks, and if your brother has outbursts then getting out of the picture fast prevents you from being a target.

There are caregiver support groups for a variety of mental illnesses. They will offer a place to vent and occasionally may host seminars to help you cope with some of the stress yourself and your family are experiencing.

As a last resort, there are courses and seminars available through college/universities for behaviour management and the like. It would provide you with de-escalating techniques and ways of making sense of irrational thoughts your brother might experience. But I would only go that route if your community doesn't have any other supports in place or you are considering a profession in Social Services of some sort.

I'm a support worker and work with clients with various mental and physical disabilities. A couple of people I assist are schizophrenic and usually the medications they take are effective unless they are under high stress or anxiety. That is when we see an increase to the hallucinations, severe outbursts and the rare but worse destructive/dangerous behaviours. We have had the extreme situation where the police were involved to prevent the client from injuring himself and one of my co-workers and he had to be sedated by a medical team and hospitalized until he could regain control.

I hope that helps a little. Good luck and take care of yourself

Thank you so much! I never thought of looking for support groups or seminars and whatnot.
Unfortunately, not taking things personally is pretty difficult for me, especially when it comes to him. I have some serious self-esteem problems and anxiety and my brother seems to fixate on a lot of things I have issues about myself. Though I'm working on that (slowly) and trying to move out myself so I can get away from him a bit more easily.

Thank you so much for the insight!

[AbsurdEffigy]

If he is off his meds you should avoid him at all costs. Nothing he does is rational. Schizophrenia literally warps your view of reality. You've got to take everything he does and says with a grain of salt. If what he says bothers you, don't talk to him as often. I'm assuming you both still live at home, do your parents know he stopped his meds? Because if not, they should. Schizophrenics can become violent in their delusions and are dangerous.

[Aer Fixus]

AbsurdEffigy

If he is off his meds you should avoid him at all costs. Nothing he does is rational. Schizophrenia literally warps your view of reality. You've got to take everything he does and says with a grain of salt. If what he says bothers you, don't talk to him as often. I'm assuming you both still live at home, do your parents know he stopped his meds? Because if not, they should. Schizophrenics can become violent in their delusions and are dangerous.

They definitely know. My brother calls me a tattle-tail but I keep my parents updated on any and all potentially bad things in regards to him.
My brother, fortunately, is not physically violent, just verbally. He's never been a violent person, and I don't think he ever will be. That said, when he gets into one of his rages I do leave the house immediately with my dogs and we always keep any dangerous items out of the house or locked up. Just in case.

I definitely take what he says with a grain of salt, but hearing your older brother sob about how he loves you, but hates that you're nothing more than a computer program can wear on you. When I avoid him, he whips out his "You're a horrible sister for not spending any time with me etc. etc." and he's very very good at guilt trips.

[AbsurdEffigy]

Aer Fixus

AbsurdEffigy

If he is off his meds you should avoid him at all costs. Nothing he does is rational. Schizophrenia literally warps your view of reality. You've got to take everything he does and says with a grain of salt. If what he says bothers you, don't talk to him as often. I'm assuming you both still live at home, do your parents know he stopped his meds? Because if not, they should. Schizophrenics can become violent in their delusions and are dangerous.

They definitely know. My brother calls me a tattle-tail but I keep my parents updated on any and all potentially bad things in regards to him.
My brother, fortunately, is not physically violent, just verbally. He's never been a violent person, and I don't think he ever will be. That said, when he gets into one of his rages I do leave the house immediately with my dogs and we always keep any dangerous items out of the house or locked up. Just in case.

I definitely take what he says with a grain of salt, but hearing your older brother sob about how he loves you, but hates that you're nothing more than a computer program can wear on you. When I avoid him, he whips out his "You're a horrible sister for not spending any time with me etc. etc." and he's very very good at guilt trips.

I'm sorry that sounds terrible. I have psychosis so I kinda get it from my brother's point of view, but I am on my meds. There's really nothing you can do if he won't take his meds. His brain chemistry can't make sense of life without them.

[Aer Fixus]

AbsurdEffigy

Aer Fixus

AbsurdEffigy

If he is off his meds you should avoid him at all costs. Nothing he does is rational. Schizophrenia literally warps your view of reality. You've got to take everything he does and says with a grain of salt. If what he says bothers you, don't talk to him as often. I'm assuming you both still live at home, do your parents know he stopped his meds? Because if not, they should. Schizophrenics can become violent in their delusions and are dangerous.

They definitely know. My brother calls me a tattle-tail but I keep my parents updated on any and all potentially bad things in regards to him.
My brother, fortunately, is not physically violent, just verbally. He's never been a violent person, and I don't think he ever will be. That said, when he gets into one of his rages I do leave the house immediately with my dogs and we always keep any dangerous items out of the house or locked up. Just in case.

I definitely take what he says with a grain of salt, but hearing your older brother sob about how he loves you, but hates that you're nothing more than a computer program can wear on you. When I avoid him, he whips out his "You're a horrible sister for not spending any time with me etc. etc." and he's very very good at guilt trips.

I'm sorry that sounds terrible. I have psychosis so I kinda get it from my brother's point of view, but I am on my meds. There's really nothing you can do if he won't take his meds. His brain chemistry can't make sense of life without them.

Yeah he's been off and on meds for 4 years. Every time they help, he improves, but then something happens and he decides to stop taking them.
I, personally, blame this one friend of his who's a bit of a conspiracy theorist (and has some paranoia and psychosis himself) and he believes that the government puts stuff in all medication that causes cancer and makes you sterile.
Pretty sure that's swayed my brother to get off his meds most of the times it's happened.

[29Dreams]

Aer Fixus

Hey there.
About 4 years ago, my older brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
We've been struggling with it a lot since then.
But recently he got off his medication, started smoking pot, and has just really gotten a lot worse again.

I'll be moving out in the Fall, hopefully, but until then I may be around him more than I'd like.
Does anyone have any tips on how to deal with him, his anger, and his delusions without getting overwhelmed (I have pretty severe anxiety and the stuff he talks about really make me feel anxious) or starting a fight?

Also, if anyone who has schizophrenia or a loved one with it could share their story with me? Maybe provide me with a bit of insight and hope?

I have Paranoid Schizophrenia. I have delusions as well as hallucinations. I just take it one day at a time and yes, I am taking medications to help. My psychiatrist has told me that my case is an "atypical" case for a few reasons...
Reason one: My parents noticed something strange with me when I turned three. I was a living nightmare when I was younger. Sometimes when I go back to thinking of how awful I was back then I would call myself the little demon. But that was before I was medicated. My parents got me help when I was eleven. Why they waited so long, I will never know because I have asked them but would get no answer.
Reason two: People with Paranoid Schizophrenia typically have one form of delusions and one form of hallucinations. I do only have one type of delusion but three different types of hallucinations. The three types that I have are: visual, auditory, and tactile. Some days are a living nightmare or I feel like I am in hell(pardon my language). But like I posted, you just gotta take it one day at a time.
There have been some instances where I would be doing well and the thought of going off of my medications completely would run through my mind. I would love to not take any medications. I just think back and remember how much of a hell it is without medications. That would snap be back into the thought of getting off my medications would be a dream, but only a dream. I know that I will never get off of all my medications. I hope I have helped and if you need any more information or support, please don't hesitate to pm me.

[BestHoney]

I have disorganized schizophrenia.
And I suffer from optical illusions not delusions or hallucinations.

[Intempestivus]

AngelsDreadedFear

Aer Fixus

Experiencing more than one form of hallucinations is very common.

From my experiences, persons who are dealing with psychosis or schizophrenia (I can only speak from a paranoid-type view) are more likely than not lashing out at people because they are scared. Terrified would be a better word for it. People with schizophrenia are also not a danger to others most of the time - they are more likely to hurt themselves than others.

If your brother presents himself as a danger to himself or others, you could get him put into the hospital under the Mental Health Act, and the hospital will get him back on his medication.
(I don't know if where you live has an equivalent act or law, I'm from Canada so I'm just going off personal experience.)

[BestHoney]

rolleyes Kiss my a**.

Riay-Crushfist

honeybutterflies

I have disorganized schizophrenia.
And I suffer from optical illusions not delusions or hallucinations.

Oh yeah? Gheese... Your'e such a mutated freak!

[boqin]

lol You're pathetic

Riay-Crushfist

honeybutterflies

I have disorganized schizophrenia.
And I suffer from optical illusions not delusions or hallucinations.

Oh yeah? Gheese... Your'e such a mutated freak!