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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by shareb on April 16, 2006, at 13:17:58
My son is 31 years old, has schziophrenia. He won't admit it, how can I make him understand it is not somthing horrible. What can I do to encourage him to get out, he rarely goes anywhere, what should I be doing to encourage him to find a hobby?
Posted by madeline on April 16, 2006, at 14:32:50
In reply to helping my son to understand his illness, posted by shareb on April 16, 2006, at 13:17:58
Hi! Welcome to babble!
I think you need to watch out for depression comorbid with schizophrenia. It occurs in about 1/3 of all cases.
First, you need to talk to his doctor about that possibility.
Second, once you have ruled that out, I think the best thing you can do for your son is to let him decide for himself what he wants to do.He's 31 years old and functional I assume, so really the decision is his. You can open the door, but he has to walk out himself.
Posted by Phillipa on April 16, 2006, at 15:04:00
In reply to Re: helping my son to understand his illness, posted by madeline on April 16, 2006, at 14:32:50
Does he live with you and are you sure he is taking his meds? Usally his doctor can find a group to keep him busy during the day with others like him. By the way when I worked in Psych schizophenics were my favorite patients. Once their meds are stabalizedd they are very sweet and kind. But the meds do make them want to sleep all the time. Love Phillipa
Posted by special_k on April 16, 2006, at 20:54:38
In reply to helping my son to understand his illness, posted by shareb on April 16, 2006, at 13:17:58
Hey. I tend to think that labels aren't so helpful. What does it mean to say that someone has schizophrenia? Different people with the same dx can be very different people...
Maybe ease off on the 'schizophrenia' side of it and worry about him coming to accept his symptoms.
What kinds of symptoms does he have?
Does he get hallucinations? Delusions? People can learn something about the kinds of hallucinations / delusional thinking that they have and can start to see that they are getting into a period of illness again. It can be HARD though. I've met a few people with schizophrenia and while they were able to talk about the hallucinations / delusions AS hallucinations / delusions in a period of wellness when they were okay, once they started to have an episode... They didnt' see them as symptoms of illness anymore. And they had immense difficulty in being able to say 'I think I'm getting sick again'. That can be really very hard to spot.
Other people I knew... Never did think their delusions were part of an episode. Not even when the doctors thought they were doing ok. It is a hard one...
> What can I do to encourage him to get out, he rarely goes anywhere, what should I be doing to encourage him to find a hobby?
That can be hard... Loss of motivation for those kinds of things can be part of it... I think... Some kind of structure / support tends to help. Can you go with him? Get him into it that way? Or pick up some kind of hobby with him?
Are there any support groups near where you live. I don't know where you are. Is there a 'schizophrenia fellowship' in your area? They typically run programs for family members (and consumers) to help them understand / come to terms with things. And they typically run groups like a gardening group, a music group, a poetry group, an art group etc. Sports groups too. There might be community programs in your area where he can go and do activities during the day and meet people and stuff...
Posted by Phillipa on April 16, 2006, at 21:54:09
In reply to Re: helping my son to understand his illness » shareb, posted by special_k on April 16, 2006, at 20:54:38
Special-k I'm not disagreeing with you but there are a lot of types of schizophrenia. I communicate now with someone on the internet who is schizophenic and is very aware of his delusions like thinking he sees grey aliens since he was a kid and rationally knows they are not real and hears yelling at him all the time from his grandmother who is not there. He knows she's not there. He is on meds but having a lot of trouble regulating them. He has a family history of this disorder his grandmother and his aunty both have it too. But he is taking online couses to me a solicitor in Sydney. He does venture out and becomes very frightened. He goes with a trusted friend of he family. He feels safe with him but still thinks people want to kill him. Very interlligent with good insight into his illness. He likes knowing his diagnosis cause to him anyway that explains the voice in his head and the thought that aliens are after him and people want to kill him when out. But he is the sweetest person I know and always listens to me and tries to help me. With the new meds he can live a normal life once the right doesages and combos are right. He knows this and is grateful for the knowlege it helps him cope.Just my experience with a friend I talk with on the internet. Love Jan
Posted by special_k on April 16, 2006, at 22:03:07
In reply to Re: helping my son to understand his illness » special_k, posted by Phillipa on April 16, 2006, at 21:54:09
> Special-k I'm not disagreeing with you but there are a lot of types of schizophrenia.
of course. that was one of my points...
> I communicate now with someone on the internet who is schizophenic and is very aware of his delusions like thinking he sees grey aliens since he was a kid and rationally knows they are not real and hears yelling at him all the time from his grandmother who is not there. He knows she's not there.
yes.
that reminds me...
there is er...
i think it is called
'hearing voices'
it is a consumer movement. people who come to some kind of understanding on voices...
i hear voices...
and yeah you need to some to some kind of idea as to who / what they are...
there are groups in the uk i think
online groups...
i think...
sorry not so much help...Nice to hear about your friend Phillipa :-)
Nice to know that there is hope for people to live happy / productive lives.
But yeah... It can be hard to figure what to do to help someone sometimes..
Posted by Phillipa on April 16, 2006, at 22:11:43
In reply to Re: helping my son to understand his illness, posted by special_k on April 16, 2006, at 22:03:07
Listen, Listen, Listen. And then either if you know the answer tell them factually. If not say I don't know the answer to that can I get back to you I need to ask someone who knows more about this issue than I do. People love to talk about themselves. It's amazing what you learn by listening. Love Phillipa
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