Hi. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to help your young adult child with lack of insight into their illness so they can begin to get their life back?
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Proper medication and working with a therapist are going to be your best bet.
**That is a hard one! Maybe check back on some old posts on the news section here, or other stories in this section. There are probably a lot of good answers on how to deal with that on the web. I can give you my experience.
I really dont know how much insight my son has ever had-he has always been quiet about these things-he was also doing some pretty bad drugs. He was diagnosed at 19. He has never been med-compliant. He still is not. He has been through some very rough experiences and still never hit "bottom" so to speak. He is 38 now, has been off meds for 6 months. The way Im talking to him now is a lot different-and Im trying to let him figure this out himself. I believe this is the first time he has experienced his symptoms without meds, or drugs...and no one forcing him into anything. In my experience, nothing I did has ever brought insight to him. Stepping out of the way may be the answer ( I hope!) Im not too far away though… **
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Bridge comes is right.
When I first came to this forum I was severely delusional and I didn’t accept that until I read posts of others having symptoms exactly like mine.
I spent days reading posts going back yrs and making relations between myself and others has changed my life.
I hear voices and it’s my belief that the chemistry of the brain changes so when I’m in a delusion episode it literally feels in real because along with the delusion I get a pressure in my forehead.
But because I’ve confirmed that others are just like me I’m able to ignore the voices and delusion most of the time.
I meant bridgecomet
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i have a similar experience with my older sibling. I have suffered all my life and my entire family has suffered because my mother wont admit she has a sick son. My brother has been diagnosed schizophrenic many years ago. I had to deal with alcohol abuse drug abuse delusions the embarrasment of the stories and having to admit that that is my unmedicated sick brother. My mother will forever blame it on the drugs. He wont get help. Hes self medicates, hes scary hes armed and hes very sick and still making up these wild stories but i cant even get mad at him because he believes them. I am very embarrassed to even say some of these wild delusions. It has affected my life my entire families and its broken up the family. Living with him in unbearable and very scary and i dont know where to turn or what to do. please help with advice.
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what do you do if they have tried to commit suicide have taken drugs and alcohol to the point of having a liver transplant. the mds have diagnosed the person. they wont admit it and they are in denial and im petrified and i dont know what to do. My mother will forever deny it and its all on me. please help
Anosognosia is hard… This article explains it well.
If he is armed, he needs to be in the hospital. You should probably call the police and let them know the situation. Doesnt sound like he will do this on his own. He is a danger to himself and others. As for you, I would not stay there. You cant do anything about your mom. Even if it is just drugs ( and it`s probably both ) you should not live there under those circumstances.
Get whoever you can on board and get the police or CIT team to admit him.
Try NAMI.com to get some support and advice…
Good luck…that situation does not sound good to me…
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I was going to say the same thing, that the authorities need to be involved.
@bridgecomet, your son was diagnosed at 19, and he’s 38 now. That’s almost twenty years. Has he lived with you most of the time? If you don’t mind my asking…
**No problem asking.
He lived with me a few times-for short periods, but it never worked out. For the most part, he has been with his dad a few times, once with my mom, hospitals, jails, on the streets, friends, transition houses…
He has been really tough. He has boundary problems, doesn`t follow any rules. When he was on drugs, he stole from everyone.
**
There are two very good books that I believe are a must for anyone who has a loved one with schizophrenia. Dr. Torrey’s “Surviving Schizophrenia,” 6th Edition. The other book deals with anosognosia, by Dr. Amadore, “I Am Not Sick, I Don’t Need Help!” Also 6th Edition. I have both. You can find these books online easily. I bought mine from Amazon.com. I hope this will help. It’s a terrible disease. I don’t know who suffers more, I’m sure the loved one does, but we family members, we mothers especially, suffer terribly too. Another book is The Ripple Effect, something like that, try Googling it. It addresses how schizophrenia in the family has a ripple effect and how each family member is affected in some way, and differently for each. It’s a journey. I believe it’s a journey of pure love. It must be love. It wouldn’t be so painful otherwise. Does that make sense? My son was diagnosed at age 25. He is now 29. He was always a good little boy and he was a good teen and young adult, even when we knew something had gone horribly awry, he really wasn’t angry, violent or threatening until about a year before his first break! During that year, his behavior became more and more strange and his hygiene became a serious problem because he would not shower! Long story short (maybe lol!) he was involuntarily committed because he was a danger to himself and others. For one month. He has since been on invega sustenna, a monthly injection. I am very sad, with no end in sight to this heartbreak, and this might sound terrible but sometimes I think if he would only piss me off by being rude to me or difficult, or whatever!! Then maybe I wouldn’t feel so very sad …sad for him…and sad for me too. But really, I know I am blessed that we haven’t been through the horror. I just wish I could stop grieving.