I just need someone to talk to when things are overwhelming me. My sister has been ill for a long time since her late teens and early twenties. Sometimes I just feel this lump in my throat all day like I am going to cry. I told her doctor she is talking to I guess someone she sees in very abusive ways all the time. I can’t hear the TV over her talking. She will be quiet for a few minutes only if I give her a cigarette. I have no one to watch her so I can have a few hours to myself. I asked if there was some way to shut her endless talking down for a bit and he said “well we could sedate her”. She is 58 now and been on every med you could think of and nothing has helped in the least. I told her doctor there was no point in trying to sedate her because it would only work one or two days and then it would quit working. When I took her out of the personal care home she was in I don’t know why she was getting so skinny but she looked like a holocaust victim. Well she hasn’t stopped eating since. She now weighs a whopping 166lbs. She seems to be addicted to eating. She is also addicted to washing her hands and playing in water. You can’t leave bath foam or soap in the shower she will use every drop in one shower. My room looks like a store because I have had to put all cleaning fluids soaps detergent and anything she could possibly get a hold of cause she will rub it in her hair or splash it on her. Are these things that every one who has a schizophrenic relative deals with or is her case more unusual than most
In a way, she is not aware of you. She is in a world of bad self talk and all you can do is love her until she realizes it. But anyone working for the mentally ill have a limit and all I can say is don’t take the difficulties personally, take very good care of yourself, and keep on truckin’.
Is getting her readmitted to the personal care home an option? That’s where I’d want to be if I was in her situation.
You can come here and talk anytime!
Have you called anyone with social services? Also try NAMI.org to find a support group in your area–they can be very supportive, and may be able to help you find some relief.
If you think she needs hospiatlisation, you could contact her doctor. Also, Id be tolerant and caring as this illness is an awful affliction.