Hi,
I am very concerned about my daughter who was diagnosed 6 years ago with A-typical Schizophrenia. “Lucy” is in her early 20’s and has been living at home with her father and I for the past 6 years. Lucy actually takes care of us - makes dinners, cleans, grocery shops - almost everything because she wanted to, we have never ‘made’ her do anything. Lucy does have signs that prove she is sick. Anyway, about 3 weeks ago she started to decline meaning she lays on the couch or on her bed almost all day. She does fight tears at this time too. Lucy has never discussed anything about her illness with us. She has always kept her feelings inside. So now my beautiful daughter just lays there in silence watching TV or uses her laptop. People have always said “she looks normal to me” although she was diagnosed with the mildest form of schizophrenia. SO, I could go on and on. I hope someone with experience can suggest something I could do for her (or what not to do). Lucy does go regularly to a psychiatrist, and a counselor and takes her meds FYI. Lucy is rapidly losing weight at this time also. : (
This must be hard hope you are okay I’d suggest talking to her, often people don’t realise quite how much they are slipping particularly if she’s losing weight. If you know her counsellor I’d maybe bring it up if you don’t get anywhere with Lucy xx all the best 
I know with me, I have to have some sort of goal or I lose interest in life. It doesn’t have to be anything big. Last week I went through 10 years of my parent’s old files and shredded thousands of documents. I felt good about it. Another week I repotted plants and cleaned out the shed. This week I’m going to focus on the yard. I also like writing poetry, gardening, walking, creating art, and cooking. While it keeps me busy, it keeps my mind active.
These may not be things that you find exciting, but for me, it gives me a reason to get out of bed.
Another suggestion might be for her to come on here and meet people. Have you talked to her about that?
Thanks for your comment. I have thought about contacting her counselor - maybe I will.
Lucy may express herself on forums already. I hope so. I am also going to give thought to things she could do that interest her. Thanks for your comment. 
I can’t imagine she would be suffering the same side effects as me and you say her sz is a mild form which is definately positive, this is describing me to a tee but I’m a 22 year old man, it sounds like depression.
Im no doctor but it sounds like depression. Have you tried talking to her about that possibility?
I really don’t mean to be nosey but do you know what meds she’s on?
I was on risperidone, it has a particularly strong affinity to the happiness chemicals in your brain, so it’s extra hard to pull yourself out of depression and has been known to have some pretty knarley sexual side effects on men and women which are particularly difficult for anyone to talk about. Hope this helps
She might be dealing with mild depression which could lead to severe if not detected or treated promptly. My sister was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and manic depression when she was 17. Now she is 55. I think schizophrenia and depression are very much intertwined. How could you not be depressed when you are suffering from any type of mental illness. I think the best thing to do right now is to stay calm and observe with keen eyes . Find out discreetly if she is being honest with her psychiatrist and informing him/her of her current state. If you feel that her psychiatrist is not aware of her current state, which is most unlikely, you should contact her psychiatrist and articulate your daughter’s current state immediately.
I know Seroquel and Cymbalta for sure. I believe she takes several more. It’s hard, she hides everything.
I do agree, I should make sure her doctor knows. Thanks so much for your comment.
Yes, she said she is very sad and depressed.
- Get a copy of this book and read it and have their families read it, as well.
http://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Schizophrenia-6th-Edition-Family/dp/0062268856
. - Get properly diagnosed by a board-certified psychopharmacologist who specializes in the psychotic disorders. One can find them at…
Find Top Psychiatrists by State. and Find Psychiatrists, Psychiatric Nurses - Psychology Today
. - Work with that “psychiatrist” (or “p-doc”) to develop a medication formula that stabilizes their symptoms sufficiently so that they can tackle the psychotherapy that will disentangle their thinking.
. - The best of the psychotherapies for that currently include…
DBT – What is Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)? – Behavioral Tech
MBSR – http://www.mindfullivingprograms.com/whatMBSR.php
MBCT - Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy: theory and practice - PubMed
ACT – ACT | Association for Contextual Behavioral Science
10 StEP – Pair A Docks: The 10 StEPs of Emotion Processing
. - the even newer somatic psychotherapies like…
MBBT – An Introduction to Mind-Body Bridging & the I-System – New Harbinger Publications, Inc
SEPT – Somatic experiencing - Wikipedia
SMPT – Sensorimotor psychotherapy - Wikipedia
. - or standard CBTs, like…
REBT – Rational emotive behavior therapy - Wikipedia
Schematherapy – Schema therapy - Wikipedia
Learned Optimism – Learned optimism - Wikipedia
Standard CBT – http://www.beckinstitute.org/what-is-cognitive-behavioral-therapy/About-CBT/252/
. - If you/she/he needs a professional intervention to get through treatment resistance, tell me where you live, and I will get back to you with leads to those services.
. - Look into the RAISE Project at Google.