My sister has sz, I am nearing wits end

Hi Littlejoe,
I’m the kid sister of a man who was diagnosed with undifferentiated SZ when I was a kid. My older brother had many rough years fighting for stability. I know your most likely angry, hurt, and I’m sure a lot of stuff you wished you never had to go through, you’ve been there.

Something that helped me get over my hurt feeling and really start to help my sibling was getting a good therapist who knew something about SZ so I could get out my hurt feelings without feeling guilty, and I could learn a little something about this disease.

The part I highlighted from your post, to you I’m sure feels like, “what the H was that about…” But the fact your sister calmed down, came back and tried to interact after that is a big thing. She probably changed the subject because she most likely figured she over reacted. My brother will do this some times, I don’t dwell on it when he comes back and changes the topic, he feels bad enough for this brain glitch. So, picking up and moving on…

Or even if she had no insight to that, she came back and gave it another try to interact. That’s a big thing. Sometime and it’s hard to do, I know. But sometime you just have to let go of what JUST happened. It’s sort of like, “Ok, that just sucked, but he/she is back willing to try again so… Take two and action.”

You need someone to talk to. It sounds like you still care about her, but it sounds like your having a hard time holding on to this friendship. There are SZ sibling support groups. I got directed to mine through a therapist. NAMI website has resources listed and I always find that knowing what is and isn’t SZ is a huge help when dealing with a sibling.

When you say your parents are traditional, I don’t know if that means they deny your sisters condition so getting any form of help isn’t an option. Or if they just don’t want to talk about it. I wish I had more info or more ideas for you.

I am so glad your on this site. Keep learning, and I hope you can keep that friendship. Because if she can stabilize, having you as a friend will be a huge benefit to you both.