Our middle daughter has schizophrenia. Lately, I’ve noticed that most of her symptoms of paranoia seem to be centered around our youngest daughter, her little sister. She gets worried about different scenarios where her sister could be hurt, and often has vision-like disturbances that are very upsetting to her where she sees a “vision” of something terrible happening to her sister.
Has this happened to anyone else? Is it something I should be worried about? I don’t think she would hurt her sister, but this odd focus on one family member kind of worries me.
@TotesMaGoats If it were me I would talk to the psychiatrist about it. He/She will know if it is a symptom that can be controlled with maybe a slight tweak in the medication or if it is a benign behavior and not to worry.
Yes - I’ve seen this too. Generally - if the paranoia is about the person potentially being harmed, its probably only bad for the person who has the paranoia because it causes them undue stress and anxiety. That is - as long as the person has no past history of violence towards anyone (e.g. where she might perceive someone as being out to get the younger sister - and because of that lash out pro-actively against that person she suspects as going to harm her younger sister.
But - the stress that it causes the person with the delusion is bad because the high ongoing cortisol and glucocorticoids (stress hormones) circulating in her body are very bad for her longer term.
I would really make sure to work with her doctor to make sure that they understand the full nature of the problem - and back it up with writing if they are not being proactive and helping resolve the delusions.
Here is some reading about how to get the best care for your daughter:
Thank you for the replies and the links. I will follow up with her care provider. I am definitely trying to stay on top of her stress levels. It’s very difficult, because the schizophrenia creates its own stress and then is exacerbated by the stress it creates. A vicious cycle.