Good article.
The study’s results sound like our forum: “Carers described well-recognised outcomes of importance, alongside more novel outcomes relating to: Safety (of the patient/others); insight (e.g. into non-reality of psychotic phenomena); respite from fear, distress or pain; socially acceptable behaviour; getting out of the house; attainment of life milestones; changes in personality and/or temperament; reduction of vulnerability to stress; and several aspects of physical health.”
We need more studies like this involving carers and folks with schizophrenia. My own personal experience with my daughter is that as I became more familiar with my daughter’s illness and her behavior I was able to see the see the reality of the disease. It’s fine to be optimistic about outcomes however I feel sz is a unique for each person struggling with this illness. Cookie cutter treatment doesn’t work. My daughter is now living in a woman’s shelter and just today I learned that she is in a emergency facility in my city designed specifically for folks with mental illness. This mean she is not taken to an emergency ward where she lingers without any treatment for a few days until a hospital bed is found or the hospital releases her from emergency.
My daughter’s illness works like clockwork. The medicine is okay but she’s never truly fine. Her cognitive abilities have deteriorated so much that I wonder about brain damage. About a week before she starts her menstrual cycle she becomes very paranoid, delusional, confused and fearful and will call an ambulance to pick her up. She feels safe only in a controlled setting.
Molly, I’m glad your daughter is in a dedicated facility.
It’s kind of shocking to me that safety is described as one of the “novel outcomes.” It’s the number one priority of families with people who have highly symptomatic, severe mental illness.
None of us can provide the safe and controlled settings some people with severe mental illness require for their health and survival. And those places don’t exist anywhere?
25% of people who develop schizophrenia do not recover significantly. Our families definitely need to be counted.