I’m just curious how the day goes for most people? My daughter uses her iPod as a lifeline. She almost always has it in her hand. She browses Pinterest and watches educational videos, mainly. She is a writer and spends some time doing that as well. She spends probably 75% of her time in her room alone. She seems to be becoming less and less tolerant of being able to be around other people. She hasn’t left the house in three weeks, other than to go to the doctor or a family dinner at her grandparents’.
How much time does your loved one spend at home? Do they interact with others much?
The funny thing is that when he’s acutely psychotic, he looks for interaction with other people - not always in a good way. I can picture him standing on a soapbox, beside a city street, calling out the end is near, with a sign to that effect for good measure.
When he’s not as sick, or even what counts as well for him, his social anxiety kicks in & he isolates. That’s where he is now. Yesterday, I was trying to talk him into going out with me and told him it would be fun. He said, it’s not fun for me - I have to hide. Meaning, if we’re in traffic he doesn’t want to be seen, and if we stop at a store & he can’t go in, he’s hiding in the car. And, it’s very visible that he’s hiding. Sometimes, he’ll even lay down in the back seat.
When he’s at home, and it’s just the two of us, he seems better. Right now, he’s sleeping a lot because they’re still getting his meds right and that’s better than not sleeping at all. He listens to music, looks at things on the computer, watches stuff on Netflix - cable TV usually makes him paranoid. I think it’s the commercials.
If I ask him to do something or help me, he usually will. So, I’m making a more conscious effort to do that.
My son also has had long periods where he only leaves the house for doctor’s appointments. At least you got a family dinner.
My son watches a lot of TV and occasionally listens to his music. He smokes outdoors (because I am a non smoker) sometimes with the next door neighbor. To get him outside more, we walk around the neighborhood together every day (unless I am under the weather) sometimes we go to the gym if it is raining, but not as often as we use to. Once in awhile he will venture to Starbucks or Taco Ball alone (both less that a 10 minute walk from our house). Every few days he will help me with a couple of chores on his own, dishes or vacuuming. He takes out the trash and handles our recycling. If I did not encourage him to go with me, he would stay home every day. He insists he does not care at all about socializing with others and in his mind he feels like he socializes enough already. I am an introvert myself so I watch for my own isolation as well as my sons. We go to summer festivals together and the Ohio State Fair, it helps us both get out into the world,and we can leave when the crowds get too much. We just saw a Cirque Du Soleil show this week, the tickets were a birthday present for my son, we both sat mesmerized the entire show, it was amazing and enjoyable. We always sit on the end so we can get up and out easily.
Our son has schizophrenia and spends a lot of his time in his room listening to cd’s, dvd’s, and reading. He even eats his meals most of the time in his room. He is currently off his meds though, and hopefully, after he gets back on them, he will be more sociable. He also doesn’t like to go out except for our weekly shopping trip.
My adult son lived with his grandmother and spent 95% of his time with her. They had a daily routine that included walking in the park with the family dog and shopping. For the past year he has been living in a board & care facility that has 45 residents. My son has his meals and engages with the other residents. My son likes living in the board & care facility as he has the opportunity to interact with other people without making much effort.
When he is able to do so - my son surfs the web, he’s heavily interested in politics. He plays his guitar and video games. He likes to exercise (yoga) and sees a therapist once a week.
When the psychosis is bad, he restlessly gravitates between the tv, his computer, video games, the kitchen and laying down on his bed. He can’t settle into any of them.
When his psychosis overwhelms him, he can’t do any of those things. He just keeps eating and trying to fall asleep until it passes.
Right now my son can’t watch tv, play games, read or anything. He is too distracted. He paces, laughs and talks to himself all day. He does love music and listens to the same song over and over. He does love drives and soda. We will usually drive to get one. He will go anywhere simply because it’s a chance for a drive. He will walk with me if we drive somewhere to do it so we do that. We go to Chuck E Cheese and he will play skee ball. The days are long home with him because its very hard for him to talk at all. It takes at least 4 times asking him a question before he answers. Hes so distracted.
I appreciate everyone’s input. I know it’s really hard to find a “normal” with this illness since it affects each person so differently, but it feels good to hear that my daughter isn’t far out of line with others.
My son watches certain programs on tv that he likes and sports. He does go out on his own to get food, cause he has his own car. But will go out with me to do errand. And family functions.very rarely does he go out with the one friend he has left. It is what it is. Suffers from depression so sometimes just sleeps.
My husband when he’s on meds like he is now likes to listen to music or talk to his voices (which are friendly now). Alll day. He’ll sing along with the music, sometimes dance with me. Sometimes he’ll want me to read to him, but its hard for him to stay focused. He usually likes going out for all meals. He rarely talks to me except to say where he’d like to go or if he needs something. He’ll answer if someone initiates the conversation, but he won’t add to it to continue it. Its reassuring to hear that he’s not too different except for his enjoyment of his voices.