Help

Hi support people I'm new!

I am just hoping someone has some/any advice or info to help our family

I have a beautiful brother who has battled paranoid depression, anxiety (I think he's been diagnosed with schizophrenia - he doesn't talk about that) and

it first started over 20 years ago around 19 yo

In his early twenties there were a few years where he barely came out of his bedroom and was not functioning at all - he isolated himself completely from his friends and couldn't work

After years mum managed to get him to agree to see a psychiatrist and psychologist who helped and he managed to get on some medication (anti-depressants and an antipsychotic I believe ) which made a huge difference for him - at least from what we could tell

Certainly he still has suffered but he managed to get back to work, bought his own home - he is simply brave, courageous and amazing given what I believe he overcomes on a daily basis to do these things we others can take for granted

he has worked so hard and still is living in his own home and runs his own business- he is an inspiration. He just always tries to take every day as it comes and do his best.

In the last year there seems to have been a major setback in symptoms for him - everything seems escalated

he struggles with paranoia

I don't know if he actually hears voices but I am sure he has auditory hallucinations from the way he behaves and reacts to some social interactions and conversations as if he is hearing something not said or making something said into something with a hidden message / agenda

He tells me it has always been like this but it seems to us (family) that

it has most certainly peaked again over the last 12 months and he is really not in a good place

we can see he is in extreme pain and anguish and he has expressed this and asked for help

he went back to his psychiatrist a few months ago and did a voluntary few days in a clinic doing a course/ therapy workshop or something

he didn't really want to discuss any details with us about it

he came out earlier than expected and is not interested in going back to do this again - I think he feels it will make him worse and I am assuming is distrustful

He has been isolating himself from his friends even people he really liked and is even untrusting of us his immediate family members, which is so heartbreaking

There have been some violent outbursts although he manages to control himself physically for the most part

none of us know what to do to help

privacy seems to prevent us from getting any information from his drs (which I understand and respect) But what do we actually DO?

We have the most amazing parents and he has all the family support him - he is so cherished amd important to us all

it is so painful watching him suffer like this.

and we feel like we have nothing to offer

him with solutions

He gets angry/frustrated about questions regarding medication

he seems to think currently that he is privy to some 'truth' that none of us understand and that his thoughts are right and we are all either involved or clueless ( the two seem to change depending on the day and situation although it could just be all the time and sometimes he managed it better outwardly

he has a habit of getting agitated and seeming to hear something in basic conversations that are threatening - when he does express some of his thinking there is a mysterious 'they' in lots of his points - although nothing is properly explained

his general statements are often that 'one day we will see' There seems to be a very sinister undertone that he feels something bad is going to happen that's beyond any of our control although at times I also feel perhaps we the family are part of this sinister business in his thoughts too (again this seems to fluctuate)

I know we are not supposed to challenge his thinking / reality but how should we respond to some of his positions when our loyalty or love for him is being questioned. what is the right way to handle these moments and conversations with him?

he is the most courageous, loving, generous, kind soul. He is so lonely in this and it is heartbreaking. He has expressed to me at times that he just wants this part of his life to be over - he wants to be happy and 'normal' and have a partner and a family of his own

i just hate it ! It's all so cruel

neither me or my parents know where to turn to help him right now. He is a grown man and is still functioning to work - we respect his right to choose but how do we help?

is there anything anyone can offer as a pathway for conversation or assistance

thankyou in advance