Looking to set up a support system

Hey @dwg ,

Welcome to the forums. Thank you for sharing a little about your brother and his situation.

Seeing that your brother is linked in with public mental health where he is, do you think he could be linked in with public mental health in Melbourne?

I'm in Melbourne, and all my support has been through the public mental health system. I know the system isn't 'perfect', but i can honestly say I'm here because of it. They did an amazing job and supported me over years - to the point that I don't need them anymore.

The other option is, does he have private health insurance for an inpatient stay?

Unfortunately, we can't actually recommend psychiatrists etc on this site as it can open a can of worms for a peer-led site.

I hope your brother gets the support he needs. Good on your for taking him under your wing.

Hey @dwg

Thanks for asking. I was married to someone who was diagnosed with schizophrenia and I have some tips on what worked for both of us.

The first thing I did was after a small amount of time, I applied for carers pension and living with person with a MH issue. Through Centrelink. I think it's cashwise tiny but I think it filled petrol for the car each fortnight.

Today we are divorced but as there is still a lot of care ,/ friendship my now husband and I are I guess - I'm still his next of kin and we are both his unpaid carers.

When we met - I saw a MH specialist in the local - for me medical women's services of Western Australia.

Get a great diagnosis that worked for us.

I put on the wall a poster which wrote

keep ( my name ) safe.

1. Stop.

2. Look in the mirror.

3. Brush your hair

4. Look back in the mirror

5. Have a good hair day !!

And

A timetable stuck on the fridge

Try and keep to the minute of what we did during the day.

timetable.

Monday to Friday

7am. Wake up.

7.15. Have a coffee and breakfast

7.45. Read paper finish coffee and breakfast

8am shower

8.15 am get dressed

8.30 am do the dishes

And so on for every day

This is tough however the timetables kept him and me good.

Daily timetables and routines can be really good for others who are diagnosed with schizophrenia because as I learned, they help to:
Provide Predictability in their chaotic minds. It makes the day less overwhelming.
Reduce Stress:

Find a good interpretation of what psychosis means.

What fits for you and your brother is not going to work for everyone. What works for me and my ex husband is -

"Psychosis means you live in a different world. "

Like our interpretation of psychosis, the poster worked for us. It's very individual and exciting realising what works for the both of you.

Also may I warn you. If your going food shopping have a list. Little things like that give more calm and predictability.

I made more mistakes than you can believe. Forgive yourself.

Hope this helps....

Hi @dwg,

Thank you for sharing — I'm sorry that your brother has been having such a difficult time, but I think that's lovely that you want to help support him in his recovery.

How are things going for you and your brother this week?

As @tyme has mentioned previously, we aren't able to help with any recommendations for psychiatrists, but you may have some luck using the Your Health in Mind directory. I can see you posted this a couple of weeks ago, but I thought I'd still mention it just in case.

Good luck with everything moving forward, your brother is lucky to have you in his corner.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Hey @dwg ,

How are you going?

Hey @defaultusername !