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Son (22) with schizophrenia

Son (22) with schizophrenia

Living with someone who suffers from schizophrenia is very difficult. Even medicated it seems he lives in a different world and stares a lot whilst smoking cigarettes like a steam train.
Sleeps during the day, spooks around at night.
Any advice about healthy diet, less coffee and smokes, is ignored.
He will never live a productive life.
We've lost family members close to us on the way because of his behaviour and them not understanding mental illness.
Ofcourse I worry about our future.
I need to be single as no other man can live with us.
I need to work full time to provide a roof over our heads and pay the bills. Without me, he'll be homeless, jobless and suicidal as his paranoia would kick in, specially when he thinks the meds are only given to him as he is a guinea pig and 'they' are trying to change his DNA...
I've always wanted children but no one never told me how tough it would be if a mental illness strikes the 'Brady bunch' family image with a thunderbolt.
A medal to anyone who cares for someone suffering mental illness.
They need all the help and support they can get. They deserve better too. Mental illness you don't see from the outside, my son looks like a healthy good looking young man but has no future. Maybe with support and someone pushing him out of his shell but some have tried and given up.
I have given up a marriage and another 7 years old relationship and noe bought a small unit to care for my son, indefinite. We have no other family here as Migrated here in 1987.

My love for my son is very deep and I am so proud of him he went to hospital last year and still takes his depot shot every month. However, I feel anxious and worry all the time. He has applied for DSP (disability pension) but he tells me if he gets rejected, and 'they' want him to work, he will stop the depot needle. It takes his motivation and energy away, He knows he can't work 8-5pm, neither with or without meds.
My good sense of humour is slowly fading but where there's life, there's hope, right?
Thanks for reading my story.

470 replies

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In response to: Son (22) with schizophrenia

Re: Son (22) with schizophrenia

hello @Former-Member

reading your response brings warmth to my heart.

always lovely and reassuring to read a post where there is some positive turn around happening.

this says a lot about you too lapses. You are a person living with hope.

hope is what we all need.

thank you for your warm words. xxxx

In response to: Son (22) with schizophrenia

Re: Son (22) with schizophrenia

hello @Grasshopper3

how are things with you and your son today?

the point that patient patient mentioned about looking distracted all of the time or spaced out makes sense to me. I spoke about symptoms with my psychiatrist and he mentioned the very same fact. That they have periods of the day where they are trying to deal with so many thoughts, voices, delusions making a noise at once. I can't begin to imagine how that would be to deal with. I am sure that is what is happening with my son in the evenings when he sends me urgent text messages.

I will try to be on here again before I leave on friday 26/5.

Should something happen please know that I am thinking of you and wish you a safe journey in June.

I am not returning until 21/7 possibly close to the same time as you.

I will look out for you and want to hear your news and progress of you both.

love to you both

mohill xxxxx

In response to: Son (22) with schizophrenia

Re: Son (22) with schizophrenia

@Former-Member, will you be unable to come online while you're away? Its a long time, two months. I hope it goes well. xox

In response to: Re: Son (22) with schizophrenia

Re: Son (22) with schizophrenia

hello @Former-Member

I am unsure what to expect until I get over there and dependent on whom I am staying with at the time. None of them know that I have a mental illness. They also don't know about my son. I have just said that he has chosen to move interstate and not divulge his whereabouts; we send text messages to and fro and he rings me as he doesnt answer if I ring.

In response to: Re: Son (22) with schizophrenia

Re: Son (22) with schizophrenia

@mohill, @lapses, @patientpatient, @Former-Member, @Shaz51

Everytime I mentioned SZ I could see he got annoyed. We have decided to call it: "colgate" as I was trying to think of another name whilst unpacking my shopping. I had toothpaste in my hand. I said I'm calling it COLGATE from now on, and we both had a laugh. Now we can have a bit of a giggle when IT comes up in conversation.

In response to: Re: Son (22) with schizophrenia

Re: Son (22) with schizophrenia

That's priceless @Grasshopper3 👍

I have a friend who had issues with an adult son being verbally aggressive - they got counselling and came up with the word "Batman" to call 'timeout' & defuse conflict - she said sometimes she even starts humming the Batman theme song which helps. Anything that works. Well done! 🙂

In response to: Re: Son (22) with schizophrenia

Re: Son (22) with schizophrenia


@Grasshopper3 wrote:

@mohill, @lapses, @patientpatient, @Former-Member, @Shaz51

Everytime I mentioned SZ I could see he got annoyed. We have decided to call it: "colgate" as I was trying to think of another name whilst unpacking my shopping. I had toothpaste in my hand. I said I'm calling it COLGATE from now on, and we both had a laugh. Now we can have a bit of a giggle when IT comes up in conversation.


So is the thread being changed to son22 with Colgate?

then my son has paranoid Colgate.he phoned me tonight warning me about adios, Asia, Feds, they keep interfering with his ph or Internet. He recd his new router but his internet is down. Actually when we were talking on phone I could hear interference buttons being pressed. I am believing some of his stuff.well sleep for me or try to haven't slept for about 4 nights

going to pictures with younger son tomorrow.

sleep well xxx

In response to: Son (22) with schizophrenia

Re: Son (22) with schizophrenia

@Former-Member
poor darling, sorry to hear you have trouble sleeping. That takes a lot out of you, feeling like a Zombie all day.
If hope you enoyed the movie, which one did you see?
Or did you fall asleep, happened to me few times. 😜

In response to: Son (22) with schizophrenia

Re: Son (22) with schizophrenia

@Former-Member@Darcy@Patientpatient@@Shaz51@lapses

I got home and son wanted to go for walk. I just got a long bear hug from him when we got back....
He had a bit of a rand about the meds don't help making it worse
I said it would be good to tell the psych this is valuable information: he could do something for you, like change the meds or increase or even taper it down. Great you told me this...
he had a head ache too and he took painkillers. He said I know now why dad liked painkillers so much, it slows my head down
I said I love you very much and I do all I can to keep you out of hospital as that's not a nice place. if you feel meds not working this is valuable information.
I thought while discussing: I hope he gets his needle tomorrow 😳
Then we ate some biscuits, gave him another hug, and went to bed.
The clinical nurse (who failed to show up last Friday) rang him and asked if he was home?
Son told me he said no sorry I'm not, as he didn't feel like seeing him.
Again I stayed positive and I said I understand you feel that way as it feels to me too he let you down last Friday. Son said he was sick and couldn't make it. Mmm why couldn't office ring my son and cancel?
To be continued
Xx

In response to: Re: Son (22) with schizophrenia

Re: Son (22) with schizophrenia

hello @Grasshopper3 @Former-Member@patientpatient

found this hadnt thought about it from this perspective.my sondoesnt smoke but I know that many people with this disorder do smoke

Cigarette Smoking in People With Schizophrenia

It’s prove to be clear that this may have consequences for the underlying neurobiology of the sickness and that significant cigarette smoking is related to this particular psychological disorder.

In individuals afflicted by schizophrenia, the speed of smoking is considered to be between two and four times. Most schizophrenics smoke powerful brands in relation to the normal smokers and take more smokes.

Specialists considered that nicotine functions as a kind of self medication for individuals experiencing schizophrenia, causing numerous favorable effects despite the negative effect of smoking on long-term health.

Various studies have supported this demonstrating that smoking cigarettes compared to the smokes of electronic cigarettes is related to a decrease in the negative symptoms of the psychological disorder including the dearth of social withdrawal, stress, and motivation. Specialists in schizophrenia consider that nicotine’s ability to improve dopamine levels in spaces of the brain involved in recognition and socializing with the individual’s surroundings causes this effect.

C........ that is thought to be a type of atypical antipsychotic drug that create a decrease in negative symptoms, action in a similar way. In the flip side, there’s no evidence that nicotine has an impact on positive symptoms of schizophrenia which affects abnormality in the affected individual’s content of idea. Additionally, if nicotine is removed from smokers with the mental disorder there’s no increase in these types of symptoms.

Decrease of schizophrenia treatment side effects is one reason behind the excessive smoking of schizophrenics. Rigidity and stiffness of motion are instances of disagreeable side effects of antipsychotic drugs. Additionally, nicotine has additionally been discovered to work on some types of mental function against the adverse side effects of antipsychotics drug.

Studies and researches reveal that these functions are developed by nicotine both together with the psychological disorder in smokers with schizophrenia and non smoking individuals. Nevertheless, individuals with schizophrenic symptoms typically show greater improvements in relation to the overall public. Additionally, there could be genetic differences that identify the degree to which an individual will be impacted by the higher nicotine consumption.

Given these negative effects of nicotine on an individual ‘s well-being, including the increased danger of cancer and cardiovascular disease, specialists consider there is an urgent requirement for treatments that offer some great benefits of nicotine with no dangers to long-term health.

this article was located on the "The Schizophrenia Fellowship of Australia"

contact in WA. There are other links on the above page.

Mental Illness Fellowship of WA

Level 3, 9 The Avenue, Midland WA
P.O. Box 1947, Midland WA 6936
Telephone: (08) 9237 8900
Email: info@mifwa.org.au
Office hours: Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.

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