When our son was diagnosed as suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, we were clueless about the illness but years later, this is what we discovered. It is a complex mental disorder that makes it difficult for a person:
- To know the difference from real and unreal experiences.
- Think logically
- Have emotional responses the way other people do.
- Behave like his or her peers in social situations.
- To get help fast. Mental health professionals are not always sure what causes it.
- Certain environmental events may trigger this illness in people who are emotionally at risk.
- We were told that he was more likely to develop schizophrenia if he had a parent with the disease.
- Schizophrenia affects men and women equally and usually shows itself in the teen years or young adulthood but can begin later in life. I learned that it tends to begin later in women than in men.
WHAT WE BECAME AWARE OF:-
- That our son was very tense.
- He had difficulty sleeping.
- It was hard for him to concentrate.
- He showed a lack of emotion; a sort of flat effec
- He held strong beliefs that were not based on reality which his doctor called delusions.
- He heard and saw things that were not there; known as hallucinations.
- It was extremely difficult for him to pay attention. His thoughts seemed to jump between unrelated topics.
- His behavior had become bizarre.
- Friends visited and tried very hard, but eventually he became isolated socially.
- He was sure that people out there were trying to harm him, were following him, and even directing his thought processes.
- The most difficult thing for us to absorb was the fact that there were no medical tests to help with the diagnosis. Diagnosis is made after a psychiatrist interviews the individual and family members.
- “When did the symptoms begin?”
- “How has your son’s ability to function changed?”
- “Tell me something about his developmental background.”
- “I need to know about your family’s genetic history.”
- “Have any of the medications worked well?”
- “How about doing a brain scan?” my husband suggested.
- “A CT, an MRI or blood tests will only help to rule out the other disorders that have similar symptoms to schizophrenia,” the doctor said
- Anti-psychotic medications are the most effective treatment for schizophrenia. They actually change the balance of chemicals in the brain and can help control the symptoms.
- The problem is the side effects.
- We noticed that they acted as a sedative.
- There were times when our son complained of dizziness.
- He gained weight but at a later stage managed to lose it by walking and exercising.
- His movements slowed down; he was restless and often had tremors.
Both my husband and I were determined to beat ‘this thing’ that was controlling our son’s life and the following quotation is apt:
‘What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight – it’s the size of the fight in the dog.’ Dwight D. Eisenhower.