SCHIZOPHRENIA AWARENESS

My dad suffered from schizophrenia and I'm sharing in honor of Schizophrenia Awareness Day and in hopes that severe mental health challenges are more openly talked about. There should be less shame around our loved ones having what should be considered as a brain disorder that affects about 24 million (or 1 in 300) people, according to the World Health Organization. 

It's one of the most difficult things to deal with as the person may not be ready to admit that they need help/ treatment or the illness itself keeps them from believing they need to. 

So what can you do if you have a loved one suffering with schizophrenia? 

While you can't force an adult to get treatment if they're not a harm to themselves or others and it may seem hopeless at times, there are things you can do and am sharing some resources below. 

1. Educate Yourself 

I recently found an excellent podcast called "Inside Schizophrenia" and both hosts live with mental illnesses - one has schizophrenia and the other has bipolar disorder and they interview others living with mental health disorders and medical professionals. There are many books out there as well. 

2. Join a Support Group 

NAMI (the National Alliance on Mental Illness) has many support groups and resources across the nation. The Houston division can be found here https://www.namigreaterhouston.org/ 

3. Talk to a Mental Health Professional

Your loved one may not agree to see a therapist/psychiatrist but you can see one yourself and ask them for their advice. 

4. Ask Your Loved One Questions 

I got these from the Inside Schizophrenia podcast mentioned above. They're meant to be asked when your loved one is not in crisis. 

• What evidence do you need to be convinced that you have a disorder? 

• If you accept the diagnosis, what do you think will happen?

• What are you afraid will happen if you get help? 

5. Emergency Detention Order

If your loved one is a harm to themselves or others, then you can request for a peace officer to take them to a mental health hospital for an evaluation. The hold is for 48 hours. If you need to call 911, be sure to ask for a Crisis Intervention Team officer from the Houston Police Department’s Mental Health Unit who is trained to deal with those suffering from mental illness. More details on the process can be found here.

These resources however, are not a guarantee and your loved one still may refuse help and you have to prepare yourself for that and what the outcomes may be. It's important to remember that as with any situation in life, you can only control yourself and not anyone else. Knowing and accepting that has brought me peace throughout the extremely difficult times of being the child of a mentally ill parent. 

I'm sure there are more resources out there so if you have more, please share. The more information and discussion around these issues, the better support for us and our loved ones 💛

RESOURCES 

• Inside Schizophrenia Podcast https://psychcentral.com/blog/is 
• Schizophrenia Books https://amzn.to/3BQbsXv 
• NAMI https://www.nami.org/Home
• NAMI Houston https://www.namigreaterhouston.org/
• Emergency Mental Health Care https://probatecrt3.harriscountytx.gov/Documents/Emergency%20Mental%20Health%20Care.pdf

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