A person who is suffering from schizophrenia has a very confusing disease. The symptoms that come along with schizophrenia are very severe, and a person who is suffering from them does not understand what is happening to their body. They do not believe that they are exhibiting any odd behaviors. Sometimes, because of the fact that they do not think that anything wrong is happening, they do not want to get any treatment, and it can be difficult to get them to come to terms with their illness. Although schizophrenia can be a difficult illness for people to deal with, there are a lot of things you can do to help a person with schizophrenia. They will need help in order to get through their illness and try and live a life as normal as possible.
One of the first things you should do when you find out a person has schizophrenia is to remember that you cannot cure them. Schizophrenia is an illness that comes along with causes that are out of a person’s control. No matter how hard you try, the symptoms may get worse. You need to be as patient as you possibly can. If you ever feel resentment towards a person, you may be giving too much. Make sure that you are taking care of yourself, and that you have a team of people that are backing you up. Schizophrenia needs a lot of people in order to make things work. You need a doctor who can prescribe medications, a therapist that the patient can go to, as well as people at home to make sure that they get their medications and treatment, even if they resist. Make sure to take care of yourself before you try and take care of anyone else. Make sure you have a number of people to help out if anyone gets too overwhelmed.
Make sure to educate yourself about the medications that the person who has schizophrenia is taking. If the medications are taken with anything else, there can be very bad side effects. Always ask the doctor what medications are being taken and what should be avoided during the time they are taking a certain medication. Also make sure that they are getting their medication. If they do not take their medication, symptoms can come back and they can go into relapse. Also, track how their progress with the medication. See how their symptoms are progressing with different medications, and talk to your doctor about this progress to see if the medication needs to be lessened, increased or changed.
Make an emergency list of all the people, doctors, and therapists. This way, if there is ever an emergency, people will know the phone number, addresses and other information to take care of them. Also include a list of medications that the person is taking, so emergency contacts can know what they are taking. Also include any allergies the person has, so there is never a reaction.
Make sure to have a big support system for the person who is suffering from this illness. It is very difficult for everyone involved, but if there are loved ones surrounding the person, and a great medical team, there is hope for a bright future with schizophrenia.