Experiences
Real life experiences my family and I had
My grandmother suffers from hebephrenic schizophrenia, a common type of schizophrenia. But my grandmother, at first, never only suffered from hebephrenic schizophrenia. She was at first diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and hebephrenic schizophrenia. But as time progress on she is diagnosed only with hebephrenic schizophrenia. People with hebephrenic schizophrenics have disorganized behavior and thoughts without purpose and have short-lasting delusions and hallucinations. When my grandma gets sick from hebephrenic schizophrenia, she expresses disorganized behavior, disorganized speaking, trouble sleeping, aggression, has paranoia, and emotions. In which the type of treatment she receives is medication, hospitalization, and therapy. And the two types of medication she uses are Fluphenazine and Trazodone. Fluphenazine is an antipsychotic medication. Fluphenazine treats symptoms like hallucinations, delusions, and hostility expressed in schizophrenia and psychotic patients (Medline Plus). My grandmother uses Fluphenazine to help stabilize her psychosis and takes one tablet two times per day. Trazodone is an antidepressant medication. Trazodone treats symptoms like depression, anxiety, a combination of depression and anxiety, low mood, poor sleep, and poor concentration (NHS). My grandmother uses Trazodone to help her go to sleep and be calmer.
She stated that the hardships of having to deal with someone with Schizophrenia are, "You cannot depend on the person because you don't always know how they will behave the next day."
She stated that, "The hardships of living with someone who has schizophrenia is having patience. Her mood swings and her non-stop talking is very frustrating. There are times when I don't want to be in the same room as her."
She stated that the hardships of having to deal with someone with Schizophrenia are that, "It's exhausting, fearful, worrisome, dangerous, and time consuming. "
He stated that the hardships of having to deal with someone with Schizophrenia are the, "Emotional distress and the hardships of living a peaceful life, I felt insecure when I was young around my mother. Also being verbally abused."
She stated that, "My childhood with having a parent with schizophrenia meant that I was unsure of my mother's mood. If she was happy I sometimes thought she was going through a psychotic episode all because her medication always made her drowsy. Until today if she is happy I wonder if she is genuinely happy or if she is not well. It was hard also because I could not rely on my mother. She was barely around. At times I wouldn't be picked up from school because she was not around and I would wait in the school for hours until my father could pick me up."
She stated that, "My childhood at home was dysfunctional because my mother was in and out of the hospitals. When my mom was in the hospital and my dad was working we took care of ourselves. My older sister would cook meals for us and I would be responsible for cleaning the house. We had to grow up fast and take responsibility for the duty an adult had to do. We went through traumas, there were times when my dad would have to call the cops to pick my mother up because she would become very violent. Also, ASC was always in my house checking up on us. It was uncomfortable having a social worker coming into my house and all of us going to meetings regarding my mother's stability."
She stated that, "It was a difficult upbringing because we were worried that ACS would remove us from our home. They were going to separate us in the foster system. We learned to lie to ACS about the dynamics of our family. Father alcoholic and mother been a physical and mentally abuser. "
He stated that, "I felt afraid of being around my mother because she was verbally abusive, she was violent towards her siblings, and my father. Also aggressive towards her parents. She always made me and my siblings feel unsafe around her because she had unpredictable mood swings and behavior."
She stated that, "I would like people to know that having a parent or knowing someone with this mental disease can be tough. But we need to understand that they are suffering more than we are and we should try to be more kind. It's unfortunate what they go through and their thinking process doesn't make things easier."
She stated that, "It is not the person's fault that they have schizophrenia. They need a lot of positive support and try to be patient. It is understandable that there will be times when you won't want to help, we aren't perfect."
She wanted people to know that, "Schizophrenia doesn't only affect the individual, it also affects the family."
He stated that ,"I would like to let them know that people who have this mental disease need alot of love and support. Also they themselves would needs emotional support. The person with this disease has to know their trigger what sets them to relapse and know how to counter it with proper medications and therapies as well as emotional support."
Throughout my childhood, seeing an ambulance pull up to my house, my grandmother going to the hospital every time she was sick, or a worker for the Administration for Child Services coming to my home every other month was normal. Whenever she was on edge or was madder than usual, I knew she was sick or starting to get sick. I remember my mother always telling me to be cautious of my words around my grandmother and have patience with her. In which, I never knew why. As a child, I knew my grandma was sick, but never of what and why. But as time went on, I got the chance to understand her mental illness and why she does the things she does. As time went on, I understood that certain words and actions trigger specific symptoms, like if you tell her she is crazy, that causes her to be angry and sad. And that she doesn't control her emotions, her illness does. Having to deal with someone with a mental illness is difficult. You need to be mindful of your actions and words, have patience, and be understanding. You need to always support your family member or friend with a mental illness no matter what because they are at a low time. And show them that you care for them and show them what reality is because, at the moment, they do not know fantasy from reality.