Living with a Schizophrenic
 

My 25 year old son suffers badly from schizophrenia. In this journal I'd like to tell his story. I'd also like to share how his affliction has altered my family's lives.

Wow. Like, wow. When I encouraged you to start a journal I had no idea it would be this personal. Well done, and I'll be reading; hope things aren't too tough for your family.

It's nice to have some variation in Journaltown, but it's still sad to hear that your son is suffering from a severe mental disorder. I hope he's doing fine and that it's not causing you too much distress. I'll be following this.

My kid lives out in our garage. His choice. He's a computer genius, an amazing artist, very musically talented, extremely funny, pretty damn good looking, cultured, and a very cool hang.

Most of the time.

He's tried living out on his own 5 times. Each ending in a total crash and burn. The last resulting in him living homeless on the streets of LA for 3 months until we finally tracked him down and convinced him to come back home.

This is gonna be a bit awkward as I try to spill everything. Thanks if you choose to hang.

Ridiculously good DJ too.

One of the worst aspects of schizophrenia, is that a large percentage of sufferers also are dealing with this. My kid for sure!

Anosognosia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Is he okay with you writing a journal about him here?

Fair question. Not sure how to answer. If I asked him he'd be furious.

I'll kill this if the MB members think that's the best route.

While you have my deepest sympathies because of your difficult family situation and I understand that such a journal might be a way to cope with it, I'd say that it's not right to have a journal about a person without that person's consent, especially with photos being posted.

I don't mind that this journal is here. It's a good way for someone to get support for something that they've been struggling with. Plus, I find this sort of stuff very interesting.

I think it's kind of both ways: as his father you have a right to say what you need to, but also to protect his privacy. Hmm. If you'd said he'd be all right with it I'd say ok, but if you actually know he'd be upset then I'd say this is not a good idea. I mean, I live with and care for my sister, who's had MS for over 13 years now. I've spoken in general terms about her here, but I'm not sure I'd be comfortable writing a journal about her. You always need to respect people's privacy, especially that of your family.

My advice (which of course you're free to ignore or disagree with) would be to broach the subject, show him the journal if you want (but maybe wait till he can see that people are genuinely interested and sympathetic, and it's not some kind of freak show, which is what he may fear) and then make a joint decision as to how you want to proceed.

But hey, you know your own kid so it's up to you. It's a very valid point though, and one I admit I did not think of. I guess I assumed he already knew about this.

For the most part he doesn't even think he's ill so approaching him isn't going to fly. It was a bad idea on my part. Let's let this thread go. Thanks.

I'm a bit disappointed you decided to scrap this. Of course if you think it's the right thing personally then I can't say much now.
If MB was a popular site like Reddit, I would agree with the others. What we have here are a close circle of regulars and an expectation of trust and kindness. The occasional *******, but they don't get involved with matters like these. It's clear you had something to say here, and the support of friends with a distance could have really helped. I hope you at least try to make some friends here you can confide in, and that you get the chance to let it out.

James, let me sleep on it tonight.

I do agree with you James. I'm pretty sure we all would have treated this subject with the sensitivity it deserves. But Chula had to make a judgement call as to, no matter how well it was received or treated, did he want to do this without the permission, indeed the knowledge, of, as they say, the subject? I think it was brave of him to decide not to go ahead, though I too would have been very interested and as supportive as I could be. But like I said, you have to consider the person being discussed. If Chula's son had given permission for this, no problem. But kind of doing it behind his back is a tough call to make, and for what it's worth I think he made the right decision, for him and for his son.

I don't judge you for wanting to tell your story, being the care-taker you are other half of the story.

Think it over, if you feeling doubts about it now, maybe maybe you'll still have doubts later on. Think about your options, like finding support with a personal friend or maybe there is a web site that has a online support group forum for people with family member with Schizophrenia or maybe a local support group in your community. Schizophrenia Help & News for Families, Sufferers

It is called Anosognosia when a person is unaware of the existence of his or her disabilities like NBD.

Yup, very well versed on Anosognosia. I've read a ton of books, have done loads of research online, and have consulted with a couple of psychiatrists. As far as schizo forums go, tried that route but it's simply too painful hanging in them places. You can only read about parents who have to willfully have their children committed for so long before you want to jump off a bridge.

Re: Anosognosia

What an evil vile thing.

Impaired awareness and anosognosia in mentally ill

I'd never start a journal about my daughter with or without her consent, and it was a bad idea to post a picture of me with her in it a while back. Given your circumstances, and your need to vent about your sons affliction, I'd have to say to keep things on a personal level for yourself, and preserve the integrity of you and your son's relationship. I totally understand your need to let these things out, but this is a Music Forum after all. Time and place would be better suited for a counseling session or a few.

I mean no disrespect, and I hope I don't come off as an *******. Much respect to you Chula.