How To Deal With Schizophrenia In A Relationship

Why Is My Brother Or Sister Acting This Way

Just like it is hard to see the back of your own head, it is hard for a person whose brain is not working to tell what is wrong. Your brother or sisters brain may make up incorrect explanations for why they feel so weird, and they may act strangely. It will be really hard for them to tell the difference between what is real and not real.

When Communicating Your Loved One With Schizophrenia Might:

• have difficulty expressing their thoughts or emotions
• be unable to understand or process the information presented to them during conversations
• experience varying patterns of speech
• express illogical thought processes or beliefs
• appear distracted or preoccupied with their own thoughts
• see, hear, or perceive things that others cannot
• have difficulty remembering things or parts of conversations

general, I find that an affected person will some kind of social or communication issue throughout the course of their illness, says Parmar.

How Treatment Can Help You Build Relationships

Living with schizophrenia, it is possible to meet people, to socialize and make friends, and to have a loving intimate relationship. The best way to find a path to a healthy relationship is to treat your illness. Schizophrenia is not a flaw or weakness; it is a real disease. As a chronic disease, it requires ongoing treatment.

If you have struggled to connect with others, treatment can help. First, it helps indirectly by giving you tools for reducing symptoms and managing them when they arise. Medications and therapy help you keep symptoms under control, which in turn will make it easier for you to meet people and establish close relationships.

More specifically, treatment will directly tackle the issue of relationships. It starts with your family and fellow residents in treatment. Therapists work with you to learn how to connect with people. Its a skill for everyone, but some people need more practice. Youll work with your family and supportive residents to practice communication, emotional responses, trust, and more.

Also Check: How To Control Your Eating Disorder

Tips For Dating With Schizophrenia

Treatment builds the foundation for being able to develop healthy relationships. When you feel ready, start with friendships and meeting new people. You shouldnt feel rushed to start dating just because it is expected. Take your time and progress at your comfort level. When you are ready to date, here are some tips that may help:

• Set reasonable expectations. It may take you longer to find someone and you may face more challenges. Be prepared, but dont give up hope.
• Go slow, and date at a pace you feel comfortable with. Dont let anyone pressure you to take things faster than you want. That isnt the right person for you.
• Tell someone youve met about schizophrenia in your own time. You dont need to open with it, but do be honest within the first few dates.
• Be patient with someone you meet and like who is hesitant when they find out you have schizophrenia. Dont dismiss them right away. Talk to them about what it means and how you cope. Give them the chance to accept your diagnosis and decide if it is something they can live with.
• Know when its not the right time to date. If you dont feel up to it or if things arent going well, take a break. Work on your mental health and relationships with family and friends until you feel ready again.

Some Of The Negative Symptoms Of How Schizophrenia Affects Relationships Are

• Blunted affect- Your partners face, voice tone, and movements are less expressive.
• Apathy- is when your partner lacks the motivation to achieve goals and activities. They are sluggish and lazy all day.

This might cause a bit of communication as well as the distance between couples which can easily lead to worse case scenarios. However, there are many different aspects to look into like sexual performance, schizophrenia love obsession, intimacy, schizophrenia and cheating, communicating skills, and other habits which can be affected due to schizophrenia.

Nevertheless, if your partner is facing such issues, then consulting a good specialist would be a good choice. To recommend you an excellent psychiatrist in Patnais Dr. Vivek Pratap Singh.

However, are there any fields to look into about how schizophrenia affects relationships? Lets check it out!!

Don’t Miss: What’s The Most Common Phobia

Attempt To Redirect Or Distract The Person From Their Delusion

• Does the person always greet you with the delusion? If so, just quietly listen and then give direction for the task at hand.
• If it appears that the individual cannot stop talking about the delusion, ask gently if they recalls what you have been doing and that its time to resume that activity.
• If the person is very intent upon telling you the delusion, just quietly listen until there is no need to discuss it any further.
• Remember that it is helpful to give the person reassurance during the delusion that they, as a person, are okay.

Lack Of Emotions And Expression

Commonly known as flat-affect, a person living with schizophrenia may be unable to express their true feelings through speech or actions. This may result in emotional distance between a couple.;;

These symptoms impact a persons ability to maintain meaningful relationships, especially romantic relationships. However, with medical progress in treating and managing the symptoms of schizophrenia, it has become possible to date and maintain long-term, meaningful relationships.;

Here are some tips to make it easier for people living with schizophrenia, or who are interested in dating someone with schizophrenia:;

Recommended Reading: Why Do Eating Disorders Happen

What Does Psychosis Look Like When Dating

Psychosis trapped me in my mind and made it difficult for me to;be in the moment and present in the room. People would be talking, but it was a struggle to process any information. When my girlfriend and I were dating, there would be many occasions when shed be expecting an answer, but I hadnt even mentally digested what she was saying in the first place. She would eventually say something like, Hello, are you even listening? I would tell her yes but couldnt recall what she had said because I had not finished analyzing it.

My;slow comprehension definitely made for some awkwardness and contributed to the relationship not working. At the time, I wanted to blame my inability to date on factors like an inadequate job, or living at home at age 27. In reality, I simply wasnt mentally healthy enough to be engaging with other people ;romantically.

For the next year or so, I continued to work;on my mental health in therapy with ;a focus on;improving my social skills. I soon started dating a friend, and began;my first long-distance relationship.

Still, I had a lot to learn. The thing I realized is that love and life are constantly evolving. I had to continue learning and improving my relationship skills to keep up with folks for whom dating came more naturally.

Support And Encourage Them For Medications

Once youve identified that your partner is suffering from paranoia,encourage them to seek medical assistance to better their life. It might be difficult for them to trust doctors and they might refuse to follow medications, but you must convince them for their good.

Be with them always and be supportive of them in every stage. Diagnosis and the right treatment can make both your life easy and smooth with this disorder.

Also Check: Is Schizophrenia Caused By A Virus

Establishing And Addressing A Need For Open Conversations And Strong Relationships

Clinicians should aim to build a strong therapeutic alliance between themselves, the patient and their primary carer. An alliance should be non-hierarchical, acknowledging the respective expertise of the individuals, with all members given respect and made to feel like partners with a common goal .

To construct a strong therapeutic alliance, open conversations, trust and respect play a fundamental role, with the ultimate goal being to establish a partnership to optimize patient outcomes. Strong therapeutic alliances have been shown to correlate with positive patient outcomes, notably symptom severity, hospitalizations, rates of drop-out from psychosocial treatment, and adherence to medication . This article discusses how various barriers specific to individual patients, such as social and cultural factors, influence the formation of strong therapeutic alliances.

Theme 2: Inner Obstacles: Illness

Psychosis entails experiences unknown or alien to other people. The second theme in the participants narrations was the theme of the consequences of such experiences on the romantic relationships.

Intimacy and Emotions

The influence of positive symptoms on the world of thoughts and emotions is an intense and personal experience. Delusions of influence and control , the idea that others could hear my thoughts and I could hear theirs, share a common theme of blurring the psychological boundaries, the distinction between oneself and the external world or another person. In consequence, romantic relationships may be experienced as a sort of fusion, which can at once be both alluring and unsettling. Alice describes this:

My idealwell, right now, its a problem because Im after psychosis, really severe psychosis, where I was hearing voices all day, non-stop. For me thats a very intimate form of bond. If you hear someones voice in your head, and that voice is with you non-stop, then its like no one else can become closer to you than that voice in your head. So in a way, this feeling has remained, that the greatest form of intimacy I ever had was through the illness, and Ill never have this rapport with anyone like that flow of thoughts in my head, like a connection of thoughts. So, for me, the perfect guy would be a guy that could read my mind and could influence my thoughts, something like in Twilight.

Suspicions and Distrust

Recommended Reading: Does Bipolar Mean Your Crazy

How To Deal With A Schizophrenic Partner

We all want to help a loved one who is not feeling well, but its quite difficult to do so.

Most probably, youll get frustrated and lose all hope but, dont do that and try to cooperate with your partner.

So, to tackle the question coming to your mind how schizophrenia affects relationships? Follow the below tips

Teamwork Makes The Dream Work

For many people living with schizophrenia, dating can be just a dream. But with the right person and open, honest communication, its possible. Go to therapy together. It will help your partner learn about your symptoms from the person that knows you best, your doctor. It also empowers your partner with the knowledge to help should a psychotic episode occur.;

Dating with schizophrenia is possible, especially with the right treatment such as long-acting monthly injectables to manage your symptoms. After all, a partners support can be one more way to live better with schizophrenia.;;

To learn more about schizophrenia, visit schizophrenia24x7.co.za for helpful resources and tips on living with schizophrenia, or join the for a like-minded community of people sharing their experience of living, dating and coping with schizophrenia.;

Additional information provided on behalf of SCHIZOPRHENIA24X7 by G&G Digital.

Follow us on social media:;,;,;

Sign up to;W24’s newsletters;so you don’t miss out on any of our stories and giveaways.

R75 per month

Also Check: Do Dogs Get Separation Anxiety

Can Schizophrenics Fall In Love

Anyone can find dating difficult. A severe mental health disorder like schizophrenia brings to the mix many more difficulties. Dating is possibly out of the question in serious cases.

As a result, many people with schizophrenia struggle to form and maintain relationships. Others completely avoid it. However, some people are able to maintain stable relationships.

Thus, if you want to know that can schizophrenics fall in love, then you should ask yourself!! If either of you are facing such disease, then its your decision whether you can get involved and stand by your partner or you just want to walk away. Its always your call in such situations!!

Introduction To The Biopsychosocial Model In Schizophrenia And The Importance Of Psychoeducation

Schizophrenia is a complex disorder that is impacted by biological, social and psychological factors. Recent years have seen a shift towards how psychosocial factors, such as isolation, victimization, and substance abuse, can influence outcomes . The biopsychosocial model of schizophrenia considers the cause and course of schizophrenia as equally related to biological vulnerability interacting with social and psychological factors, e.g., isolation and low self-esteem, with recommended psychological interventions based on individual requirement .

We believe that optimal outcomes for people living with schizophrenia arise when healthcare professionals consider both pharmacological and psychological interventions. This enables them to individualize each case and implement treatment plans tailored to their history, family, and cultural background. In clinical practice, pharmacological therapies are well understood and widely implemented however, psychosocial treatments are not. Therefore, we need to embed psychosocial treatment into standard care for PLWS and improve the therapeutic alliance between PLWS, their carers, and their healthcare team .

This article aims to identify barriers to the achievement of strong therapeutic relationships and highlight the benefits of consistently implementing psychosocial treatments such as psychoeducation , and shared decision-making .

Recommended Reading: What’s The Phobia Of Clowns

Schizophrenics May Use Addictive Substances To Self

Schizophrenia is a very distressing mental disorder. In addition to delusions, hallucinations, and paranoia, schizophrenics deal with considerable emotional and social discomfort. As such, nearly 50 percent of people with schizophrenia use drugs or alcohol to ease their symptoms. In other words, 1 in 2 schizophrenics use, misuse, and abuse substances to simply feel normal. Unfortunately, those substances can increase the paranoia, psychosis, and delusions that schizophrenics experience.

Part 1 Of 4: Becoming Informed

One of the best things you can do for your loved one is to learn more about what they are going through. Knowing the ups and downs of schizophrenia can help create a better home environment.

Don’t Miss: Which Phobia Means You Have An Intense Fear Of Halloween

What Your Loved One Is Saying:

There is a car parked on my street that is monitoring me. Every time I leave my house a car drives by marking down the times I left. They follow me around wherever;I drive.

I bought extra locks for my house because they came in the middle of the night and drugged me. All my doors are barricaded to keep them out. The police say they wont do anything to help me.

I stay up at night watching and waiting and set up traps in the yard to catch them. I bought a hearing amplification device so I can catch them before they get to my house.

Dealing With A Paranoid Partner

If youre living with a person who is recently diagnosed with paranoia, then get one thing,the journey with them wont be smooth. There will be a time when you would just want to walk out of everything, and there will be a time when you just cant as theyre depended on you.

Under such extreme situations, your patience will be tested time and again. Following things will help you handle the situation in a better way.

Don’t Miss: How Long Do Depressive Episodes Last Bipolar

Develop A Home Treatment Plan

The goal is for people with schizophrenia to live at home, not in an institution, Savageau says. That often means family members need to know exactly how theyre going to manage their family members condition.

Work with your doctor to develop a plan that includes medication adherence strategies, a list of possible relapse signs, and a plan for what to do when a relapse occurs, says Savageau. This plan should be written out, and everyone should know what their responsibilities are, he says.

Drugs Can Cause Psychosis & Paranoia Associated With Schizophrenia

Researchers arent 100 percent certain if substance abuse causes schizophrenia, but drugs like marijuana can trigger schizophrenia-like symptoms. Smoking marijuana, for example, can cause short-term psychosis. In fact, 53 percent of people experiencing their first episode of psychosis use marijuana beforehand. Researchers have also discovered that people with schizophrenia are two times more likely to smoke marijuana than someone without the disorder. Other data suggests that teens under the age of 15 who regularly use marijuana are four times more likely to develop schizophrenia by their late 20s.

Don’t Miss: How To Help Seasonal Depression

Tip 4: Watch For Signs Of Relapse

Stopping medication is the most frequent cause of relapse in schizophrenia, so its extremely important that your family member continues to take all medication as directed. While relapse can occur even if a person is taking medication as prescribed, you may be able to prevent a full-blown crisis by recognizing the warning signs and taking immediate steps.

Help Children Cope With Feelings

As outlined above, children may experience a variety of feelings in response to their parents mental illness. Predominant feelings may vary depending on a childs age and level of understanding. For example, guilt or fear are often the predominant feelings for younger children, while anger and embarrassment tend to be common for adolescents.

Whatever feelings your child may be experiencing, here are some suggestions to help them cope with these feelings:

1. Create an atmosphere that encourages children to talk about their feelings:

• Talk about your own feelings so that they have a role model.
• Take advantage of moments that provide an opportunity for discussion of feelings.
• Example:Watching a TV show about a parent who becomes disabled may be an opportunity for discussion.
• Be available to listen, but dont pressure a child to talk about feelings if they are not willing.

2. When your children do try to express their feelings show them that you are listening:

3. Help your child develop skills for handling strong feelings:

Recommended Reading: What Phobia Is Stage Fright