Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsImpact of SymptomsSocial CopingEmotional CopingPractical Daily LivingMistakes to AvoidFor CaregiversNext in Schizophrenia GuideSchizophrenia in Children
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Impact of Symptoms
Social Coping
Emotional Coping
Practical Daily Living
Mistakes to Avoid
For Caregivers
Next in Schizophrenia Guide
Close
Schizophreniais a chronic disorder. Thesymptoms of schizophreniaaffect many of your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Theseverity of these symptomscan fluctuate and even someone who is quite ill can sometimes feel and appear normal, even without medication. This remission of symptoms does not mean the illness has gone away.
Modernantipsychotic medicationsgreatly reduce both the severity of your symptoms and the amount of time you spend experiencing active symptoms. Nevertheless, you should expect times of remission and times of relapse.
Verywell / Cindy Chung
It’s important for you, with the help of your doctor, case managers, and loved ones, to figure out what kinds of support you need, and then put those supports in place.Depending on the severityof your illness, you may have trouble with important skills, such as:
It’s important to plan ahead, even when you feel relatively well, for times when you may start to experience symptoms more significantly again.Schizophreniacan sometimes make it difficult for you to recognize signs of these symptoms in yourself, so you may need to rely on feedback from other people that your behavior is changing. People you can ask to watch for changes include:
How Others Can Help
People often don’t understand what it is like tolive with schizophrenia. Educate your support people about what kinds of changes to look for. Because you may have trouble with some of these areas even when you’re relatively healthy, they should watch for changes in your behavior.
Important changes that you can tell your support people to look for include things like:
If you seek help from your doctor or social worker as soon as these changes occur, a temporary change in medication can likely prevent a full-blown relapse.
Often, you’ll be able to go back to the previous dose after the crisis has passed, or your doctor may change your medications to something that will work better for you.
Steps You Can Take
Almost everyone desires social and emotional connections with others. Schizophrenia is an isolating illness, especially when your active symptoms make you see, hear, and believe things that no one else shares. Even when you’re not experiencing active delusions or hallucinations, your residual and negative symptoms can make social interactions more difficult.
Things you can do to improve your social experiences include:
Regulating emotions can be challenging with schizophrenia. It can be frustrating to you, and your support group, when emotions seem to be getting the better of you. Moments like that can feel isolating and can result in someone feeling hurt. Taking measures to learn how to emotionally cope in this journey is important and there a many things you can do to help that process along.
Therapy
A big part of learning how to regulate our emotions is to learn what they are and why we have them. Actively and consistently participating in yourtherapy treatment, such as individual, family and group counseling, can offer you time to explore and learn how to identify what emotions you are experiencing and how to best manage them when they begin to escalate.
The Best Online Therapy ProgramsWe’ve tried, tested and written unbiased reviews of the best online therapy programs including Talkspace, Betterhelp, and Regain.
Finding Support
Just like for anyone else, it can be helpful to talk with a support person when our emotions escalate or we are having a hard time processing our experiences. Being able to turn to a support person is courageous and can be helpful in our journey. Simply taking the time to slow down and talk through our experience can help us deescalate and find a sense of calm again.
Journaling
You might experience times when your emotions feel too overwhelming or you don’t feel comfortable turning to someone in that moment. A wonderful alternative is journaling. As with talking through an experience, writing in a journal helps us to slow down what is happening for us and allows us an opportunity to learn about our emotions and patterns of behavior.
Self-Care
The idea of self-care can be challenging for most of us. However, it can be even harder when you struggle with the symptoms of schizophrenia. Remembering to take time for your wellness and well-being is important. These could be simple things, such as:
Everyone needs help at times to keep up with the tasks of daily life. For example, most people have to use calendars or smartphones to help them remember appointments and keep track of the things they need to do. Some people rely on a spouse to pick out their clothes for them or to help them remember chores. There’s no right answer to how much help a person “should” need.
Independent living for someone with schizophrenia involves a number of definite skills. Social workers call these activities of daily living or ADLs. Skills a person might need to improve can include:
You may want to take time to reflect on what tasks feel harder to you than others. For things you find more challenging to do on a regular basis, it is helpful to recruit your support system member for assistance and accountability. Talk with them about setting personal goals in these areas and discuss how they might be able to help you.
Don’t Wait to Seek Help
Symptoms of schizophrenia often build gradually so it can be difficult for people to recognize patterns until they become obvious. Talking with a doctor right away helps you better understand what is happening and allows you to start the treatment process sooner.
Schizophrenia Discussion GuideGet our printable guide to help you ask the right questions at your next doctor’s appointment.Download PDFSign UpThank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up.There was an error. Please try again.
Get our printable guide to help you ask the right questions at your next doctor’s appointment.
Download PDF
Sign UpThank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up.There was an error. Please try again.
Sign Up
Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up.
There was an error. Please try again.
Don’t Let Schizophrenia Define You
Schizophrenia involves experiencing some significant symptoms. However, it is important to remember that this condition, alone, is not all of who you are. Connection with family and friends are so important to remind us we are not alone and there is nothing to feel ashamed of.
Don’t Try to Fix Things Yourself
Even when we notice patterns in our behavior that are concerning, it can be easy to want to try to keep them hidden from other and “fix” it on our own. Schizophrenia involves complex symptoms that can increase in intensity if not addressed through propertreatment methods.
Don’t Skip Treatments or Appointments
When your symptoms start to decrease in intensity you might feel like it isn’t necessary to go to your therapy appointments, group therapy sessions or your medication management appointments. Not attending treatment appointments consistently can have a negative impact on your overall success in this journey. It is important to be consistent.
Educate Yourself
Caring for a loved one with schizophrenia can be challenging, but it doesn’t have to feel impossible. The first step is to learn what you can about the condition. Many people find schizophrenia intimidating because of the nature of the symptoms experienced. Learning from mental health professionals and other resources can help you gain useful information.
Find Support
Even though your role is to support your loved one in their treatment journey, remember that you will need support as well. Many times caregivers are focused so much on helping others that they neglect to take time for their own well-being. Finding local support groups and even online group support resources can be a wonderful outlet to share experiences and find encouragement.
Schizophrenia in Children
1 Source
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Meuser, K. and Gingerich, S.The Complete Family Guide to SchizophreniaNew York: The Guilford Press, 2006.Torrey, E.F. (2006)Surviving Schizophrenia: a Manual for Families, Patients, and Providers, 5th Edition.New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
Meet Our Review Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit
What is your feedback?
