My aunt is scitzofrinic, help. Any scitzofrinics, why do you act they way you do? what are you thinking?

Question

not trying to be rude. Doctors: why do they act the way they do?Any scitzofrinics? i need to understand why you think the way you do. should i be worried? my aunt is a scizofrinic.my aunt is 40+ years old, and im 15. i like spending time with her, because she's nice and kind. but she gets on my nerves sometimes, because i will say something and she will just look and stare at me, and say something like "STOP IT!" and then she will always wonder what im doing if im in the kitchen, for too long, she will come in there and see what im doing. she also annoys me by laughing at stuff i say. and talking bad about me. but inside shes really nice, and she used to be nice to me, she probably gets fed up some with me. but she doesn't like to be alone, and when ever my uncle is out of rown she calls me to stay the night with her. are these actions normal for her. she is on medication.

Answer 1

People with Schizophrenia find themselves dealing with a lot of halluncinations. The most common one is hearing voices that are always telling them various things about this and that.

And....it's not that they are always clueless about the fact that these voices are not real.......but it's pretty easy for them to take what the voices say at face value.

So.....try and put yourself in her shoes. You say something to her, and she hears a voice telling her that you are lying, or that you are not really her niece, but are a spy from the government, or something.....totally out of left field like that.

She may know on some level that they are "just voices" but again, think of how difficult it would be to ignore them, if you were in her place?? Not easy at all, probably.

It's possible that when she says STOP IT.....she is telling the voices to just shut up and let her think for herself, you know ?? So in a sense, she may be trying her best to stay on top of things when she says stuff like this ??

Also, the voices can tell the person some pretty creepy stuff I think. So you can kind of see why she might want you to come and stay with her when she is alone. I mean...who would want to be left alone to deal with all that ?? So I think you are really helping her feel a lot safer when you go stay with her.....even though I'm sure that there is often stuff going on that's hard to understand.

As you said, just because someone is dealing with something as difficult as this.....it does not mean they are not nice, and good at heart.

As you,are, for cutting her some slack, and being there for her when she needs some company.

:- )

Bob J.

Answer 2

Hi! I have worked in the mental health field for almost 20 years. I am a case manager in a psychiatric hospital. I would hope that your aunt is seeing a psychiatrist on a regular basis as she may need to have some adjustments made to her medications. There are newer and better medications and combinations of medications now and she may benefit from a review and adjustment.

I would strongly recommend that you and your family attend a NAMI family education group. NAMI stands for National Alliance for Mental Illness. It is a group led by other families who have a family member with a mental illness. It will teach you more about schizophrenia and how to relate to your aunt. Please go to
http://www.nami.org/ to learn more and to find a local NAMI group.
Good luck!