how do i deal with a bro who is mentally ill (bipolar, schizophrenia)???

Question

he's14 and is very hard to deal with and he might b put into a mental hostpital

Answer 1

its not easy...it requires alot of compassion, understanding, and education to deal with properly...ask God to help you, He never lets me down...hope this helps too :) and good luck to your family
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How can family members and friends learn to cope with schizophrenia in a loved one?

To effectively cope with schizophrenia in a loved one, it’s important that you take care of yourself and continue doing the things you enjoy. NAMI reports that families who deal most successfully with a relative who has schizophrenia are those that come to

Accept the illness and its difficulties,
Are realistic about what they expect of the ill person and of themselves, and
Keep a sense of humor.
One of the most important steps you can take is to join a family support group where members share information about everything from coping with symptoms to knowing the ins and outs of finding the best medical, financial, and support resources.

Family support can both help and hurt; you must know how to be supportive without taking over your loved one’s life. It’s crucial for an individual with schizophrenia to be treated with respect, compassion, and understanding. The University of Maryland Medical Center reports, “numerous studies have shown that schizophrenic patients do worse in families who are too emotional, hostile, critical, or even overly involved. The problem is an emotional loop:

When affection and reason have failed to bring a loved one back to reality, overly critical or emotional family members typically react with anger and frustration.
This generates anxiety and depression in patients.
The subsequent expression of these emotions by the patient triggers yet more criticism or acting out. So the cycle continues.
Eventually, out of despair and fear, the family may reject the patient completely.”
The most important thing you can do to help someone with schizophrenia is to help them find medical treatment and encourage them to stick with it. Other things family members and friends can do include:

Educate yourself about the illness. See Helpguide’s Schizophrenia: Signs, Symptoms, Causes, and Effects and the references and resources below for more information. Be able to identify signs of a possible relapse and help the individual avoid known triggering situations.
Involve family members in creating an emergency plan of what to do in a crisis.
Find support. Family support groups offered by your local NAMI chapter, NMHA affiliate, or a local mental health organization can provide further guidance and support in coping.
Take care of yourself. Helpguide’s Depression Self-Help: Living with Depression in Yourself and Others, Stress and Trauma and Caring for the Caregiver articles may provide assistance.

Answer 2

Living as a bi-polar person with a bi-polar mom and lil bro, I completly understand your situation. The first thing is to make sure he is on meds and takes them around the same time everyday. Getting into this routine is a good starting place. Finding outlets for anger, playing a game, drawing, painting can be good. Certain types of music can help calm down some one as well. Being patient, understanding and not getting angry with him is very important on your part. The more routine you have, the easier it is. Try planning walks every evening, or playing video games together. The more quality time you spend with him, the easier he will be to deal with. Hope this helps, and GL to you and your bro.

Answer 3

this is a tough one im not even going to say that i can imagine what this is like but seriously maybe it will be able to get him to a place where he can be more comfortable and teach him and your family how to deal with this type of problem in a dignified effective manner ive seen results and can say this when all is said and done it has been positively benificial to all involved there may be bumps in the road but we must take care of each other put your self (if you can )in anothers shoes and ask your self if you were sick - so sick it was aproblem to others and you could not ask for help would you want some one to help you even against your will many people dedicate thier entire lives to helping this kind of issue so im not saying trust all doctors and therapists blindly but for the most part they have chosen this as thier lifes work good luck

Answer 4

Sounds like he needs to be checked out by a doctor and possibly put on some kind of medication. Make sure hes eating healthy foods for good brain function and staying away from things like soda and junk foods. Ive seen a lot of kids personalities change for the worse after eating all that stuff. It can really affect us in a bad way. Get him checked out and see if he needs medicine and also the possibility of changing his diet. Good luck to you!!

Answer 5

That is a very difficult question. I work with youth who have special needs so I completely understand how difficult it must be for a sibling. The only thing I can think to suggest is talking to your parents about your concerns and perhaps getting some counseling for yourself as well...having a close family member with problems such as these is hard on everyone and you may need to talk about it with someone.

Answer 6

Be glad he is getting help...its the ones on the outside who dont take meds that are left for society to deal with and they are very hard to get along with if not impossible.

Answer 7

Most importantly, make sure you treat him nicely and support him. Sometimes siblings can make things so much harder. Also, make sure he keeps taking this medication, and watch out for him. If he gets put into a metal hospital, you could be a good friend for him.

Answer 8

#1 i hope you are gentle to this boy, ask yourself how would you want to be treated if it was you? my sister was born with a brain tumor, she is mentally impaired, she is the most loving gentle, worrys about everbody else first. she was raped in school, because she didn't know what was going on. when it was found out what had happened, she said, they didn't mean to hurt me. GOD i love my sister. remember nola.she is quite a girl, opps, now she is a woman.

Answer 9

{{hugs}} It must be hard for you.. Just remeber what he has is a disease. He does not have control of a lot of things that he does. For your own sanity, you'll have to set limits. Refuse to tolerate his negitve behaviors. Limit the time you are around him when he's in his moods. You can not control his behaviors but you can control YOUR reaction to his behavior.

Answer 10

Try hard to be patient... it's hard to deal with but he cannot control it. If you have to, walk away when he gets unbearable. Try to not yell and fight with him if possible.. manic depression and schizophrenia are hard things to deal with. Good luck to you and your brother