I suspect my husband has Schizophrenia - how to tell?

Question

A few months ago my husbands personality changed he flew into rages, blamed everybody else for everything (he was never in the wrong) twists peoples words to suit him so he could be angry about them & this just got worse & worse until he left me about 3 weeks ago stating the love was gone in our marriage since then he has threatened suicide - I sent the police around to check him they found him asleep in bed & told them that he did it to piss me off - the next day he hated me & never wanted to see me again - later in the day he was happy & asking if it was possible for me to change so we could be together again - thinks Im recording all phone conversations - thoughts keep popping into his head that make no sense etc..

I know Im going to be told get him to a Dr but if you have any experience with mental illness you know this isnt always easy. Im after help with getting him help when he cant even see theres a problem and he thinks all family & friends are against him & the enemy.

He hasnt been sleeping well since the split and his mood changes are quite severe - he is saying I am sleeping with an employee because he knows stuff he shouldnt know - when I know he told the employee the information - there is more but Im not sure what else to put here as there is so much I could say.

Im just after experience with this kind of mental illness and how do I go about getting him help - we have a 4 year old and he wants to see her and I cant let it happen unsupervised and this is just making things worse for him.

Answer 1

Sounds just like Bipolar Disorder. My boyfriend of 9 years is Bipolar and I have schizophrenia. He screams and jumps up and down because people have been talking about him. Then he wants to give them another chance and they're his friend.

He yells at me that our relationship is over and he is going to walk down the road to the TN River bridge and jump off. Then he says it's back on again a few hours later and he loves me.

He goes through an episode about twice a year and they last for about 2 to 3 weeks. He doesn't sleep during this time and sometimes I stay at a hotel due to the verbal abuse. When the episode is over, he is sorry about the things he said and did.

My symptoms of schizophrenia were hearing voices and I had hallucinations. I take Abilify and it's in remission now.

Keep trying to get him to the doctor and on medication. I know that's difficult but it's the only way to treat his symptoms. Good Luck!

Answer 2

You poor thing, this must be so horrible for you and you obviously love your son. You sound like a wonderful mum and you made the right decision - your son needs help. Don't beat yourself up about it, he's where he needs to be. As for visiting him, if the nurses suggest you don't then maybe you should listen. I know it's horrible but you need to give him time to get better and for doctors to try out what they think is necessary. It'll only be for a few days and it could be key to your sons recovery in the long run, because they probably want to keep him as calm and as relaxed as possible. Also, I think for a while he probably will be mad at you for putting him there. I know that's hard but it's because he's young and there isn't anything you can do about it. Keep telling yourself you're doing the right thing, because you are. In time, when your son beginsto recieve treatment for the schizophrenia he may forgive you but at the moment he isn't percieving the world in the same way as you are and he needs just to focus on getting better. I'm sure he is in the best place. If you're struggling with not visiting him, try and get a phone number for the ward he is on. That way you can check in with one of the nurses everyday and see how he is doing without causing him more distress. I hope that helps and please don't feel guilty. You are doing what any responsible mother would do, as you can't risk your son harming himself anymore and he needs professional help, which unfortunately you can't provide. Try and remain hopeful, i'm sure the situation will improve with time.

Answer 3

Your husband sounded like what my father had. Some people thought he has Schizophrenia. It turn out that he has manic depressive disorder or bi-polar disorder. They are both same thing. My father's behavior was so erratic, it was hard to predict of what mood he will be. My father has high and low mood. If he has money - he will spend or gave away money, when he is broke - he become depress and sometimes sucidial. He would be occassionally hate one person for awhile and then decided to give a person another chance and then he would go back to hate. Ugh. It was a mess. It is a good idea to have any doctor to take a look at your husband. Sometimes trying to help someone who is beyond on what we can do that professional can do.

Answer 4

There's not really enough information to indicate schizophrenia. It could be a mood disorder like bipolar. It also could be substance abuse, in particular, perhaps a stimulant like crystal meth or cocaine. It also might be a personality disorder that was never evident to you before, although you say it's new behavior, making a personality disorder less likely.

If he's using street drugs/stimulants, that could describe his behaviors just as well as a mood disorder would. Of course, he could be both bipolar and abusing drugs.

If he were an alcoholic, I'd refer you to Alanon, but since mental illness is a possibility I can refer you to two national organizations that have both support and information for family members, which could help you to cope and figure out what to do next: NAMI http://www.nami.org/ and DBSA http://www.dbsalliance.org/site/PageServer?pagename=home .

Those sites should give you plenty of information about mental illness as well as locations of groups in your area.

Answer 5

When he is in a calmer mood, tell him you think there are some things you want to change about yourself, for the sake of the relationship, and you are going to get counseling. This is like trickery, but it may work. Tell him you cannot change yourself and fix things unless he is there to help you and goes with you. Tell him that together, you may be able to work things out, but focus on you. Maybe when he gets into counseling with you, they can begin to focus on him.

Make sure you speak with a psycologist first and make it a psychologist, they'll pinpoint his behavior better than a counselor.

Even though this seems impossible, all you can do is try. Just keep yourself safe, meet in public during daytime, have a cellphone handy, and always report any criminal or suicidal behavior, no matter what. Good Luck!

Answer 6

i work with this every day. i know the answer according to oregon laws (and i'm sure other states are quite similar), so you have to be sure that this is really all him and not you or others trying to make thing out differently.
from what you say, your husband sounds schizophrenic. he sounds delusional and paranoid, which are classic signs. IF he shows signs of harming himself or others, there is the possibility of having him put on a hospital psychiatric hold. the trick is that you (and family, if possible) will have to get him to a psychiatric professional, have him evaluated, and
discuss the benefits of outpatient vs. inpatient treatment. the other option is getting him to an emergency room, whether by his consent or by police custody, and they can put a hospital hold on him there. after that, the county that he lives in will assign an investigator to come and evaluate him and the info that the physician can provide, and make the decision to drop the hold or have a court hearing to determine if he needs to be temporarily committed.
if your husband is truely schizophrenic, he is in serious need of help. he needs to be treated and probably medicated to get him back to his baseline personality.
if he is between the ages of 16 and 30 it is very possible that this is an onset.
good luck, and i hope all will be okay for you and your child.

Answer 7

He really sounds more Rapid Cycling Bipolar than Schizophrenic.... Maybe tell him that you love him and that you 2 need to see a therapist together to enable you to communicate more. If he gets violent or you feel in danger, please don't hesitate to distance yourself and any children you may have from the situation until a solution comes about.

If he won't agree to go to the therapist or psychiatrist and this behavior continues... You may have to look into getting him involuntarily committed for a psych evaluation... Call your local/county mental health services, they will tell you the steps that need to be taken.

Answer 8

My Husband Is Schizophrenic

Answer 9

Usually with schizophrenia, the person's inner world and behavior change notably. Behavior changes might include the following:

* Social withdrawal

* Depersonalization (intense anxiety and a feeling of being unreal)

* Loss of appetite

* Loss of hygiene

* Delusions

* Hallucinations (eg, hearing things not actually present)

* The sense of being controlled by outside forces

A person with schizophrenia may not have any outward appearance of being ill. In other cases, the illness may be more apparent, causing bizarre behaviors. For example, a person with schizophrenia may wear aluminum foil in the belief that it will stop one's thoughts from being broadcasted and protect against malicious waves entering the brain.

People with schizophrenia vary widely in their behavior as they struggle with an illness beyond their control. In active stages, those affected may ramble in illogical sentences or react with uncontrolled anger or violence to a perceived threat. People with schizophrenia may also experience relatively passive phases of the illness in which they seem to lack personality, movement, and emotion (also called a flat affect). People with schizophrenia may alternate in these extremes. Their behavior may or may not be predictable.

In order to better understand schizophrenia, the concept of clusters of symptoms is often used. Thus, people with schizophrenia can experience symptoms that may be grouped under the following categories:

* Positive symptoms - Hearing voices, suspiciousness, feeling under constant surveillance, delusions, or making up words without a meaning (neologisms).

* Negative (or deficit) symptoms - Social withdrawal, difficulty in expressing emotions (in extreme cases called blunted affect), difficulty in taking care of themselves, inability to feel pleasure (These symptoms cause severe impairment and are often mistaken for laziness.)

* Cognitive symptoms - Difficulties attending to and processing of information, in understanding the environment, and in remembering simple tasks

* Affective (or mood) symptoms - Most notably depression, accounting for a very high rate of attempted suicide in people suffering from schizophrenia
Go to this site for other info on this subject:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/schizophrenia/DS00196/DSECTION=2
I hope things get better for you and your situation! Please take care and God Bless You! I hope some of the info has helped! And Again take care and I pray things will improve!

Answer 10

Only a mental health professional can discuss your husbands symptoms with him and make any diagnose (s).

Good luck and take care of you!
Dee