Caregiver for Schizophrenia: Techniques to Help Care for Loved Ones

How to Care for Someone with Schizophrenia: Key Strategies

Finding out that someone you love has schizophrenia can evoke feelings that are hard to explain and more so to manage, irrespective of whether they are a family member, friend, office colleague, or just someone you know.

Given the myths and misconceptions about schizophrenia and its inaccurate media depictions, maybe your initial reaction was something along the lines of “They’re crazy!” but we would like to help you move beyond this initial mystery, confusion, and fear of being a good ally to your loved one. Schizophrenia is not a life sentence, and we are here to help you and your loved one through the process of recovery.

Empathy and Understanding: Key Aspects of Caring for a Schizophrenic

Empathy and understanding are the cornerstones of effective caregiving for Schizophrenia. They foster a supportive environment that is crucial for healing. Let's explore why these qualities are so important:

• Active Listening: Truly hearing what your loved one says can validate their feelings and experiences, creating a safe space for open communication.
• Non-Judgmental Attitude: Accepting your loved one's reality without judgment helps build trust and eases their sense of isolation.
• Patience: Recovery is a journey with ups and downs. Patience shows your commitment and reassurance through this unpredictable process.
• Educational Awareness: Understanding schizophrenia helps anticipate needs and respond appropriately, reducing misunderstandings.
• Emotional Availability: Being emotionally present and responsive can significantly impact your loved one's sense of security and belonging

Educate Yourself about Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is surrounded by myths and misconceptions. As family and friends, while you may do your best to be supportive, the challenge becomes even harder if you are unfamiliar with the condition. Reading up online about schizophrenia and its symptoms, causes, myths, and treatment options can help you put yourself in your loved one’s shoes and actively advocate against the discrimination that people with schizophrenia face. This can also equip you to identify the symptoms of a schizophrenic person. 

Every person dealing with schizophrenia experiences it differently. The key is to grasp the specific nature of your loved one's mental health challenges.

Mental health centers often provide educational content and tools to families. These can be incredibly helpful in identifying and understanding symptoms. Dedicate time to go through these resources thoroughly. Don't hesitate to ask questions to deepen your understanding of the condition. This knowledge is invaluable in providing the right support.

Assisting with Daily Life

Caring for a schizophrenic, you play a crucial role in managing their everyday tasks. This involves organizing their daily activities, which is essential for their care. If organization isn't your strong suit, or if you're already overwhelmed with your own responsibilities, it's important to assess if you're suited for the role of caregiving for schizophrenia. Your duties might include arranging appointments, providing transport to these appointments, establishing consistent routines, creating a stable environment, and setting achievable goals for the person under your care.

Encouraging Your Loved Ones to Seek Treatment

Standing on the outside, it might seem pretty straightforward to you – a person with schizophrenia must seek help for the voice and conspiracy theories in their head. To your loved one, however, their hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia are very real. It is difficult to encourage them to seek medical or psychological treatment for schizophrenia if it is hard for them to even remember they are ill in the first place. Instead, try to:

1. Be supportive: Broach the subject gently and in an environment that your loved one is comfortable in. Let close and trusted family members or friends lead the conversation. Avoid using a threatening or confrontational tone, replacing it instead with how treatment might be meaningful to your loved ones and the activities they enjoy. Say, for instance, “treatment can quiet the voices in your head” or “it can help you in doing things you enjoy like _.”
2. Focus on a particular symptom: Your loved one might also be resisting treatment to hold on to fragments of their “normal” life or to avoid being called “crazy.” You can make the process less threatening by suggesting help for a particular symptom like hallucinations, lack of motivation, or change in sleep patterns.
3. Provide options: Battling schizophrenia already feels like losing control of oneself. Ordering your loved one to seek treatment could be perceived as a further loss of autonomy and hence invite resistance. Instead, offer your loved one options of doctors and treatment plans so they can make the decision.
4. Supported admission/Involuntary admission/Assisted Outpatient Treatment: A lesser-known fact is that in extreme cases if your loved one is legally proven to lack insight due to a severe mental illness and poses a risk to themselves or others which requires them to be admitted but they refuse, the Mental Health Act, 1987 allows for (insert term) under “special circumstances.” Your loved one can be admitted by a psychiatrist at the family’s request (supported by certificates from two medical practitioners) without a magistrate coming into the picture at all. A team will then escort your loved one to the treatment facility.

Supporting Your Loved One During Schizophrenia Treatment

If asking for help is hard, asking for help with one’s mental health might seem impossible. You can make the process easier for your loved one by reaching out and starting a conversation yourself.  A simple “What can I do to help?” rather than asking could help them feel safe and find support without seeking it out.

• Be collaborative: Your loved one is the best judge of the help they need. Ask them if you can monitor their medication, accompany them to appointments, and look out for risks of relapse. A friend or family member’s insight can help your loved one’s medical provider understand specific symptoms or behaviors that your loved one might have missed. When your loved one has a voice in their treatment, they take ownership of their recovery.
• Monitor medication: While regular medication can help keep the worst symptoms of schizophrenia at bay, your loved one might still be suspicious of taking them due to their predisposition. To get the most from their medication, encourage them to follow their schedules by using some of the pointers we discussed earlier for starting treatment.

 Medication reminder apps, weekly pill boxes, and friendly check-ins can help. Take any side effects seriously and report them to the doctor so appropriate changes can be made. You can help avoid drug interactions by giving the doctor a comprehensive list of all drugs and supplements being taken and being mindful of mixing medication with alcohol or recreational drugs.

• Track progress: Logging your loved one’s behavior, mood, and the effects of various treatments can help not just their treatment team but also you in better understanding their condition and even preventing relapse by identifying early warning signs.
• Be Sensitive: A simple Google search will reveal recommendations like "how to deal with schizophrenic," "how to help someone who is schizophrenic," and "how to help a schizophrenic." This is not how a person fighting schizophrenia should be referred to. The disorder doesn't define them and makes them "schizophrenic." It is just another challenge that they have to fight.

Responding to Challenges in Schizophrenia Care

Maybe your loved one told you that they think someone wants to kill them, or they can hear angry voices in their head, or that Hitler is communicating with them, or they think they are a millionaire. So what? Politicians say ridiculous things all the time, and you believe them. Instead of challenging or agreeing with these hallucinations or delusions, acknowledge that you have heard from your loved one, and while you do not agree with them, you can empathize with what they might be feeling. Then, steer the conversation to a topic you both have similar opinions about.

Creating a Crisis Action Plan for Schizophrenia Care

Despite your and your loved one’s best efforts, moments of crisis may come, but thorough preparation and an open discussion about the plan with your loved one can help you manage the situation effectively and make it less frightening for your loved one. Some tips for handling a crisis are:

1. Keep emergency contact information and addresses of their doctor and therapists close.
2. Use a calm and quiet voice with and around them and speak to them at eye level. Reduce distractions like visitors, TV, or fluorescent lights.
3. Don’t challenge their delusions and hallucinations because you cannot reason with psychosis.
4. Don’t express anger. Ask them how they are feeling instead.

If you notice any warning signs of relapse or other indications that your loved one’s symptoms of schizophrenia are getting worse, call the doctor right away.

Schizophrenia Rehabilitation: Key to Effective Treatment

Early intervention makes a substantial difference in schizophrenia, so help your loved one start treatment today. A rehabilitation program can monitor your loved one’s medication professionally, provide constant supervision in case they pose a threat to themselves or others, and help your loved one build and adhere to a routine.

Why Should You Choose a Rehabilitation Center for Schizophrenia?

Opting for a rehabilitation center can significantly aid someone with schizophrenia. Though initially daunting, psychosocial rehabilitation (PSR) offers more than just medication and therapy. It includes yoga, meditation, life skills training, and social skills sessions. These comprehensive programs aim to help individuals live and work independently, greatly enhancing their quality of life.

Being around people who are recovering from similar illnesses can make it easier for your loved ones to realize they are hallucinating and to feel motivated toward their recovery. With professional help available 24/7, your loved ones can focus on their recovery without fearing any judgment. If you are trying to assess whether your loved one will do better in a rehabilitation center, you can book a free clinical advisory session with a professional at Cadabams today.

Empowering Recovery and a Fuller Life in Schizophrenia. Recovery is never a destination. It’s a process. There will always be challenges when it comes to schizophrenia, but you can help your loved one patiently achieve manageable milestones on their road to recovery. You can empower them by encouraging self-help in living a fuller life.

• Treat them like a person: Our in-house program manager told us that in the final stages of recovery, many friends and family members expect their loved ones to apologize for the inconvenience they have caused. Don’t treat them like schizophrenia is their fault. Support and encouragement in a non-judgemental and non-conditional way for their progress, active empathy, help with errands, and spending time doing banal activities could mean the world to your loved one.
• Encourage self-help: Don’t take away your loved one’s voice by babysitting them. Encouraging autonomy and treatment are important elements of recovery. Give them the opportunity to employ self-help strategies they have learned for a healthier diet, managing stress, exercising, and building meaningful interpersonal relationships that can speed up their recovery. Help them set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timed) goals and an action plan to help them feel hopeful and motivated to succeed.

Addressing Caregiver Burnout in Schizophrenia Care

Having a loved one with schizophrenia can be taxing not just for them but even for those around them, including you. Sometimes, despite your best efforts, your loved one might refuse medication or have an episode, and it can lead to difficult emotions like fear, guilt, anger, frustration, and helplessness. Don’t take it personally. Recognize your limits and remember that just a family member or friend is not the only support they have. You can’t do it all, so get help from support groups, doctors, or helplines if you feel like you are unable to provide the support they need.

You can join a support group yourself to connect with people who have first-hand experiences of what you are going through. And most importantly, make sure that you take care of yourself. Carve out time to do things that help you relax, or you might end up having caregiver burnout. You might face physical and emotional exhaustion and find a shift in your attitude from positive and caring to negative and unconcerned. Instead, caregivers who are attentive to their own needs can handle the ups and downs of supporting their loved ones better.

Do not Blame

Recovering from a mental health illness is tough, and it's important not to blame your loved one or yourself. Mental health issues are not a choice; they arise from a complex mix of psychological, biological, and social factors. Blame and stigma only add to the challenge.

Treatment and care are the paths to recovery, and it's a journey that requires patience and support from both the individual and their loved ones. Remember, mental health conditions deserve the same compassion and understanding as physical illnesses.

Strengthening Family-Patient Bonds

Improving the condition of someone with schizophrenia is often linked to strong family bonds. A close family can better understand and address the patient's challenges than outsiders. Family members, being in constant contact with their loved one, are well-placed to monitor any concerning symptoms and intervene when necessary.

Developing Coping Skills for Caregiving for Schizophrenia

An essential part of caring for a loved one with schizophrenia involves learning effective coping strategies. Family members can greatly benefit from consulting a therapist who can teach them these skills. This includes ensuring the patient adheres to their treatment plan. It's also useful to keep a list of crucial contacts, like emergency services and outpatient providers, that are easily accessible. These skills are key in navigating the treatment and recovery phases with more confidence and less stress.

The Path Forward in Schizophrenia Management

Managing schizophrenia and embarking on rehabilitation is a journey that demands courage, love, and resilience. Although it's challenging, focusing on a hopeful future, free from blame and resentment, can be incredibly empowering. Knowing that your loved one is receiving the necessary help can bring a profound sense of peace. Likewise, your loved one will feel more capable of facing the recovery process with your support close at hand.

Ready to take the next step? Reach out to Cadabams for expert guidance and support If you are searching for a solution to your problem, Cadabam’s Rehabilitation Centre can help you with its team of specialized experts. We have been helping thousands of people live healthier and happier lives for 30+ years. We leverage evidence-based approaches and holistic treatment methods to help individuals effectively manage Schizophrenia. Get in touch with us today. You can call us at +91 96111 94949. 

FAQs

1. How can families support a loved one with schizophrenia?

Families play an important role in helping individuals with schizophrenia recover. Families can educate themselves about the disorder, create a set routine, build a stress-free environment, and be involved in the recovery process. All of these have a profound impact on a person’s recovery.

2. What treatments are available for schizophrenia?

There are multiple treatment options available for schizophrenia. These include medication, psychotherapy, family therapy, support groups, psychoeducation, rehabilitation, and more. Rehabilitation is seen to be the best treatment option for long-term and sustainable recovery. 

3. Can people with schizophrenia lead a normal life?

Yes, people with schizophrenia can lead a normal life. The key to this is to identify the symptoms of the disorder early and seek help from a trained medical professional. With a proper treatment regimen, individuals can manage their activities of daily living independently. 

4. What role do rehabilitation centers play in schizophrenia treatment?

Rehabilitation plays an important role in schizophrenia treatment. Rehabilitation centers for schizophrenia offer dedicated spaces where people can focus on recovery while also regaining independence and improving daily functioning.