Quote:
Originally Posted by danielleclint
Just found out my little brother(18yo) has schizophrenia, I haven't seen him in about a year, I just moved back. He lives with his grandma, and he got kicked out of school for wanting to shoot up the school! He keeps begging me for a gun because he feels he is unsafe, I refused to get him a gun so now he wants a pocket knife and pepper spray. Is this safe for him to have? I've seem some posts about delusions could someone explain how these work. Sorry so long this is all new to me, he seemed like he was ok before I moved, I feel like this is my fault and I don't know how to help.
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I agree with, Kureha, this isn't your fault. Beating yourself up isn't helpful. It will only increase your anxiety, and your brother will sense that you're feeling anxious. That just isn't helpful for him. You might want to read up on
expressed emotion. It seems pretty clear that families with high expressed emotion make it harder for the person in distress to recover and more likely to relapse. I know how hard it is, but working on your own emotional responses may be the best thing you can do for your brother.
I wouldn't provide him with a gun or knife. I'm sure he doesn't feel safe right now, but there are other ways of feeling safe besides a weapon. You can help him feel safer by remaining calm,
hopeful, and non-judgmental. Also, educating yourself is very helpful.