Thread: Schizophrenia!
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Old Dec 14, 2007, 11:44 PM
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spiritual_emergency spiritual_emergency is offline
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Hello Badi1234:
It's probably important for you to know that this place operates primarily as peer support. In other words, the people who take part in these discussions are people who have personal experience with psychosis and/or schizophrenia. To the best of my knowledge, none of them are professionals. That doesn't mean that no one can offer you helpful information, but it is important for you to know that we're not doctors.

That said...

Medical science has not yet determined exactly what causes schizophrenia although it is known that many things can cause psychosis. For this reason, there isn't one perfect treatment for everyone. What can be helpful is to familiarize yourself with the variety of treatments available and then try the ones that fit your personal situation. For example, psychosis can sometimes be caused by recreational (street) drug use. Obviously, the most helpful thing to do in that case would be to stop using drugs. As another example, there is a strong link between trauma and psychosis. If that's your son's situation then it might be helpful for him to seek therapy with a trauma specialist.

There are many, many things that can help someone with schizophrenia or psychosis to improve, even recover completely but what those things are will vary depending on the individual. As a general rule, rest, a stress free environment, good nutrition, exercise, and love and acceptance from family and friends -- all of these will be helpful in some manner. Other options that can be helpful include...
[*] Talk therapy: Specific forms of talk therapy have been identified as very helpful for some individuals. This includes cognitive behavior therapy, depth psychology, transpersonal therapy and open dialogue treatment.
[*] Medication: Some people identify medication as very helpful for them. Others find medication to not help them at all.
[*] Insight & Meaning: Some people find it very helpful to find meaning in their experience of psychosis. Other people prefer to put the experience behind them.
[*] Spiritual Practice: Some individuals may find it helpful to explore spirituality or take up a spiritual practice in the aftermath of their experience.

Those are just some general ideas. Perhaps you could share that list with your son to see if some ideas appeal to him more than others.

You may also find it helpful to read this post with your son: Schizophrenia & Hope

Best of luck to you and your son.


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