[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.

[KUREHA]

I don't really have any advice, but don't blame yourself.

[costello]

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.

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.

[Zcoder]

Hello danielleclint, as other have already said, it's not your fault but your concern is a sign of caring. It sounds like he needs support, he needs to be told everything will be ok, maybe some activities as a family to keep his mind in a positive place.

When I was in the 7th grade, I was arrested at my school for having a pistol and ammunition. I was banned from school, treated like a freak, even my family just gave me this silence, it was so quiet, even after the charges were dropped and I was home, it was like I was the mistake no one could speak of or at least they didn't want to , eventually they started talking to me and asked me why. My intentions where not malicious, just poor judgment.

Is your brother interested in martial arts? I think martial arts helped me a lot growing up, for instance, I never got into a fight to this day, not even once. Martial arts could give him confidence and discipline and teach him some important life lessons while also teaching him how to stay out of trouble and to defend himself if he ever needed. Before my injury, martial arts was a big part of my life, now the physical aspects I so enjoyed are only a memory, but at least I still have the mental lessons.