brother was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia Posted: 07-31-06 16:10pm
My brother was diagnosed with paranoid
schizophrenia about 15 years ago, and has
lived with very few and very short
hospital stays ever since.
He has found a way to, as he puts it,
"focus" by playing computer games for what
seems to be an unhealthy amount of time on
a daily basis.
A few years ago, he had a stroke at his
desk, while playing computer games. Upon
visiting a doctor he was told that the
stroke was due to bad circulation and poor
nutrition. He would only move from his
chair to go get fast food, go to the
bathroom, or sleep.
This was a scary wake up call for all of
us in the family. We had confronted him
about this unhealthy lifestyle many times
before this episode, but he claimed to
'need' the games to keep his mind off the
voices. He said they were the only thing
he has found that will employ at least
three senses at a time (which is his
requirement for distraction), and help him
tune out the voices...I am not sure how
much of this is truth, and how much is,
not to sound too harsh, an excuse to be
lazy.
Recently, his computer stopped working,
and coincidentally I had just gotten a new
one. My mother asked me to give him my
old computer because he was 'not doing
well without one'. I was very reluctant
to feed his addiction, but gave it to him
anyways.
I am afraid that he is slowly killing
himself by not moving, and never leaving
the house, and practicing such unhealthy
eating habits (which have lead to some
serious health issues such as ibs). He
only makes excuses and, of course, becomes
extremely defensive when he is confronted
about these issues. He claims that none
of us understand what it's like, which I
agree with, but isn't there another way to
live without this sloth-like lifestyle for
those afflicted with paranoid
schizophrenia?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you,
concerned sister
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musicmanfrommercury
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 20 Sep 2006 Posts: 3 Location: US
Rationalizing Posted: 09-21-06 01:27am
Sounds to me like he's got an illness that
he's dealing with in an unhealthy way and
that he needs some good professional
counseling.
