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Rivulet
Contributor

Any advice on how to interact with my sister who has schizophrenia

Hi everyone, I have a question in regards to my sister who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and it seems she is currently undergoing a relapse. I want to know what would be the best way to interact with her when she is experiencing the following:

 

1. There are instances my sister will be laughing uncontrollably or almost hysterically at the things around her. She seems to be amused by the things around her or the things she sees/hears. I'd ask her curiously if she would like to share what she is finding funny as I am interested in what she is experiencing, but she'll normally answer and say "I'm fine" while continuing to laugh. 

 

I understand it takes time for her to open up to share what she is experience but I was wondering is there anything I can do or try?

 

2. There are moments when she'll talk about how she is not a human, but an animal. I understand that during the conversation with her, I should be focusing on how she feels, which my family has been doing.

 

What would be the best way to interact with her about this? Is there anything else we can do?

 

3. There are also instances where she will lock herself in the bedroom or bathroom for long hours. We will check up on her if she stays in the bedroom with her door locked for too long by asking how she is feeling and if she would like to have a chat. But most of the time she insists that she is fine through the locked door. I have noticed when she is in the bathroom she will like to stare at herself in the mirror and say that the one in the mirror is not her.

 

In the case that she does not come out of her room, I don't know if it is appropriate to unlock the door to check and see if she is ok as that she might feel it is a breach of her privacy. When we try to ask her how she is feeling she says she is fine. And when we tell her we are worried about her and just want to check up on her she says she'll open the door but doesn't.

 

She seems to like to be alone. We have tried to engage with inviting her out for walks or grocery shopping, but after that she would immediately go lock herself up in a room.

 

Is it ok of us to open the door to check on her or is there a better approach? I know we have to give her space for her own thoughts, but what is considered enough time by herself in her room?

 

We do have a doctor's appointment booked in for the end of the week as that's the earliest possible time so before then, I wanted to reach out here and ask if anyone had any advice on how I should be interacting with my sister to ensure that she remains feeling safe and supported.

 

Kind regards,

Kay

9 REPLIES 9

Re: Any advice on how to interact with my sister who has schizophrenia

Hi @Rivulet , I have schitzophenia and I understand what your sister is going through. Keep telling her you love her and try to understand she is lost in another reality, so communication for her is going to be difficult. You are doing the right thing by asking her what she sees/hears, schitzophenia can be a lonely journey for anyone walking this road. The best advice I can give is to keep talking and reaching out to her . There will be sometimes when she can't be reached, these are the times she needs to know you love her no matter what. She is very fortunate to have such a loving family. I wish her all the best with her doctors appointment.

Bless you all

Schitzo 🤗🌸💚 xxx

 

Re: Any advice on how to interact with my sister who has schizophrenia

Hey @Rivulet and welcome to the forums! I'm so sorry to hear your sister is struggling right now. It sounds really challenging for all of you and I'm so glad you're receiving support and advice from our wonderful members already 😊

 

It's really brave to tell us about yourself and ask these questions. Don't hesitate to ask us moderators or other members questions if you need and also the Guidelines can be pretty handy for understanding how it all works. 

 

See you around 🌻

Re: Any advice on how to interact with my sister who has schizophrenia

Hi @Schitzo, thank you so much for your support! I wish you all the best with your journey with schizophrenia, thank you for being here and offering advice to us as well! You are very brave 🙂

 

We will definitely continue to let her know that we love her and continue to reach out to her to try and engage with her. I'm sometimes afraid that we might seem "annoying" to her though especially in the scenario where she locks herself up in her room or bathroom for prolonged periods of time, and either I or my parents will try to talk to her through the door and ask her if she is okay but she will not respond, only laugh or respond and say she's fine. So far, she has not expressed anger or annoyance with our questions and attempts to ask her to share what she's experiencing, so I think we are ok at the moment, but there's always the underlying fear that she might think we're pestering her and hence attempt to ignore us.

Re: Any advice on how to interact with my sister who has schizophrenia

Hi @Tortoiseshell , thank you so much for the warm welcome and for your kind words.

 

I decided to open up here to see if I could get any advice as I know each situation varies and I figured it'll be best to learn more from others' experiences and stories so that I will be able to assist my sister in her recovery. Hopefully I'll also be able to contribute to the forums by sharing my thoughts to other member's concerns where possible as well. Smiley Happy

Re: Any advice on how to interact with my sister who has schizophrenia

@Rivuletkeep reaching out to her even though you feel you are annoying her or invading her space.   At the moment the voices are most likely telling her what to do or say.  It's important she knows your there, especially when she reaches the other side. Please remember she is not ignoring you deliberately, she in another reality.

Bless you

Schitzo 🤗🌸💚 xxx

Re: Any advice on how to interact with my sister who has schizophrenia

Hi. I don't know what area you are in, but if you are concerned about waiting for Drs appointment,  please try ringing your local Mental Health Care Triage number. They are very helpful. My neighbour has Schizophrenia,  and I keep an eye out for him declining, and contact his local Mental Health Unit to assist him. Take Care.

Re: Any advice on how to interact with my sister who has schizophrenia

Thank you so much @Schitzo for your shared insight. We will definitely keep that in mind.

Please take care as well and many thanks again 🙂

Re: Any advice on how to interact with my sister who has schizophrenia

Hi @Zoe87 , for some reason that did not cross my mind until you mentioned it, thank you so much! I will definitely keep that suggestion in mind.

 

I wish all the best to your neighbour and would also like to thank you for being so thoughtful and caring 🙂 Do take care of yourself too!

Re: Any advice on how to interact with my sister who has schizophrenia

I think the reason why she says "im fine" and why she wants to be alone is so that she can focus on trying to figure out what is real/not real, what is true/not true. She is sane, she thinks reasonably, only, she is faced with all/many options of what could be real/not real, and she is spending her time and focus on trying to figure out the truth.

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