Daughter with unmedicated schizophrenia

Posted by razorclams @razorclams, Nov 28, 2019

Hello,
Our 30 year old daughter is in our local behavioral heath unit this Thanksgiving. She has given up all hope and tells everyone that she wants to die. She (we) just found out that she is one month pregnant. She wants to kill the fetus. We are Catholic.
I as a Father feel totally helpless to help her. She was in the hospital involuntarily, and will go to mental heath court on Tuesday. The judge can then release her or not. We live in Washington State. I know that there is much out of our control. Our daughter is intelligent, creative, and realizes her future with her illness. That’s one reason that she rejects all treatment. She feels hopeless and worthless. A burden on everyone.
Our heart is breaking, literally breaking. Thank you for caring. Joe

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Mental Health Support Group.

@jameshoward . Thank you for sharing. I seem to have utterly failed at self-forgiveness. I am interested in anything that might help me on this path. I, too, was raised catholic but I don't think that is why I can't forgive myself.

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@georgette12

@jameshoward . Thank you for sharing. I seem to have utterly failed at self-forgiveness. I am interested in anything that might help me on this path. I, too, was raised catholic but I don't think that is why I can't forgive myself.

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Hi Georgette, I’m sorry to hear about your struggles. Since you are interested in the goal of self-forgiveness I can share a bit about what helped me. The guilt and shame had overwhelmed me to the point that my life had become totally unmanageable. It took me 37 years to achieve this goal but I worked hard at it. 3 12-step groups helped me too. Sharing with others and being honest has been crucial. Start small but be honest with everyone, especially yourself. If you feel bad, say you feel bad. Nobody will stop loving you because you feel bad. There is a lot more but maybe a goal for another forum. Above all, do not give up. Work at it as it is worth it. It will change your life.

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👩‍⚕️ Keep on keeping on.

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@jameshoward - thanks for joining this discussion on schizophrenia and for sharing the importance you've found of expressing delusions to a professional and also dealing with guilt and coming to self-forgiveness.

I'd also like for you to meet @gingerw.

A few others in this discussion have talked about someone close to them who has a diagnosis of schizophrenia. It would be great to get an update, and I believe your responses would be helpful to all who've been part of this conversation on schizophrenia.

@jshdma - how is your brother?

@razorclams - how is your daughter doing lately?

@dianrib - you talked about a family member who has schizophrenia and also about a grandson you were concerned about who was having mental health symptoms. Does he also have a schizophrenia diagnosis?

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@hopeful33250

Oh, @razorclams, my heart goes out to you. What a difficult place for any parent to be. There is nothing I can say except to let the medical professionals do their work and be as supportive as you can be with their help and with God's help. Do you have other family members/friends nearby to support you? I hope so. Depression is such a difficult and frightening thing to experience. It is difficult for your daughter as well as for you.

Please post again and let us know how you and your daughter are doing. Praying for you.

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start with Aripiprazole, Abilify . good medicine . my son has schizophenia. with this medicine he improved a lot. Consult good psychiatrist. he/she will determine dose.

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I understand for personal reasons, also with a family member. My heart has broken and re-broken. I wish you all the best.

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@razorclams

What is so hard is the guilt I feel for not doing enough to help her. Our daughter is so beautiful, inside and out. She is in a dark dark place that I don’t know how to touch. I feel helpless in helping her right now, powerless really.

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Hi Razorclams...schizophrenia is a heartbreaking illness to deal with..I’m in Toronto, but I can tell you I have lived with schizophrenia my whole life..I have 2 siblings that have it..what I have learned is to have a psychiatrist to oversee your treatment plan..I have had to admit my siblings to the hospital for a 3 day assessment, if they r exhibiting suicidal tendencies..to get them back on medication, and regular councelling..I would also join a schizophrenic support group to get emotional support..my sister is higher functioning then my brother, but they both lack insight to their behaviour..call the schizophrenia society in your city..if they r like Toronto they have psychiatrists, therapists that will help..local hospital for crisis, and councelling..my siblings would go off their meds as well, which is a huge problem..you needed a skilled SW who specializes in this, and Family Dr. As well as your support team and help for yourself ie. councelling..this is tough stuff..hoping you get the help you need💖🙏

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