According to www.schizophrenia.com, about 2.2 million people in the U.S. suffer from schizophrenia. Many of those that live with this disease say it makes like seem very lonely and it isolates sufferers from the world in which they exist. Dealing with a schizophrenic at times may be challenging. After all, sometimes they will seem highly intelligent, lucid and sweet mannered. Other times they can be unpredictable, angry and paranoid. Listed below are some tips to help navigate the extremely difficult process of dealing with a schizophrenic.
Make the environment around you comfortable. The higher the person's level of discomfort, the more symptoms he or she will unknowingly transmit, which may dissuade you from your goal of talking or dealing with him or her. Find a nice area you both agree on, sitting or standing, and slowly ease into a conversation.
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Be cool and calm and avoid agitating gestures. Don't hold intrusive eye contact, don't raise your voice, don't make threatening movements and never, under any circumstances, initiate an argument. The most important things to remember is that schizophrenics are people, too. Do not say things to that person that you would not say to anyone else. Do not make assumptions or accusations simply because of their illness. Open the conversation you would as a normal person would broach it.
Unless they bring it up, avoid talking about their illness. Many schizophrenics have a hard time accepting their illness. Not only do they want to feel "normal," but also schizophrenia is one of the more complex mental illnesses. It is harder to lead a normal life with schizophrenia and many sufferers cannot consistently stay on medication to manage it. Therefore, they avoid talking about it with anyone outside of their inner circle or medical team. So, if at all possible, avoid the topic unless they bring it up first.
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Initiate a normal conversation. Realize that mentally ill people are also mostly quite intelligent and able to hold conversations, take normal excursions, and participate in large or small group settings. They also know when someone is being untruthful to them or blaming them for actions they cannot control. Once you take all of this into account, you should have success in holding a conversation.
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Get help when a episode occurs. Only trained mental health specialists truly understand what to do with a schizophrenic is having an episode. If you find yourself in a situation with someone undergoing hallucinations or making threats or accusations, don't engage them. Instead, seek help from their doctor or psychiatrist or even a friend or family member with some experience dealing with the person.
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Tips & Warnings
Always strive to understand the other point of view, no matter how absurd it seems to you. Always have compassion-- people suffer with mental illness. It is not enjoyable,
Do not yell, intimidate, shout or threaten verbally or physically
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