How A Book On Living With Schizophrenia Can Help
When someone you love suffers from schizophrenia, everyone around them is affected. If you are the main caregiver for this person, you may struggle with trying to help them get through each day, making sure they take any medications, helping with simple tasks like hygiene and taking care of their home when things have gotten them unable to do for themselves. You may spend time trying to find alternative methods to help them, searching the internet and researching in libraries. However, it is also important to make sure to take care of yourself properly. When you are at the library doing research, look for at least one book on living with schizophrenia. Here are a few things that you may find will help you.
Time for Yourself
You cannot spend all of your time caring for your loved one. Going to work and then straight home is not an answer either. You need to be able to get away more than just for work and enjoy your life. This may mean having other family members step in to help or hiring a professional. If you do not take time for yourself to enjoy life, you could end up resenting the patient.
Therapy
At some point, you may become angry with the patient, and then, in turn, angry with yourself for being angry. You may need to seek out a therapist who you can talk to and express this anger. They will help you to learn ways to calm yourself when you start to feel overwhelmed to avoid getting angry.
Coping Methods
A good book on living with schizophrenia will also have information on how to cope with the whole situation. This information may also be things that the patient can use to try and help control their own frustration with the disease When they are calm and in their normal state of mind, you should consider reading the book with them to help them understand not only what they are going through, but what their caregivers feel too.
Regardless of who it is that is living with schizophrenia, either the patient or their caregiver, the more information they have, and the more options they have for dealing with the situation, the better the outcome will be. Keep in mind, this is going to be a lifelong struggle for everyone involved. There is no such thing as too much information and knowledge, just be sure to use it wisely.
