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Comment by HarlowDuDy | Hacker News Reader

Watching my brother go through something similar has been one of the hardest things I've ever watched. He's pretty heavily medicated now and has struggles to maintain "normal" relationships or a work life... After years of taking care of him, though (and him actually graduating college and getting a job), I had to start focusing on my own life again. I still feel overwhelming guilt for moving away.

He's a veteran (did not go to war, though, discharged with the health issues) so it's been even harder watching him try to make sense of it all with a system like the VA.

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My youngest brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia about 4 years ago (though it took over a year of him having symptoms before getting a diagnosis). It's been incredibly difficult -- he's had a couple runs through the hospital and it was terrifying to see him there, and to see the confusion in his face as to why he was there. Through the wonderful care of my Mother, he's been stable for the last two years and has insight into his illness, which means he takes his meds and generally is open about talking about when he's symptomatic. It's a constant battle, though, and it's hard to face the fact that he'll never get better.

My wife and I attended a 12-week NAMI course (taught by my Mom, actually) and it was incredibly beneficial. The course is designed for anyone coping with a family member with a mental illness. Check out http://www.nami.org/ for resources and to see if there is a course in your area.

Just had to chime in because my story is similar (and I rarely get the chance to talk about this stuff because, frankly, no one really enjoys talking about it). My younger brother also developed symptoms of schizophrenia about four years ago, and was recently diagnosed with it. Unfortunately he basically hasn't left my parents' house for the past 18 months or so (he had a psychotic episode that resulted in arrest/hospitalization and was forced to drop out of the Ivy League graduate program he had been in). We can't get him on any kind of medication because his religious mania causes him to reject western psychiatry.

My parents also recently started attending a NAMI course and it seems to be helping. I recommend it to anyone going through a similarly painful situation. The hardest thing for me is the lack of insight in my brother (in the psychiatric sense of the term) - how to convince someone they're insane? I have to assume that it'll come from him rather than us if it does, but he seems to be losing grip on reality more and more with each year. I'm curious if you or anyone else in a similar situation can talk about how that breakthrough happened and if there's anything to be done to encourage it.

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