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During National Family Caregivers Month, we’re celebrating the incredible caregivers in our schizophrenia community whose efforts often go unseen and unheard. These are their moving, powerful stories. They are stories of loss, of struggle, of hope. Above all, they are stories of love.
You and your loved ones are the reason we work to shatter the barriers to treatment, survival and recovery for all who live with schizophrenia.
We see you and we’re here for you—
In the Name of Love
To recognize National Family Caregivers Month this year, we wanted to try something new. Throughout November, we’re sharing the moving, powerful stories of these amazing people as told in their own words. These are stories of loss. Stories of struggle. Stories of hope. And above all, stories of love.
You and your loved ones are the reason we work to shatter the barriers to treatment, recovery and survival for all who live with schizophrenia. At S&PAA, we’re here to help, providing resources, creating community and advocating for better treatment, support and recognition that people with schizophrenia – and their caregivers – deserve to thrive.
Caregivers, we see you and we’re here for you —In the Name of Love.
“I advocate for policy change now that will help fix the decades of bad policies made by under informed lawmakers. I hope my son’s story serves as a cautionary tale of how backward our treatment system is.”
“After six years of multiple medications and no change, he was finally allowed to go on [a medicine for treatment-resistant schizophrenia] while in the hospital. There has been a remarkable improvement after 2 1/2 months.”
“There are no roadmaps for this journey, no words to explain, but if you have lived this, you understand that we do it all in the name of love.”
“The presence of other families like ours gives me strength. The commitment and love among family members reminds me of my own family and fills me with hope.”
“Change in the mainstream dynamic about treatment and care of those suffering from mental illness will require an emphasis on hearing what happened to those who got sick and to their families.”
“The thought of being where I am versus where I would be, What a life to prove schizophrenia doesn’t define me.”
“Laws, medications, treatments, confinement all deserve discussion. But so does the isolation of the caregiver without buttering it with excessive optimism.”
“Our family continues to be concerned for the personal safety of my son and the safety of others. It is very difficult to continue to hear what cannot or will not be done for him.”
“Expecting families who have been traumatized themselves to educate “professionals” and government agencies is absurd. Waiting for society to be further impacted is irresponsible.”
“I also know that I love him, and that the only way out of this situation is through it. Pray, and keep moving forward. “
“I hope and pray that I have the strength to advocate to the government and other powers that be, to create laws to provide for kind and gentle care facilities for our beautiful intelligent people with psychotic and schizophrenic disorders”
Many S&PAA resources are available to support and inform your caregiver journey:
Questions?
If you or a loved one has thoughts of self-harm, go to a hospital emergency room or dial the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.
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