By Mark Ellerby
Another large area is family support during visits to doctors
and psychiatrists, etc. This is important because the turnover
amongst medical personnel is quite high and they do not have the
time to ponder anyone individual case for long nor to fully read
the case history. Family will, as a result, probably know a lot
more than the doctors and social workers involved and, in my
case, have often been the only constant element throughout an
illness which has varied a lot through fifteen years of
problems. As a result I rely quite heavily on having someone to
assess the trend as compared to the past.
There is also, I think, a professional stereotype that parents
worry unduly — especially mothers — and press the panic button
at the first sign of trouble. This is a tricky one, but can be
overcome in the following way. The first thing to do is indeed
to call for a doctor at the first sign of trouble and to say why
regardless of what the doctor might think. My family has had me
sectioned several times. When I got to hospital, it became very
apparent to the doctors why. From that moment on they paid very
close attention to my mother’s opinions and a social worker even
remarked “No one knows you like your mother!” Schizophrenia is
always taken seriously by doctors and repeating episodes are
very common too, so ringing doctors should not be seen as over
reacting.
In the end, there are probably a myriad of other ways in which
families help the patient outside of hospital including all the
ways we have and need to rely on them during normal life. The
emotional aspects, feeling wanted, being loved are the most
profound and important. Loss of this aspect through stigma or
whatever just creates a void here and makes the negative
experience of the illness worse. Again, there are so many
potential positives. I have been ill for 15 years, but never
once have had depression. This, I think, says a lot about the
importance of family to mental illness.
Mark Ellerby was diagnosed
with schizophrenia at age 21. At the time he was researching a
PhD. in politics at Southamptom University in the UK, but had to
give it up after a five year struggle with the illness. He now
lives in Sheltered Accommodation and has recently returned to
university after a ten year absence.
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