How families are affected

When parents learn their child is suffering from psychosis, they may experience a range of strong emotions. They may be shocked, sad, angry, confused and dismayed. Some of described their reactions as follows:

Sorrow:
"We feel like we've lost our child."

Anxiety:
"We're afraid to leave him alone or hurt his feelings."

Fear:
"Will the ill person harm themselves or others?"

Shame and guilt:
"Are we to blame? What will people think?"

Feelings of isolation:
"No one else could ever understand."

Ambivalence toward the afflicted person:
"We love him so much, but when his illness makes him so aggressive, we wish he'd just go away."

Anger and jealousy:
"Siblings resent the attention given to the ill family member."

Depression:
"We can't even talk without crying."

Total denial of the illness:
"This can't be happening to our family."

Blaming each other:
"If you had been a better parent."

Marital discord:
"Our relationship became cold, I felt dead inside."

Divorce:
"It just tore our family apart."

Preoccupation with moving away:
"Maybe if we lived somewhere else, things would be better."

Sleeplessness:
"I've aged so much in the last seven years."

Weight loss:
"We've been through the mill and it shows in our health."

Withdrawal from social activities:
"We don't attend family get-togethers."

Excessive searching for possible explanations:
"Was it something we did?"

Increased use of alcohol or tranquilizers:
"Our evening drink turned into three or four."

Fear of the future:
"What's going to happen? Who will take care of our child if she doesn't get better?"

The typical family of a young person suffering from psychosis is often in chaos. Parents may look frantically for answers or try to deny that anything is wrong; siblings want to flee. If the ill person doesn’t receive proper medical care, the family may be destroyed no matter how hard they try to survive.