Diagnoses of mental health disorders are never easy.
It can be especially difficult for a parent to receive the diagnosis about their child.
The desire to protect your child coupled with the guilt of potential heredity can be an overwhelming thing to grapple with.
These 13 parents share what it’s like to hear that your son is schizophrenic, and how they deal with it.
1. It’s a hard thing to hear
Your job is to protect them, but you can’t protect them from this.
Image credit: Whisper
2. Diagnoses can come early in some cases
And the earlier the intervention, the better.
Image credit: Whisper
3. It can run in families
And it’s not always easy to identify.
Image credit: Whisper
4. Sometimes they need treatment you can’t provide
And what a hard thing that is, but hopefully a temporary one.
Image credit: Whisper
5. It can make absolutely everything harder
And the longer it takes, the more difficult those years might be.
Image credit: Whisper
6. Sometimes it doesn’t even become apparent until adulthood
Or at least not apparent to the untrained parent.
Image credit: Whisper
7. Sometimes you catch it early
Best case scenario, even though it is its own brand of agony.
Image credit: Whisper
8. Other times it might be triggered by lifestyle
When a person is susceptible, it may not take much to push them over the line.
Image credit: Whisper
9. Sometimes the self-medication might cause the illness…
Other times the illness might cause people to self-medicate.
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10. But your child is still your child
Their condition doesn’t make you love them any less.
Image credit: Whisper
11. Even when you feel like hiding sometimes
It’s okay to get overwhelmed.
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12. Remember that it’s not a death sentence
And symptoms can be managed.
Image credit: Whisper
Dealing with a diagnosis of an uncommon mental health condition is not something you’d wish on any parent.
As these stories show, it can be heartbreaking to deal with.
But there is also hope. And that’s what we all have to hold onto sometimes.
What would you do? Let us know in the comments.
