"Surviving Schizophrenia" -- the version I own was published in the '60s, not sure how it fits with modern research; this is an updated version -- suggests trying an elimination diet. Basically, strip all of one food group out of your diet, for two weeks, and record how it affects your mental and physical health.
I've read a handful of unverified research suggesting sz symptoms are linked to undiagnosed and untreated allergic reactions, coupled with an over-production of.. I think epinephrin? not sure. Basically a stress-handling chemical similar to adrenaline.
An elimination diet is an easy-to-do first step towards recognizing an allergy, but the quickest route might be asking your doctor to do a full allergy workup.
The more fruits, veggies, and nuts you can fit into your diet, the better you'll feel, really. Try replacing red meat with chicken or fish, or eating vegetarian meals a few times a week. Canned fruits are fine as long as you strain out the sugary syrup. Fresh or frozen are ideal.
Personally I find that eating salmon, nuts, and yogurt (not all together.. although..) makes a noticeable difference in my mental clarity, and eating a lot of starches or red meat makes me groggy and confused. I also have been trying to keep my caffeine intake low because after two or three cans of soda I start to get really anxious. I tend to carry trail mix or a baggy of cereal around to munch on, so I'm not tempted to spend money on less healthy snack options.
https://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Schizophrenia-6th-Family-Manual/dp/0062268856
This book is AWESOME, my fiance read it a little while after I was diagnosed and he said it really opened his eyes.
Actual trauma seems pretty likely when someone acts as you described, but the object of her accusations may not in fact be the actual perp at all. Add the potential for schizophrenogenic genetics to what may have been traumatizing behavior by others, and one may displace their typically very fragmented memories onto others. To begin with, I would see what you can find out from others -- not from her -- about interactions with that uncle or others in the family or close to it. I know it is popularly believed that sz spectrum disorders are highly or entirely genetic, but while the former is often true, the latter is simply not. Suggested reading:
Sz is no longer the kiss of death it was even five years ago, owing to both newer meds (see below) and newer psychotherapeutic interventions (also see below), but the prognosis is strongly dependent upon early Tx.
Suggested (I worked with 60 sz patients and about 20 families of sz patients throughout 2015):
1) Read this article on the five stages of recovery about the other party, seeing where they are among those five stages.
2) Read this article on the patterns & characteristics of codependency about you and them.
3) Read about the Karpman Drama Triangle about you and them, and them and their other, original family members.
4) Learn about family secrets, double-binding via paradoxical injunction, and the emotional blackmail used to protect them, because it is typical in the childhood families of those who were regularly ignored, abandoned, discounted, disclaimed, rejected, invalidated, confused, betrayed, insulted, criticized, judged, blamed, embarrassed, humiliated, victimized, demonized, persecuted, picked on, dumped on, bullied, scapegoated, and/or otherwise abused by others upon whom one depended for survival in early life. (The experts on all this include Theodore Lidz, Gregory Bateson, Paul Watslawick, Don D. Jackson, Jay Haley, Ronald D. Laing, Aaron Esterson, Jules Henry and Mathjis Koopmans.)
5) Read about reactive attachment disorder, because it is usually what the child acquires when abused into a chronic state of learned helplessness by those he or she must depend upon to survive... and if the genetics for sz are there, may drive them "over the dam" into florid sz as adolescents or young adults.
6) Look for CoDA meetings in your area and go to six before making a decision to continue or not... because it is likely that you will need to know about psychological boundaries and how to raise and lower them appropriately as they struggle with both paranoid fear of abuse here and paranoid fear of abandonment there.
7) Look over these books, pick one or two, and read it about you and them.
8) Look over this link to this book and/or this book, get the book(s), and work through it/them for your own sake, regardless of what they do or do not do. Try to get the whole family to read one or the other (the latter is shorter and simpler).
9) Come to understand that they may (we do not diagnose here) have developed sz as a coping system for the C-PTSD that is typical among adult survivors of psychological abuse. Sz is a set of dysfunctional -- but understandable -- coping mechanisms for untreated child abuse and resulting C-PTSD. The best psychotherapies for it are those that understand the causes resulting in and physiological and psychological conditions of a shredded autonomic nervous system no longer capable of managing their "fight-flight-freeze" response to perceived threat. This article will help you to understand all that and how it affect the sz patient's thinking, as well as what can be done if the pt adapts well to medication.
10) Sz is initially treated with neuroleptic medications. To find a board certified psychopharmacologist in your area look here, and here. Getting psych meds from a GP or primary care doc can be useless or even risky. Psych diagnoses, meds and med interactions are just too complex now for most GPs and primary care docs.
11) If they adapt well to medicinal intervention, they may be good candidates for cognitive restructuring and symptom management psychotherapies including...
. . . a) the CBTs including REBT, collegiate critical thinking, schema therapy, and the 10 StEPs of Emotion Processing; as well as
. . . b) the "super-CBTs" like MBCT, DBT (the long-time gold standard for BPD symptom management), ACT, MBBT, and MBSR.
12) Regardless of what they do or don't do, you may do very well for yourself to learn this method of seeing, hearing and otherwise sensing what is so that you can manage your frustrations and perhaps even guide the rest of the family to act appropriately under difficult circumstances.
Suggested (I have worked with over 60 sz patients and about 20 families of sz patients):
1) Read this article on the five stages of recovery about the other party, seeing where they are among those five stages.
2) Read this article on the patterns & characteristics of codependency about you and them.
3) Read about the Karpman Drama Triangle about you and them, and them and their other, original family members.
4) Learn about family secrets, double-binding via paradoxical injunction, and the emotional blackmail used to protect them, because it is typical in the childhood families of those who were ignored, abandoned, discounted, disclaimed, rejected, invalidated, confused, betrayed, insulted, criticized, judged, blamed, embarrassed, humiliated, victimized, demonized, persecuted, picked on, dumped on, bullied, scapegoated, and/or otherwise abused by others upon whom one depended for survival in early life. (The experts on all this include Theodore Lidz, Gregory Bateson, Paul Watslawick, Don D. Jackson, Jay Haley, Ronald D. Laing, Aaron Esterson, Jules Henry and Mathjis Koopmans.)
5) Read about reactive attachment disorder, because it is usually what the child acquires when abused by those she must depend upon to survive... and if the genetics for sz are there, may drive them "over the dam" into florid sz as adolescents or young adults.
6) Look for CoDA meetings in your area and go to six before making a decision to continue or not... because it is likely that you will need to know about psychological boundaries and how to raise and lower them appropriately as they struggle with both paranoid fear of abuse here and paranoid fear of abandonment there.
7) Look over these books, pick one or two, and read it about you and them.
8) Look over this link to this book and/or this book, get the book(s), and work through it/them for your own sake, regardless of what they do or do not do.
9) Come to understand that they may (we do not diagnose here) have developed sz as a coping system for the C-PTSD that is typical among adult survivors of psychological abuse. BPD is a set of dysfunctional -- but understandable -- coping mechanisms for untreated child abuse and resulting C-PTSD. The best psychotherapies for it are those that understand the causes resulting in and physiological and psychological conditions of a shredded autonomic nervous system no longer capable of managing their "fight-flight-freeze" response to perceived threat.
10) Regardless of what she does or doesn't do, you may do very well for yourself to learn this method of seeing, hearing and otherwise sensing what is so that you can manage your frustrations and perhaps even guide the rest of the family to act appropriately under difficult circumstances.
You've got a toughie here because of the degree of his paranoia and the density and effectiveness of his particular, Vailant level one and two defense mechanisms... BUT, those DMs are going to break down at some point. Sz is no longer the kiss of death it was even five years ago, owing to both newer meds (see below) and newer psychotherapeutic interventions (also see below), but the prognosis is strongly dependent upon early Tx.
Suggested (I worked with 60 sz patients and about 20 families of sz patients throughout 2015):
1) Read this article on the five stages of recovery about the other party, seeing where they are among those five stages.
2) Read this article on the patterns & characteristics of codependency about you and them.
3) Read about the Karpman Drama Triangle about you and them, and them and their other, original family members.
4) Learn about family secrets, double-binding via paradoxical injunction, and the emotional blackmail used to protect them, because it is typical in the childhood families of those who were regularly ignored, abandoned, discounted, disclaimed, rejected, invalidated, confused, betrayed, insulted, criticized, judged, blamed, embarrassed, humiliated, victimized, demonized, persecuted, picked on, dumped on, bullied, scapegoated, and/or otherwise abused by others upon whom one depended for survival in early life. (The experts on all this include Theodore Lidz, Gregory Bateson, Paul Watslawick, Don D. Jackson, Jay Haley, Ronald D. Laing, Aaron Esterson, Jules Henry and Mathjis Koopmans.)
5) Read about reactive attachment disorder, because it is usually what the child acquires when abused into a chronic state of learned helplessness by those he or she must depend upon to survive... and if the genetics for sz are there, may drive them "over the dam" into florid sz as adolescents or young adults.
6) Look for CoDA meetings in your area and go to six before making a decision to continue or not... because it is likely that you will need to know about psychological boundaries and how to raise and lower them appropriately as they struggle with both paranoid fear of abuse here and paranoid fear of abandonment there.
7) Look over these books, pick one or two, and read it about you and them.
8) Look over this link to this book and/or this book, get the book(s), and work through it/them for your own sake, regardless of what they do or do not do. Try to get the whole family to read them.
9) Come to understand that they may (we do not diagnose here) have developed sz as a coping system for the C-PTSD that is typical among adult survivors of psychological abuse. Sz is a set of dysfunctional -- but understandable -- coping mechanisms for untreated child abuse and resulting C-PTSD. The best psychotherapies for it are those that understand the causes resulting in and physiological and psychological conditions of a shredded autonomic nervous system no longer capable of managing their "fight-flight-freeze" response to perceived threat. This article will help you to understand all that and how it affect the sz patient's thinking, as well as what can be done if the pt adapts well to medication.
10) Sz is initially treated with neuroleptic medications. Find a board certified psychopharmacologist in your area by using the clinician locator on the Psychology Today website. Getting psych meds from a GP or primary care doc can be useless or even risky. Psych diagnoses, meds and med interactions are just too complex now for most GPs and primary care docs.
11) If they adapt well to medicinal intervention, they may be good candidates for cognitive restructuring and symptom management psychotherapies including...
. . . a) the CBTs including REBT, collegiate critical thinking, schema therapy, and the 10 StEPs of Emotion Processing; as well as
. . . b) the "super-CBTs" like MBCT, DBT (the long-time gold standard for BPD symptom management), ACT, MBBT, and MBSR.
12) Regardless of what they do or don't do, you may do very well for yourself to learn this method of seeing, hearing and otherwise sensing what is so that you can manage your frustrations and perhaps even guide the rest of the family to act appropriately under difficult circumstances.
Sz is no longer the kiss of death it was even five years ago, owing to both newer meds (see below) and newer psychotherapeutic interventions (also see below), but the prognosis is strongly dependent upon early Tx.
Suggested (I worked with 60 sz patients and about 20 families of sz patients throughout 2015):
1) Read this article on the five stages of recovery about the other party, seeing where they are among those five stages.
2) Read this article on the patterns & characteristics of codependency about you and them.
3) Read about the Karpman Drama Triangle about you and them, and them and their other, original family members.
4) Learn about family secrets, double-binding via paradoxical injunction, and the emotional blackmail used to protect them, because it is typical in the childhood families of those who were regularly ignored, abandoned, discounted, disclaimed, rejected, invalidated, confused, betrayed, insulted, criticized, judged, blamed, embarrassed, humiliated, victimized, demonized, persecuted, picked on, dumped on, bullied, scapegoated, and/or otherwise abused by others upon whom one depended for survival in early life. (The experts on all this include Theodore Lidz, Gregory Bateson, Paul Watslawick, Don D. Jackson, Jay Haley, Ronald D. Laing, Aaron Esterson, Jules Henry and Mathjis Koopmans.)
5) Read about reactive attachment disorder, because it is usually what the child acquires when abused into a chronic state of learned helplessness by those he or she must depend upon to survive... and if the genetics for sz are there, may drive them "over the dam" into florid sz as adolescents or young adults.
6) Look for CoDA meetings in your area and go to six before making a decision to continue or not... because it is likely that you will need to know about psychological boundaries and how to raise and lower them appropriately as they struggle with both paranoid fear of abuse here and paranoid fear of abandonment there.
7) Look over these books, pick one or two, and read it about you and them.
8) Look over this link to this book and/or this book, get the book(s), and work through it/them for your own sake, regardless of what they do or do not do. Try to get the whole family to read one or the other (the latter is shorter and simpler).
9) Come to understand that they may (we do not diagnose here) have developed sz as a coping system for the C-PTSD that is typical among adult survivors of psychological abuse. Sz is a set of dysfunctional -- but understandable -- coping mechanisms for untreated child abuse and resulting C-PTSD. The best psychotherapies for it are those that understand the causes resulting in and physiological and psychological conditions of a shredded autonomic nervous system no longer capable of managing their "fight-flight-freeze" response to perceived threat. This article will help you to understand all that and how it affect the sz patient's thinking, as well as what can be done if the pt adapts well to medication.
10) Sz is initially treated with neuroleptic medications. To find a board certified psychopharmacologist in your area look here, and here. Getting psych meds from a GP or primary care doc can be useless or even risky. Psych diagnoses, meds and med interactions are just too complex now for most GPs and primary care docs.
11) If they adapt well to medicinal intervention, they may be good candidates for cognitive restructuring and symptom management psychotherapies including...
. . . a) the CBTs including REBT, collegiate critical thinking, schema therapy, and the 10 StEPs of Emotion Processing; as well as
. . . b) the "super-CBTs" like MBCT, DBT (the long-time gold standard for BPD symptom management), ACT, MBBT, and MBSR.
12) Regardless of what they do or don't do, you may do very well for yourself to learn this method of seeing, hearing and otherwise sensing what is so that you can manage your frustrations and perhaps even guide the rest of the family to act appropriately under difficult circumstances.
Pretty much SOP with sz. Sigh. Hmm. Having dealt with more than 50 sz pts, I think I'll just try to paint the complete picture for you:
Sz is no longer the kiss of death it was even five years ago, owing to both newer meds (see below) and newer psychotherapeutic interventions (also see below), but the prognosis is strongly dependent upon early Tx.
Suggested:
1) Read this article on the five stages of recovery about the other party, seeing where they are among those five stages.
2) Read this article on the patterns & characteristics of codependency about you and them.
3) Read about the Karpman Drama Triangle about you and them, and them and their other, original family members.
4) Learn about family secrets, double-binding via paradoxical injunction, and the emotional blackmail used to protect them, because it is typical in the childhood families of those who were regularly ignored, abandoned, discounted, disclaimed, rejected, invalidated, confused, betrayed, insulted, criticized, judged, blamed, embarrassed, humiliated, victimized, demonized, persecuted, picked on, dumped on, bullied, scapegoated, and/or otherwise abused by others upon whom one depended for survival in early life. (The experts on all this include Theodore Lidz, Gregory Bateson, Paul Watslawick, Don D. Jackson, Jay Haley, Ronald D. Laing, Aaron Esterson, Jules Henry and Mathjis Koopmans.)
5) Read about reactive attachment disorder, because it is usually what the child acquires when abused into a chronic state of learned helplessness by those he or she must depend upon to survive... and if the genetics for sz are there, may drive them "over the dam" into florid sz as adolescents or young adults.
6) Look for CoDA meetings in your area and go to six before making a decision to continue or not... because it is likely that you will need to know about psychological boundaries and how to raise and lower them appropriately as they struggle with both paranoid fear of abuse here and paranoid fear of abandonment there.
7) Look over these books, pick one or two, and read it about you and them.
8) Look over this link to this book and/or this book, get the book(s), and work through it/them for your own sake, regardless of what they do or do not do. Try to get the whole family to read one or the other (the latter is shorter and simpler).
9) Come to understand that they may (we do not diagnose here) have developed sz as a coping system for the C-PTSD that is typical among adult survivors of psychological abuse. Sz is a set of dysfunctional -- but understandable -- coping mechanisms for untreated child abuse and resulting C-PTSD. The best psychotherapies for it are those that understand the causes resulting in and physiological and psychological conditions of a shredded autonomic nervous system no longer capable of managing their "fight-flight-freeze" response to perceived threat. This article will help you to understand all that and how it affect the sz patient's thinking, as well as what can be done if the pt adapts well to medication.
10) Sz is initially treated with neuroleptic medications. To find a board certified psychopharmacologist in your area look here, and here. Getting psych meds from a GP or primary care doc can be useless or even risky. Psych diagnoses, meds and med interactions are just too complex now for most GPs and primary care docs.
11) If they adapt well to medicinal intervention, they may be good candidates for cognitive restructuring and symptom management psychotherapies including...
. . . a) the CBTs including REBT, collegiate critical thinking, schema therapy, and the 10 StEPs of Emotion Processing; as well as
. . . b) the "super-CBTs" like MBCT, DBT (the long-time gold standard for BPD symptom management), ACT, MBBT, and MBSR.
12) Regardless of what they do or don't do, you may do very well for yourself to learn this method of seeing, hearing and otherwise sensing what is so that you can manage your frustrations and perhaps even guide the rest of the family to act appropriately under difficult circumstances.