Living with Schizophrenia as a Young Adult

The average young adult who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia can lead a normal life as long as their schizophrenia symptoms are controlled through proper medication, rehabilitation therapy, and massive support through family and friends. They can fall in love, become married, have children, and work at a job like everyone else. However, the young adult needs to follow certain protocol for their own protection, as the early stages of schizophrenia are difficult at best.

Understanding schizophrenia

Considered an early adulthood disease, schizophrenia usually occurs between 15 and 25 years of age and hits males the hardest, with many requiring hospitalization. Men are diagnosed at an earlier age than women, who usually show symptoms from 20 to 30 years of age, and in rare cases children as young as five have been diagnosed with schizophrenia. From this moment on, the lives of these individuals will never be the same. Young adults who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia will eventually turn to society to live on their own more than any other serious mental health disease group, especially male adults.

A young adult who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia has a better chance of living independently than an individual who has the disease and does not know it – attempting to live on his own. Undiagnosed schizophrenics without treatment or those who have been diagnosed but refuse to take their medications routinely will often suffer greatly, blaming their friends and families for feeling the way they do, not understanding that what is going on is caused by the illness alone. An early diagnosis of schizophrenia as a teenager or young adult combined with antipsychotic medication can reduce the severity and duration of the disease as long as the individual remains stress-free as much as possible.

What is vital to the untreated young adult with schizophrenia is their ability to not only cause harm to themselves but to someone else, with 15% of young schizophrenics committing suicide within the first ten years after they realize they have the disease. The most dangerous time for any schizophrenia patient is during these early years, until medication is taken and it eventually kicks in for them. To remain on their medication is important and needs to be routinely monitored by their family or mental health practitioner before the individual begins living on his own.

Distorted reality

What prevents many young schizophrenics from successfully living independently is their distorted reality with many social issues – their inability to process a lot of noise and conversations, or have a lot of people around them all at once. People who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia have a different perception of reality than those around them, filled with delusions and hallucinations. This causes them to feel bewildered, apprehensive and terrified, which causes them to behave differently toward others around them.

Without treatment, a young schizophrenic can appear to be isolated and disconnected – they may not move for hours without a sound or they may move continuously, always attentive and watchful based on their particular delusions at the moment. Many young people with schizophrenia refuse medication at the beginning because they are confused by the disease, but as time goes on the majority find out what works and the symptoms begin to lessen. In order for a young schizophrenic individual to live independently, they need to be on medication and have various forms of support – family, friends and mental health therapy.

A primary concern for a young schizophrenic seeking his own place is to make sure cultural and social support systems are working for the individual. It needs to be understood that if medication is discontinued for a schizophrenic patient, they can have an 80% relapse rate in two years. But if they stay on the medication while living independently or not, only about 40% of schizophrenics will suffer a relapse.

Living with similar ethnic backgrounds

A study by Faris & Dunham (1960) has previously demonstrated that schizophrenia patients are more likely to live alone with individuals from similar ethnic backgrounds, even though statistics are the same in all ethnic groups regarding the occurrence of schizophrenia. But in 2003, the Lancet study in England found that there is more of a similarity seen between bipolar disorder and schizophrenia than between ethnic groups.

Ethnic backgrounds are a small part of living independently for young schizophrenics. Living a lonely life within their own minds, prescribed medication for a schizophrenic can control their way of thinking to lead a normal life. During the majority of the time, it is extremely difficult for the schizophrenic to maintain and keep friends – similar ethnic backgrounds or not.

What makes it difficult to live in society is due to many reasons: the symptoms may get much worse or disappear altogether; delusions influence how friends or family members are viewed; an apprehensive public can discriminate against the schizophrenic patient; the individual cannot be courageous and happy all the time; an inability to talk about personal feelings or emotions is common with the schizophrenic; symptoms may change while the initial diagnosis of schizophrenia remains the same with strange behaviors popping up out of nowhere; and the individual may improve at times or seriously deteriorate during other times with no pattern.

Living arrangements for schizophrenia patients

In the past, someone with schizophrenia would live on the streets as a homeless person, in assisted living communities, or they remained in the home with family as long as they could. In the worst moments, they either voluntarily went into the hospital or were signed in by their caretaker or medical practitioner. In the early 21^st century, it was thought that the schizophrenic patient did not do well enough on medication or receive enough support through job coaches or through society to live on their own. Today is a different story.

With schizophrenia generally not considered a violent or dangerous disease, once the symptoms are controlled through medication the individual can learn how to develop social skills, how to handle stressful situations, identify when they are beginning to go into a setback, and how to extend their periods of remission. These are all important to help a young schizophrenic adult live on their own, along with developing life management skills and learning a vocational or educational training in order to get a job to pay for their own place and medications.

There are special schizophrenia supported-employment programs or supportive housing available to teach patients to become self-sufficient, helping them to live on their own as an independent adult as a step-up from moving out of the family's home. These consist of halfway homes, monitored cooperative apartments, and group homes which are listed with local and state schizophrenia organizations. The advantage of such programs and housing is to help the individual find a job and live on their own in society with support in a competitive and real world setting. This provides extra teachings and support not only from the family and friends but also with rehabilitative services in several areas – through the local hospital, clinic, and community.

Program for Assertive Community Treatment (PACT)

Not all individuals who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia can live independently in group or assisted-living homes without professional assistance. Those who are the most severely ill or those with both schizophrenia and substance abuse do best by attending a structured psychosocial program for rehabilitation which also manages their medical treatment properly. The goal of this program is to provide an intensive team effort in the individual's local community to keep them out of the hospital, assisting them to live independently in the best manner possible.

PACT is a program which provides 24-hours times seven-day care, meeting with the individual schizophrenia where they live in order to provide whatever help they need. Problems and issues are addressed directly – grocery shopping, managing finances, taking medications, social interactions, and any routine daily activity which provides difficulty for the individual.

Resource List: Schizophrenia

1. Dr.Fernandez Home (India) – community residential rehabilitation program

2. PACT (Program of Assertive Community Treatment)