hi, thanks for having me

[strwbrry]

Hi,

I am basically here to learn.

I have 2 siblings who have been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

One of them understands that they have an illness & willingly takes medication and is doing beautifully.

My other sibling is in a state of denial.

Things are not going really well.

I also worry, being the youngest, that I may become ill next.

Anyway that's my story.

Thanks, for reading.

 

[strwbrry]

I forgot to mention that I have dysthymia

I forgot to mention that I have dysthymia. It's pretty much adding to my confusion - a lot of depressive and pre-schizophrenia symptoms are similar - poor memory - not being sociable.

Thanks again.l

 

[David Baxter PhD]

As I assume you know, there is an increased risk of some form of mental disorder if a family member suffers from schizophrenia. However, it is still much less than 50-50 and even at that you are not necessarily going to develop schizophrenia yourself. For example, if you have a sibling with schizophrenia, it increases the risk for an anxiety or mood disorder.

Another factor is age. People who are diagnosed with schizophrenia generally show a history of adjustment problems and eccentricities well before they are diagnosed -- the most common scenario would be an increasing history of difficulties in later childhood and adolescence with the first diagnosis at about 19-25.