how to help schizophrenic people

how to help schizophrenic people If the person you care for sees or hears things that you do not see or hear, or speaks to himself or to ‘voices’:
Keep calm
Try to distract the person if you can by: involving the person in
something interesting; offering something to look at (e.g.
magazine); asking the person to help you find something (e.g.
to find the newspaper); engaging the person in pleasantconversation; encouraging the person to be with other people he or she knows well
Encourage him or her to use their coping mechanisms (e.g.
relax, avoid crowded places or listen to a personal stereo in
order to distract themselves)
Don’t panic or assume that another breakdown is occurring
and don’t act horrified
Don’t try and figure out what he or she is talking about or to
whom
Don’t let others laugh about these hallucinations or strange talk
Don’t ask the person to try to force the voices to stop
Strange talk or beliefs:
Don’t allow the family to make jokes or criticize the person
Don’t argue about the strange ideas – arguing never changes
the ideas and only upsets both of you
Don’t spend much time listening and don’t pretend you
understand talk that makes no sense to you. It’s better to say
clearly that you don’t like the strange talk
Don’t keep looking at the person or nodding your head if they
are speaking strangely
Don’t keep up a conversation that you feel is distressing, or
annoying, or too confusing for you. It’s OK to say, ‘I’ll talk to
you later when you’re making more sense’
Don’t look horrified or embarrassed by strange talk
We know that people with mental health problems and often their families
are stigmatized, misunderstood and rejected by society’s ignorance of
mental health problems. Stigma is a sense of shame projected by society to the person that is to be blamed and avoided. This is very hurtful to the
person who experiences mental health problems and also their family.
Meeting people from families who have similar problems helps to reduce
the stigma and isolation associated with having a family member who suffers from schizophrenia. Carers’ organizations and self-help groups
(such as Hearing Voices Network) are a good source of specialized information, advice and contact (see Resources section below).