Schizo

My husbands grandmother is schizophrenic.

We visited the inlaws this weekend and when we asked where she was, they said she living with family far away from Cape Town...she has been diagnosed with schizoprenia. She is 78 and I just thought that perhaps from time to time, she was just getting confused...but apparently she thinks that the people in the TV talks to her...she hides away from them and argues and screams at them. The final straw is that she has been taking the photos off the wall, laying them out on a bed as if they were real people and has been making them food.

I looked at my gruff father in law and there was such sadness in his eyes. To see your mom mentally slip away must be a terrifying thing. The doctor said the onset was when she was a teen, but our theory is that while he husband was alive it kept her linked into the world...when he died, there was nothing left to keep her here. So she sat and watched TV all day, her photos become her company. She refused to be do anything outside of the home or even to do simple mental exercises to keep her sharp...she is suspicious and obsessive and now she is mentally gone. She is at the stage, where she could harm herself or those around her without understanding what she is doing. Its very sad... but when I took stock of the bigger picture, I thought what the heck is going on here.

My husband has epilepsy. His got a rare strain of it and its well under control, as long as he takes medication.
My brother in law- a month ago told the family that he has memory problems. He can't remember people that he has spent time with and family celebrations. His gone to see a doctor and the doctor has given him meds...

Is there a mental health issue in his family line?

After D Day, I did a lot of research and came across research that suggested that epilepsy could make someone vulnerable to being unfaithful. I am not a doctor, so in my mind I interpreted the research to basically say that essentially because the synapses in his brain isn't working quite right, his not thinking straight. In my case, it might be true to say that he must have been crazy to cheat LOL

Wow, that felt good to joke about that. I remember when I first found out, I was immensely saddened by it.

So ja...sad news, but perhaps a wakeup call to the family to start looking after their mentaly health is whats needed!

I see a lot of fish in my future...