Since I was 21 to 26, I had several crisis of schyzophrenia. They lasted from three days to several months. I am fine since august 2003, knowing that it can happen again.
First of all, let's give an exemple. I remember one of my first schyzo experience which occured while watching a movie. I hearded voices (which is a quite usual in our case), actors in the movie speaking of me. What could I do? I hearded those voices and they were as real as the sounds of the street outside. So I interpreted them, trying to give to it a meaning, the same way anyone naturraly gives a meaning to things he feels, heards in the every day life. The interpretation which occured was of course completely insane (I am the last inherited of a great secret family, etc, etc...).
Knowing the disease and reckognizing to be sick, this interpretations movements are more limited, but the exaltaion it provocked is substitude by the presence of the insanity, and a huge feel of impotence.
This exemple (excuse my poor english as i am french) may help you to understand your sister. Even if the process an the symptoms of this disease are very different from a patient to another, and that my case can not be generalized.
Let's talk more generrally, and trying to give advices. During crisis itself. Not a lot to do: being patient, stand the fact schyzo is in another world (of suffer and nightmare, with need of exaltation that I personnaly felt as a sort of atenuation). How did crisis ended in my case? First time, a good sleep of 24 hours. Some times neuroleptics. last time change of place of living (in august it finally ended while i followed my mother in hollydays and went to a different city, with other people than usually in my home, in another house).
About medecines. neuroleptics are the only sort od medic known. Its effect is quite easy to explain: it blocks the neurotransmettor (which are in charge of the communication between nerves). The problem with it is that if it is usefull to stop delirium, it makes the patient vegetative. If your psy is ok to give neuro limited times (to stop crisis, and a little while after the crisis ended), it's good. But most of them give neuro for very very long times, even where ther is no more symptoms, in a preventive purpose.
In my opinion, this is no good. Even if a patient out of crisis and taking neuroleptics gives illusion of normality, it is fake, because every simplest thing of the every day life becomes very hard to do. Your brain is attached. Watching a movie becomes complicated, cutting the grass is hard.
Neuroleptics are a big issue when speaking about schyzo.
How did crisis occured. The first time, it began like a romantic delirium. But the disease well established, I think stressfull experiences provocked the crisis.
A last thing: how the disease influenced my life. I could speak about how I lead my life so as the disease wont hurt me again, may be another time if what i said this time is helpfull.
It is very simple, it breaks it. It is true that even before the disease people used to say of me I was a little different one. But, being more lonely than others doesn't make schyzophrenia. I lost friends, jobs, failed in my studies. My family helped, and at the bottom of the hole it was my only sociabilisation.
You have to know it is a long and difficult experience as well for the familly than for the patient. But progress have been made: 50 years ago, it was still a disease with no hope of remission, know, some time you can cure.
Hope it helped you a little.
Pierre
