Approximately 1% of the world’s population knows what it means to live with a relative suffering from schizophrenia. These families have to learn to live with a drastic change in their family dynamics. I know that I had to balance my other children’s needs against this thief of sanity, argued with my husband on how to meet those needs, and battled to keep myself on an even keel.
It was hard to share these hardships with friends at first so I wrote daily notes to get my feelings out into the open. It was (and still is) important to me that other mothers and the fathers who have not chosen to walk out due to the stress of living with a mental illness at home realize that they are not alone. Unfortunately husbands walk out quite often. The wife then has to struggle with both the illness itself and the stigma that is associated with it – as well as with the fact that she has to cope with their ill child and their other children who are equally affected and who need even more support than usual.