Goal: To develop a resource center for families that have a mentally ill loved one that lacks insight into their illness. Studies show that upwards of 50% of people that suffer from schizophrenia will never understand that they have the illness - and they are frequently too paranoid, or incapacitated to seek help. Research indicates that since the part of the brain that would judge that something is awry is the part that is not functioning correctly, it is difficult or frequently impossible for someone to understand that they have a problem.
At the same time there is a lot of research that shows the earlier a person that has schizophrenia gets treatment, the better the outcome. This resource center would include important commitment information for countries and states, as well as personal stories about the particular idiosyncracies of the system in different areas - so that we can get treatment for our loved ones when it will do the most good. We can solicit personal commitment stories from the newsletter to help other families understand how they might be able to get treatment for their loved one even though they lack insite into their illness.
Ideal Person: A family member that has experienced the frustration of trying to get treatment for a sibling/son/daughter who is ill with schizophrenia but not "a danger to self or others" and who managed ultimately to get treatment for their loved one.
Estimated Time Requirement: This will require an estimated 30 hours over a couple months to pull together the information from other people - with over 3,000 subcribers to our newsletter we have people all around the world that can help provide information and stories - but we need someone to organize all this and put it together. You might also have to edit hours to write down your stories that are submitted.
One of the most difficult parts of schizophrenia is getting the consumer to realize that something is wrong. .