Why We Must 'Steal' Information From Other Brain Disorder and Caregiver Sites...

We face a great need to change the classification of severe mental illness to severe brain disorders and approach treatment similar to the way other brain disorders are approached. For example, the issue of caregiving itself. There are so many resources available to families who have loved ones who suffer with the brain disorder of autism, dementia, and Alzheimer’s. All have similar cognitive and behavioral issues that family members need to resolve. Yet, for families who have loved ones suffering from a brain disorder of schizophrenia or bi-polar disorder (just to name two), there is little out there for support in caring for their loved ones and for caring for themselves. Below I have given an all too familiar bullet point list of cognitive issues that caregivers of severe brain disorders are all too familiar with. However, this is written for families who are caring for elderly loved ones. The information is still fairly applicable however, why isn't this information offered widely to caregivers of those suffering from schizophrenia? One reason that comes to my mind is that Schizophrenia is not recognized as a medical disorder, a true brain disorder, but is linked to substance abuse and therefore it is believed to be a condition that can be 'recovered' from as opposed to being a chronic medical condition that can be successfully managed with appropriate treatment and support services. For now, we must 'steal' information from other brain disorder and caregiver sites so that we can better care for our loved ones and ourselves. Family Caring for Family Navigating the landscape of caring for your elderly loved one; and thriving along the way proved by Aging Care Cognitive issues can be problematic in caregiving. Again, change the words elderly and aging to severe brain disorder and I think that most apply. On page 6 of the eBook (link given below for you to copy and paste in your URL address box): Here are a few additional indicators that your loved one’s cognitive troubles may be caused by something more serious than the simple advancing of age: Signs That Cognitive Troubles May Be More Than ‘Old Age’ Bad judgment (poor financial decisions, public outbursts) Movement issues (stiff movements, hunched posture) Loss of inhibition (saying or doing socially inappropriate things) Language problems (can’t form coherent sentences) Hallucinations and delusions (seeing things that aren’t really there) Trouble performing familiar tasks (can’t remember how to get to the doctor’s office) Memory loss that interrupts daily life (regularly forgets recent conversations) Ultimately, it’s up to you and your family to determine if, and when, a loved one’s cognitive issues warrant investigation by a medical professional. http://www.agingcare.com/eBook/FamilyCaringForFamily/AgingCare-FamilyCaringForFamily.pdf