[JaguarXKE]

"My daughter is schitzophrenic. Getting help is difficult and very expensive - and that's if you're willing and able to pay for it. Keeping them medicated when they don't want to be is impossible - and the medication isn't a cure. It just makes the voices a lot quieter - the patient is still mentally ill, although perhaps functional."

My son was diagnosed with this terrible brain disorder in 2006. I wish he had cancer - then he would get understanding and compassion, but alas the ignorance in the world about mental illness is such that the stigma of these illnesses is almost unbearable. (I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir).

I am the director for my state for a program called "Family to Family", conducted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Family to Family is a 12-week intensive education course, taught by trained family members, to educate families with ill loved ones. The program was a life saver for our family, which is why I eventually became a teacher and now the state director. Go here:

Family to Family

If you have not already taken F2F, I would stringly urge you to see if there is a NAMI affiliate in your area that offers the course.

[SCalGal]

I am the director for my state for a program called "Family to Family", conducted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Family to Family is a 12-week intensive education course, taught by trained family members, to educate families with ill loved ones. The program was a life saver for our family, which is why I eventually became a teacher and now the state director. Go here:

Thanks, I'll look at it. It started when she was 14. She's 29 now and living who-knows-where. It did lead me into teaching special education. There was no help nearby that I could get to without a babysitter - and, trust me, no one wanted to watch her and I was exhausted.