How can the man you have loved for many years suddenly become schizophrenic?

Answer 1

Schizophrenia is an adult-onset disorder. 60 percent of male sufferers and 78 percent of female sufferers will show no symptoms until age 19 or later. Onset may occur well into the 30's in both genders. The prodromal phase, the period before full blown symptoms occur, may last as long as 30 months, and will be accompanied by social withdrawal and disorganized thinking.

The first psychotic break (the first full manifestation of the disease) generally follows a period of stress. It may well come out of the blue. To an observer, particularly one close to the sufferer, it can be a shocking and terrifying thing to witness.

One day your husband seems fine, if stressed and agitated, the next he might be hiding in a closet insisting that vast conspiracies are targeting him or those he cares about, that he has supernatural powers of perception (he can read peoples minds and so forth), that he is touch telepathically with God, the Devil, the CIA, the mafia, ghosts, angels, etc., that the world he's been living in for the last two or three decades is now full of magic and monsters.

This isn't his fault. It isn't your fault. And if you can get him treatment quickly, the man you love isn't gone. He's hurting, he's living in a waking nightmare, but he isn't gone. Get him treatment, make him take his drugs, and he'll come back.

I'm not promising you he's going to be completely the same after his first break. He won't. It was far more traumatic for him than it was for you, and he won't recover from that trauma easily. Plus anti-psychotics have side effects.

If you truly love him, dig in, because this isn't going to be an easy process. It will, however, be worth it.

You do mean 'schizophrenic' as in literally mentally ill, don't you? I just want to make sure you're not just implying that he's changed or you think he's nuts. If you just think he's changed and don't like it, I don't know what to say except 'things change, people change.' You can try to work through it with him, learn to deal with it, or move on.

But if you honestly believe he's schizophrenic, what makes you think this? Could it be something else?

Does he drink or use drugs of any kind? Has he had a history of mental illness, like depression, OCD, anything? Any chance he could have kept a mental disorder and its treatment secret?

I'm no expert but I really don't think schizophenia just appears suddenly, unless maybe someone experiences trauma or receives a head injury of some sort, something that would act as a catalyst, that would 'set him off' so to speak.

Full blown schizophrenia - which if I recall correctly is rare - is a condition that develops over time and if it's like other mental illnesses will increase in severity or intensity the longer it goes untreated. There were almost certainly indications in the past that he may have been 'not all right,' and even more obvious hints of something amiss more recently.

Has he been diagnosed by a mental health professional? If not, his odd or erratic behaviour should be evaluated. It may be caused by something else that might require medical attention. Maybe something neurological like a tumor or a small stroke. I don't mean to frighten you, like I said I'm not a professional or expert of any sort, but if he hasn't been professionally evaluated and diagnosed, you should see to it that he gets to a doctor NOW.

If anyone has a more informed, expert opinion on this, I'd like to hear it as I'm certain you would! I just hope I've been able to offer you a little bit of help.

I wish you luck.

it may be "caffeine poisoning" rather then schizophrenia

"caffeine poisoning" happens when caffeine comes in faster then it can get out

it can cause schizophrenic symptoms which seem to appear rapidly (in a matter of weeks).

http://www.doctoryourself.com/caffeine_allergy.html