Hi All, I am a Mom whose son has schizophrenia and I read the posts on your site everyday to get inspiration for caregiving. My husbands Mother, Grandmother, and Aunt all suffered from Alzheimer's and I feel a deep kinship to all caregivers who are loving and caring for people with complex mental disorders. I think we could learn a lot from each other. I was hoping that you might watch the video that I am linking because it will only be shown today on World Mental Health Day. It is about the stigma and the isolation that many of us go through with loved ones who have mental illness all over the world. Thank You for all you do every day and for helping me on my journey by sharing your hearts. Best Regards, TD
I am glad that my message boards are inspiring to you. I do understand the struggles families endure when a family member suffers from a mental illness. However, it is important for everyone you are trying to reach to understand that Alzheimer's Disease is not considered a mental illness. It is a brain disease that physically destroys every part of the brain.
With AD we still got the stares and comments and we even stopped going out to eat because of it. We live in a small town, maybe in a bigger city it would not have been so bad. And I know we sure suffer from the isolation.
My birth mother suffered from schizophrenia and that isn't what killed her....cancer did. With the right combinations of medications one can live a very normal long life. Where as Alzheimers is a terminal disease that our love ones will deteriorate from and will die from complications from it. All are horrible diseases but very different.