Did you grow up in a dysfunctional family like me? What effect did it have on you?
I see lots of people on here who seem to be able to form relationships and have friends despite having schizophrenia.
I think that was all taken from me because of growing up in a dysfunctional family. That is to say I blame that more than schizophrenia.
Rage issues abound in my family. My parents fought a lot while I was growing up and a few of my siblings took cues from them and grew up to be verbally abusive. I wonāt go into all the issues that plague my extended family. Iām no peach myself; I went through a phase of being extremely bitter and defensive but luckily Iām past that now, though Iām still at a loss as to how to truly connect with other people in a healthy way.
My family is dysfunctional- most families are.
I donāt have any friends and Iām not really close to my extended family.
I was raised by a Mom who was clinically depressed and by a father who suffered with Anxiety and OCD.
My entire family is neurotic!
My family was hard. I spent a lot of time in Al Anon, which seems to have helped.
If schizophrenia is a genetic disease, it isnāt hard to look for triggers in my case.
Jayster
I had a very dysfunctional upbringing. I grew up thinking I was stupid and worthless. I escaped my unsatisfying home life by taking drugs.
Yes, my dad has Aspergerās syndromeā¦ Always provided well for the familyā¦ but put my mom last on his list. Itās a form of autism and as smart as he isā¦ he just did not want to be hugged or touched by my mom. She is so pretty, alsoā¦ but that doesnāt matter to him. His father and his grandfather also have it. It seems to be genetic. A lot of arguements because my mom could not understand why he was so cold toward her. They are still married and now she knows itās a form of autism. So, she understandsā¦ and she does have a lot of support from my grandmotherā¦who went through the same hell as her. Iām pretty sure that I have the geneā¦ from my grandfather on my motherās side. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia in the early 60ās ā¦ maybe 1961ā¦ the doctor put him on Haldol. He is 80 years old now and doing so well. The symptoms decreased over the years and he developed fantastic coping skills in his 30ās to pretty much go off of the Haldol . He stayed on Valiumā¦now Xanaxā¦ and Zoloft. He is a great support system for me. Very encouraging and teaches me all his tricks to deal with the breakthough symptoms that could lead to full blown pyschosis ā¦ So far, with his help, I have been able to stay out of hospital. Never been in it . I would rather go to him for help. I do play by the rules, though. I do take my meds on time and do my coping skills practice ā¦ all the timeā¦ stay grounded. Cheers xx
We got fed and had a rood over our heads, but my parents were not very good at being parents. my dad was abusive especially mentally, no one was supposed to be smarter than him, although he worked, all I remember of him, is him sitting in his chair, yelling at the TV.
There was no love in out family, more hate than anything and yes, my upbringing sent me down all the wrong roads and I got out of there as soon as I could, never talked to my family after 18, my so called brother a couple of times, but he was always an ass, chasing after my girlfriends etc, and he even stole my car once.
Family and friends are nothing but a mystery to me
oh boy where to start
my parents divorced when i was 4 and for a couple years my dad would openly threaten to murder my mom in front of me. they both remarried within a year which was fine. my step dad got sent to iraq in like, 2006. around this time while he was gone my brother started being really not nice to me and my mom. then my step dad came home, all ā ā ā ā ā ā up from the war, and turned into a heavy alcoholic. he started treating me really really badly, worse than my brother for some reason, and was really overly militant like i was a damn soldier or something. he mostly just verbally put me down or yelled at me, but occasionally got physical. he once jerked me up and slammed me against the side of the car for crying because i left my gameboy in the store and left a huge bruise across my chest. i would have nightmares and paranoia as a child and couldnt sleep alone but if i tried to sleep in the same room as my mom he would yell at me and make me leave. just lots of little mean ā ā ā ā that made my life worse on top of trying to verbally intimidate me every chance he got and occasionally getting physical. it really went downhil though when my brother started doing drugs when he was about 13 or so? he got really abusive to me, would beat on me everyday and steal and destroy my things and laugh and call me horrible names and tried to set me on fire at one point. this just got worse and worse and aside from the abuse i faced from those two they themselves fought constantly, all the while i had undiagnosed and untreated autism and anxiety disorders. between the constant violent loud home dynamics and some bullying at school and my mental problems my mom finally decided to let me go live with my grandparents and withdraw from school and do the rest online. ive been there since and its so much calmer and loving of an environment, though apparently nowadays my step dad and brother both feel guilty for how they treated me and must know ill never truly love either of them because of it
My family was dysfunctional. My parents were clueless as how to raise a child. And I was symptomatic from childhood.
The amount they hit me. But things werenāt too bad. Until I got a diagnosis. I took the pills but they made me so sick. I thought they were poison after a while.
I told my parents I wanted to stop. Then they started forcing drugs on me. My mom Pinning me down one hand on my face the other down my throat. Iād choke and cough and gag and cry but it didnāt matter.
Then my father would beat me for disrespecting my mother. āJust take themā āweāre only trying to help youā āIām the parent youāre the child you listen to meā theyād yell at me as Iād cower on the bathroom floor screaming sorry over and over again.
Day after ā ā ā ā ā ā ā day and eventually I shattered. Then suddenly there were 4 of me. I was able to talk to 2 of them my new āimaginary friendsāā¦ But I started blacking out and losing timeā¦i didnāt mind though. I was just happy I didnāt have to. Be bored in school all day.
Then I met my abusive therapistā¦ she gaslit and hurt me verbally emotionally physically and sexually. She prescribed things to keep me unstable and I split even more.
I was unstable and switching all the time my family and I fought all the time. Verbally and physicallyā¦
But it escalated my abusive therapist kept convincing them I was dangerous. I was constantly threatened with the hospital. The voices were so intense. I was delusional I thought I was a demon and I needed to die but then the delusion changed itās mind and I needed to survive
Eventually I got away from the abusive therapist. And now my parents and I are better and we donāt fight very much.
As for if itās impacted me socially. Yeah. I canāt trust people very well. But luckily I have alters that help me break the ice.
Damn that sucks but I feel u are in a catch 22 with meds
Yeah thatās why Iām so reluctant to even try them. But Iām surviving. Iām safe now. Im sorry
I am very sorry you had to go through that, Noise. 
Thereās more to it but we survived thatās the most important part. It still hurts though. I think I said too much
You said just enough Noise. Love you hun 
My parents were abused, so they tried their best Iām sure but they never really knew what they were doing. We still donāt have a healthy relationship. I donāt even talk to my extended family. I get along with my siblings, but we didnāt start speaking until a few years ago (yes, we literally lived in the same house for years without saying a word to each other)
I blame my family a little, mainly because they are both clueless about life. I was always super naive growing up because they did not teach me much.
I had to learn everything by myself, alone, most of the time.
I could have easily done drugs. I only got luckyā¦ so many times.
My dad is verbally abusive, not so much as others but Iām still okay with it because it could have been so much worse. I never got hit by my parents at all.
My mom is so naive and clueless, it makes me angry. She just has no energy for life. She is schizophrenic, lifeless and clueless. But she has a kind heart and taught me good values that I appreciate.
Dysfunctional beyond possibilities but I still think my family really helped me shape who I am today.
my parents were good and hard workers. professionals. They argued sometimes. I donāt blame them for anything, they did the best they could and they were basically good. I take responsibility for my own inadequateness which were fairly norm. I do not like the blame game we all do our best. my parents were good and I love them.
Yeah donāt get me wrong even though I was raised in an emotionally charged family environment, my parents and grandmother who also helped raise me were caring and loving people.
They did their best.
Although Iām pretty sure I grew up in a dysfunctional family that is still dysfunctional, they have had good days and bad days. sometimes I wonder if Iām right in my assumptions about certain members, but many of my siblings have grown up with things that set them apart from what one would deem ordinary behavior. My brother has issues with being scapegoated and so has developed a victim complex. My oldest sister is a habitual liar, religious fanatic, and married to someone I suspect of being a sociopath. My youngest sister (But still older than me because Iām the ābabyā) has anger issues and perhaps some substance abuse issues, although her professional life is extremely high functioning. And Iāve been diagnosed with schizophrenia paranoid type and avoidant personality disorder among other things.
I donāt know what my siblings use as an excuse for being the way they are, but I think I wouldāve benefited from having my father around after the age of ten. We had visitation but that wasnāt good enough to set us straight when we were acting awry. Then again, my father wasnāt perfect so it mightāve been better the way it is. As the last born, I was always left to my own devices, especially since I was āwell behavedā. The lack of guidance early on wasnāt helpful to me as an adult.
Weāre all just a bunch of flawed people in my family. If I got a glimpse of a family that functions, I believe Iād be shocked.
Thank you @anon2818416 Iām glad youāre finally talking to your siblings again!
And thank you for the sympathy @Tomasina