My nieces are too young to understand schizophrenia

DX'd - Sz/SzA
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But what happens when they grow up? Will they be just another bunch of people who disappear from my life?

I was wondering about this today.

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speaking from experience…I was a lot closer to my nephews and niece before they grew up…I even lived with my sister for a while on their farm so it was inspiring…now I see them at family get togethers and we are still close but it’s different. don’t take it too hard. just enjoy them while you can.

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I don’t think I will have that problem unless I become psychotic again and act strange. I didn’t act strange when I was psychotic before, I just kept away from my family, because I thought I couldn’t trust them.

My older brother was around my uncle who had Sz enough, so he doesn’t have any stigma against me. He knows how hard it is and most importantly, that I might not have much time to be well around my niece. My uncle never did anything scary around us kids, so I don’t think that I will be scary around my niece. She will grow up understanding that I’m different, but that different is okay.

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Perhaps the pretend friends book? I’ve not read it, but It’s supposed to be a non scary way of explaining how different people react to hallucination for kids.

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I worry about this sometimes too. my partner’s little sister is turning 11 this year and her nieces are 13 14 and 19 while her nephews are 13 and 18. I am afraid someday they will see me act psychotic and treat me differently after that.

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My eldest sisters children are 16 and 12. They know and accept everything about my illness. They know weed was a big factor and I have had Frank drugs talks with both of them. My 16 year old nephew phones me pretty regular - we are good buddies.

My middle sisters boys are 7 and 5. I spend a lot of time with them but they don’t know anything about my illness.

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I’m open with my kids about my sz and they kinda see it as something that happened. Like all of of us they think it’s a strange thing that happened to me. Maybe being open about it would ease your mind. Kids I think are likely to look at you like it no longer affects you, as I think adults try more to connect it to your actions. Best wishes

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