How families carry burden of mental illness

It took a year before Ellen's son was diagnosed with schizophrenia. The 20-year-old was very good at making doctors think he was well but his family knew something was wrong.

Their son, who had struggled through school, was devastated at losing his job. He was also a heavy cannabis user.

He had become delusional and started telling doctors people were out to get him.

Last year he was committed for compulsory treatment after he tried to kill himself - one of three suicide attempts.

Ellen says trying to get her son help was a trying time with a GP who didn't seem to understand what was happening. It was also hard on the rest of the family.

It was not until they discovered he had been clinically depressed that they began to understand why he had been lying listlessly around the house.

Coming to terms with the illness and the public stigma surrounding it is an ongoing battle.

"I always felt before that it was something you read about but it's never going to affect you ... Whenever you mention the word schizophrenia people think you better put away the cutlery," says Ellen.

"I don't know how I got through it but I'm a mother. We cope with anything really."

Ellen says the support of the Schizophrenia Fellowship has been brilliant and she has met many people in similar situations.

She describes her son, who is 24, as a nice, quiet person but says it is heartbreaking to see him unable to make the most of the prime years of his life.

She hopes in time her son, now on regular medication and living in supported accommodation, will be able to live independently.

* For seven years Cathy believed she could help her husband overcome the severe anxiety disorder and agoraphobia he had suffered from for years.

Her husband, who feared open spaces and had panic attacks, tried a variety of treatments, from counselling to diet changes, to overcome his illness but nothing seemed to work.

He became frustrated about not being able to do anything for the family - the couple have three children - and they learned to keep their distance. Cathy felt like a sole parent and became increasingly isolated from friends and family.

Eventually her husband became so disabled he was confined to a wheelchair and had to go into care.

"I remember my son saying he could jump up and down on the bed and make noise and not have his Dad be grumpy at him," Cathy says.

Ultimately the couple separated and 15 months later Cathy's husband suffered the first of two psychotic breakdowns. He became religious, believing he was a special person from God, and started giving away his possessions and speaking in a new language.

After a short time in hospital, Cathy's husband is on medication, living in the community and has regular contact with his children.

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Types of mental illness

Mental illness is thought to be caused by many factors, including biochemistry, genetic inheritance and stress.

It can seriously disrupt a person's behaviour, emotions or thinking for weeks, months or years.

Almost all mental illnesses are treatable.

The main ones are:

DEPRESSION

Depression is the most common mental illness, affecting about one in seven New Zealanders.

It is more than just feeling a bit down. It may be felt as a profound sadness and/or loss of pleasure and enjoyment in most activities.

Some of the symptoms are a loss of energy and concentration, feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness and guilt, inability to cope with decisions, weight loss or gain, sleep disturbances and thoughts of death.

Post-natal depression, which occurs soon after the birth of a baby, affects about 10 per cent of all new mothers. Mothers might feel extremely sad, guilty and unable to cope with life.

SCHIZOPHRENIA

Schizophrenia affects almost 30,000 New Zealanders.

It covers several related disorders, but in all types the acute phase of the illness interferes with a person's mental functioning so that his or her thoughts and perceptions become distorted.

People might experience delusions, hallucinations, frenetic activity, mood fluctuations and fear.

In between active phases they might have disorganised speech and behaviour and a loss of energy and interest.

Schizophrenia does not mean a "split personality".

BIPOLAR DISORDER

Also known as manic depression, bipolar disorder causes fluctuations in mood. Some people experience highs and depression, others experience only the highs.

Typical features of mania include feelings of euphoria, over-activeness, a reduced need for sleep, rapid speech and thought, irritability, lack of inhibitions and a tendency to do things out of character, such as excessive spending.

ANXIETY

There are many anxiety disorders but all have in common a sense of fear and worry, along with uncomfortable physical sensations that affect body systems.

Symptoms include a sense of worry or impending doom, irritability, palpitations, breathlessness, dizziness, sweating, an overwhelming sense of panic, sleep disturbances and changed perceptions.

Source: Like Minds, Like Mine