Thionville. Having a child with schizophrenia is life changing

That day, homemade donuts and hot coffee nicely mark the end of the meeting. Around the table, these parents confronted with the illness of their children have found refuge with the Thionvilloise section of the National Union of Families and Friends of Sick and/or Mentally Disabled People (Unafam).

Here, speech is free. Respect for anonymity is total. Frankly, mums, dads, relatives of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia talk about their daily lives, their difficulties, their sorrows, the fear of the future. “If I’m not here tomorrow, it will be a bomb in the existence of my child”, fears a participant. At his side, the oldest of the group, 80 well-worn springs, abounds: “Every evening, my son thanks me. For me, death is tomorrow. So I keep telling him, you have to live! »

Here, schizophrenia is demonized. “A schizophrenic is not crazy, they all know. He keeps all his personality. And has to deal with voices that mislead him, attack him. “Attending these interviews where sometimes psychiatrists, guardianship judges and notaries intervene “saved us. We realize that we are not alone. »

–

Lack of young psychiatrists, specialized structures

Here, everyone remembers the day when everything changed. A childbirth, a divorce, the death of a parent, taking drugs, military service, moving… A trauma that has led to decompensation. Then the jump without possible return into the abyss of the disease, nourished by psychoses, the loss of contact with reality, the delirious puffs, the visual and auditory hallucinations…

Here, the relationships with the medical profession are analysed. They have changed over time. “30 years ago, I was told: “Let it sink”, testifies still bewildered a mother. We were excluded from any information concerning the patient’s state of health. Illness was a taboo. Today, doctors are more direct. We can talk to them more, but there is a severe shortage of young psychiatrists. The other concern is that there are not enough specialized structures in France. And as long as we have not identified the disease, as long as we do not put the means to it, we will never arrive at a solution. »

Finally, here, better than anyone, we understand the concerns of each and every one, confronted with the chronic smoking of patients, the fear of suicide, questions of employment or affective life, frustration, the way in which society, felt to be painful.

Permanence of Unafam at the Led in Thionville. Phone. : 06 43 53 14 89. Individual reception by appointment.

–