My sister has schizophrenia and refuses help.. and no one we spoken to will help and I’m at my wits end..
Very long story short, my sister (37) has struggled with hard drug addiction since she was 14. She’s been clean for about six years now, but over the last year she’s been dealing with schizophrenia. She currently lives with my mom and refuses to get help because she truly believes everyone is against her. She’s always had a lot of anger, and now she’s convinced there’s nothing wrong with her.
She was committed to a mental hospital once before and put on medication that seemed to help for a few months, but after her dosage was changed, she spiraled into severe delusions again. My mom has called the mental health crisis hotline countless times trying to get her help. The police are constantly being called to the house — sometimes by my mom, but often by my sister herself because she believes things are happening that aren’t real, like people yelling outside her window or someone putting rats in her bed. But because she insists she’s fine and knows how to talk her way out of situations, nothing ever seems to happen. They always say she “doesn’t meet the criteria.” (the state of wis has been completely useless in helping in any way.. because we don’t have millions of dollars they pretty much say oh weLL)
At this point, I’m emotionally exhausted, and my mom is miserable in her own home. She locks herself in her bedroom because all my sister does is scream at and harass her. I understand that this is my mom’s child and that she feels guilty and wants to help her, but I live with constant fear that one day my sister could snap and seriously hurt my mom. My mom has always been the person my sister directs her anger toward, and no matter how much my mom sacrifices for her, my sister still sees her as the enemy. My mom isn’t perfect either — she’s definitely enabled a lot over the years.
As awful as it feels to say, my brother and I have both told my mom that she needs to let go. You can’t force someone to accept help if they don’t want it. I’ve even told my mom that I may need to distance myself if nothing changes, because this situation has consumed our family for most of our lives. I’m 35 now, and my brother and I grew up under the constant shadow of my sister’s addiction and mental health struggles.
What hurts the most is feeling like I’ve given up on her. The guilt eats at me every day, but the situation has taken such a toll on my mental health and even my marriage. I feel terrible for wanting to walk away, but I honestly don’t know what else to do anymore.