Back to Work: Schizophrenia, Recovery and Employment

I couldn't agree more, Paul.      I found that after 15 years of not working, getting a job was a life-changing experience,     It was very difficult at first, but it's been 5 years now and I'm about to embark on a new journey of work.   And that's the way I see my illness.    I know I will never recover.    I can;t get too excited about fitting in with society or  functioning to someone else's defined norm of who I'm supposed to be.        The only person I'm responsible for is me.      And that takes up all my time.

Though I can appreciate the guides to recovery on this site, it's nice to read the facts about the rest of us.

Thank-you

Don Fraser

My husband was diagnosed with OCD, anxiety disorder and schizophrenia several years ago.  He suffered for many years "hearing voices" which caused him to be OCD and anxious.  He is also an alcoholic because being drunk helped drown out the voices.  He no longer drinks and he has been able to work in a highpaying professional job all this time.  However, in the past few years his mind has become fuzzier and fuzzier, he says he can't think, and his job performance has suffered tremendously.  He takes a lot of medication, so he no longer hears the voices, but he is reluctant to trying new meds or doses because he is literally terrified to hear those voices again.  He is at a point where he cannot keep his job, but still needs to make a living for his family.  He would love to work in a completely different industry but I don't know how he can jump from 26 years in the computer industry to a job that requires far less stress and still provide for our family.  He doesn't even know where to begin.  How have others dealt with similar circumstances? 

I'm a little confused.  Did you mean to say that patients involved in supported employment have LESS occurance or MORE occurance of relapse.  Please clarify as I am a mental health professional about to embark upon this process with several clients.