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_S_,   Definitely I side with Don on this.  Look for a blog entry I'm posting in late May that talks about the "stages of emotional response to trauma."  It is not unusual for someone who has just gotten out of the hospital, or just been diagnosed, to feel different from other people initially.  Thus the benefit of joining an adult psychiatric day program where he will see that others have walked in his shoes.  A good day program will be of benefit, so check around and research the good ones in your area, as a possible option.   Also, I encourage your brother to use the Internet as a tool for connecting with others in the early stages of his schizophrenia.  Quite often family members write in about what's going in with their loved ones, and I wonder why the loved ones haven't done so.  This is, of course, possibly because they are feeling so overwhelmed, and, as Don said, "shell-shocked" in response to what happened.   It takes time to gain back the initiative to start new endeavors or re-connect with people after first having gotten sick.   Perhaps you could sit down with your brother and show him around this Connection Web site.  Part of having a successful recovery will be for your brother to not only educate himself about the schizophrenia, but to begin to see that the illness is NOT a life sentence and that things will get better over time.   His feelings are natural.  You are wise to have written in to get some peace of mind about this.   Best wishes for you and your brother.   Chri