How can I talk him into taking his medication again?
He has stopped taking his medication for the 2nd time. I can see all the classic symptoms starting to appear. I have asked him why he stopped taking his meds. It causes such a hateful answer. He lies and says he is taking it, very defensive, and it gets hurtful. All I did is ask. I said this time, why did you stop taking your medicine? He yells, I am taking it. Night after night, he tips his med bottle over and acts as though he takes one out, and put it in his mouth and takes a drink to wash it down. I know he doesnt take it. He wont sleep soundly, he flops in the bed like a fish most of the night, uncontrollable jerks sometimes. When he gets to sleep his breathing is even different. I somehow snuck the pill bottle to the bathroom in the mornings for a while just to count the pills, and he never took any of them since April 8th. I am so worried that his manic episodes will come back full force. The last one just about done me in. PLEASE someone help me figure out a way to convince him he needs to take his medicine. He is in denial that he is even ill. He said if I mention the meds again, he will leave me, I dont want that at all, I love him. He is just not the man I met 9 years ago.....
Hello Sunny,
You've asked this question at the right time. Anosognosia, or the lack of insight that one has schizophrenia, is a symptom of the illness that results in up to 50 percent of people with this diagnosis. Thus the reason so many of our loved ones refuse medication or treatment.
Next week, at the Connection, I'll be posting a tw-part interview with Dr. Xavier Amador, who talks about this very phenomenon.
The main thing is, to build a relationship of trust so that the person can listen to what you have to say, values your opinion, and will be motivated to seek treatment.
Above all, you will stop trying to convince someone that he is sick and needs medication. Instead, you will learn to couch what to say in terms of "motivational interviewing": finding out what the person's goals and dreams are (like getting a job or going to school, anything, really) and suggesting that they would be achievable if he considered what you had to say.
I urge you, as well as reading my two-part Q&A next week, to buy Dr. Amador's book, I am Not Sick, I Don't Need Help! and reading the section where he talks about the L.E.A.P. technique.
It may seem counter-intuitive to take this approach; however, Dr. Amador has worked with tens of thousands of family members who have been able to break the impasse and get their loved ones treatment.
This isn't just a recommendation of a book so that Dr. Amador can make money, no, I've read his book and it's the secret to working out this very issue.
Because, unfortunately, you can't "talk him into taking" anything. The purpose is not to talk him into something, but to get him to see what's in it for him if he does seek treatment. And to do that, you have to change your tactic.
Best wishes for a resolution.
Regards,
Chri
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