When your family member was first diagnosed with schizophrenia, you may have experienced a sense of grief over the loss of the person you once knew. Grief is a process. It usually starts with a sense of shock, and includes denial, anger, and sadness. The final phase is acceptance.

In order to accept schizophrenia, it may help to:

• Acknowledge the illness and recognize the impact it will have on your family. Living with any chronic illness will change day-to-day life.
• Learn more about schizophrenia. Understanding the illness will help you better respond to your family member.
• Talk to family and friends. Let them take on some of the responsibility for caregiving.
• Talk to people you can trust - a good friend, clergy, psychologist, or a family member.
• Keep balance in your life. There's more to you and your ill relative than schizophrenia.