Hi,
I have a cousin, who is 32 years old and a year younger than I am.
She was quite a normal child before she went to high school. Very happy and brilliant student in the school. When she went to high school, she started to be quite shy and quiet and she preffered to be alone.
When my mother and I would go to visit them, she would go to her room and shut the door and sometimes she treated us with anger and bitterness. Then, she was admitted to the university and studied engineering and got her masters. She was not a top student, but she did well in the university and finished her studies at the age of 24~25.
Then she started looking for a job but couldn't really find any and since then I can say she has fooled around. One thing that really made her very sad was my and her younger sister's marriage. I should say that she and her mother are quite obssessed with getting married and it was always her dream to get married.
She was not also successful to have friends and boy friends. She would hang out with any boy that would come to her way wishing for someone to propose to her... it did not happen. She does not really have a personality that would attarct anyone.
Since 3 years ago, when she was 29 or so she has started showing symptoms that are really odd.
Sometimes she becomes completely silent and does not talk to anyone. When she goes out she puts a smile on her face and stares at men. Two years ago, she started showing sympoms like dancing, moving her hands around and she went out of the house and started to take her clothes off. So, she was hospotalized for two weeks. Since then she was better. We didn't notice any oddity in her. But, again, she has started to be quiet since two weeks ago.
When she becomes like this, she walks all of the time. She does not sleep at all and she goes to the bathroom like 100 times a day. She is quite pesimist about others, but we have not noticed her ever complaining about voices in her head or having delusion.
The dr's diagnosis is schizophrenia. I have shared her story here to see what you guys think about it. Because my uncle and aunt are in their 60s and they're not physically strong enough to take care of her and her sis has also immigrated somewhere else.
I appreciate any helpful comments.