support group

Has anyone ever joined a support group? If so did you join one for the families of schizophrenia, bipolar or depression? There is a little of everything in delusion disorder, but mainly there is psychosis. Does that mean it fits best into schizophrenia?

Did going to a support group help or was it more of a waste of time. I'm not sure if I should look for one or not. Anyone have any other ideas or suggestions?

I don't think these support groups differentiate among the various mental illnesses. NAMI for example includes them all. If you attend a meeting and feel comfortable, or feel you have something in common, or can learn something useful, you should attend. If you feel it's a waste of time, then don't.

I am sure you can find other people you can relate to. Don't get too hung up mental illness labels. For example, neither Dr that my wife has seen, recognises Delusional Disorder per se. They say those symptome are the extreme end of Bipolar Manic mode. I participate here on this forum because my wifes symptoms are most like the symptoms and behavior I read about here. I can more relate to the posters here than on the Bipolar forum.

I went to a NAMI support group, but found everyone else there had an adult child with a disorder, and although this was 2 years before I left my husband, they all envied me that I had the option to divorce while they were stuck. I didn't go back, as at the time I was determined to stay in my marriage and did not want any encouragement to leave. The facilitator said they did not get many spouses there, because spouses eventually leave.

I also went to a support group for recently separated/divorced people, but again felt out of place as the others described their spouse's mean or dishonest behaviours that led to the dissolutions and called their ex's "sick" or "crazy" - then I would chime in with my examples of what "sick" really was. There's not a lot out there for us spouses.

Interesting about DD being seen as the extreme of bi-polar. I've also heard it as the extreme of paranoid personality disorder. My husband's diagnosis was depression with related psychosis, but I am sure that bi-polar is in there too - very cyclical - he is depressed when his DD makes him believe something bad, like his wife is unfaithful, then he becomes manic when he is high on the belief that he "knows" the big secret no one else does (that his wife is unfaithful). I think my ex's cycles are very long ones - months at a time, which makes it harder to see really. He's been mostly manic since I left, extreme money spending, making grand plans and huge life changes with seemingly little thought. I think doctors use depression and bi-polar as less threatening diagnosises than DD - people understand delusional as a psychosis, and someone with a psychosis is psychotic, which leads to the lable of "psycho" and the person with DD goes all the deeper into denial.
I agree the exact diagnosis is not what is important, even treatment pretty much is just trying various drugs/psychiatric care until something seems to work for a while. Living with a person with a mental illness is really just dealing with the symptoms, the behaviours, that is so difficult.

That was kind of what I was afraid of. Even when I was looking for information when this first happened all the information about psychosis, psychotic episodes and delusions all seemed aimed at kids (late teens, early 20's) and their parents. There didn't seem to be anything related to spouses. Until he was diagnosed with delusional disorder as instead of a psychotic episode I didn't even find this web site which I find very informative and supportive. Thanks for your insight.