Matt struggles with schizophrenia.

People like him experience psychosis, disorientation, and hallucinations.

People often ask questions like, are these people capable of falling in love? Can they be in a romantic relationship with someone?

Some ask out of sheer curiosity to find answers and learn. Others ask because they have a love interest of his kind.

Mental illness does not prevent love from happening. Everyone falls in love. Individuals with mental illness fall in love too. Many of them do so deeply and profoundly.

Matt is dealing with a disease of the mind and thoughts, not the heart and emotions.

Sometimes, he becomes disoriented or confused in his head, but his emotions are still okay.

One essential personal characteristic is human connection. Living with schizophrenia doesn’t make him less human. As a human, he also desires human connection and intimacy.

Love is not trivial for Matt. To him, love is deep, spectacular, and powerful. With intensity and without stopping, he lets it flow.

When he is unmedicated or triggered by stress, he might become paranoid, delusional, suspicious, and even accusatory towards his love interest. This doesn’t mean he loves that person less.

If you happen to be his significant other, remember Matt becomes a different person sometimes and wants nothing to do with you.

This doesn’t mean his love for you is over.

It is simply the result of his psychosis and confusion. Psychosis usually obscures his ability to distinguish between what is real and what is just in his head.

If you, his significant other want to enjoy a loving relationship with Matt, you must have solid knowledge and understanding of his illness.

Learning about his illness to avoid turbulence on their journey will be useful.

If you have no idea of what Matt is dealing with, you will not understand that he may not meet with you emotionally.

In your ignorance, you will continue to push for affection which will get you both frustrated.

The truth is, he may be confused and understand that you are pushing for more than he can offer.

In your relationship, as in any other, there will be pleasant moments and difficult moments, except that yours may last for days or even weeks.

There are days he treats you like a queen, ready to offer you the world. On other days, he may treat you like a total stranger, showing you a different attitude and demeanor.

Some days will capture him holding you endlessly in my arms, not letting go; others will record him recoiling at your mere touch.

Sometimes, you may feel like you are dating two people, one who is emotionally close to you and another who is emotionally detached from you.

His mind harbors many wonderful things to say to brighten your day, but he may need your assistance getting them out of his mind.

Expect that he may have trouble focusing sometimes, and his voice and facial expressions may not express his emotions.

Communication can sometimes be tough for him, so don’t be surprised if he does not speak as much as others do.

Keep in mind that his mental health won’t stop him from enjoying romantic moments like meeting for coffee in the morning. He can also go for a walk by the seaside.

If he ever needs his space, please understand and grant him that, so he does not feel trapped or surrounded.

Matt may not expect you to cope with his episodes. However, he will cherish you endlessly if he still finds you by his side with his illness.

You need to also know that he’ll certainly be paranoid about some things and hear strange voices that speak to him alone. These are all beyond his control. He will need your patience as he deals with them.

With your love and support, someone like Matt who is mentally challenged will eventually be on a path that leads him to a more meaningful existence.

The main facts about schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that impairs someone’s ability to think, manage emotions, make decisions, and relate to others. Research shows that schizophrenia’s main causes are unknown. However, physical, genetic, psychological, and environmental factors can come together to make a person more likely to develop the condition.

When faced with a stressful or emotional event, a person may be susceptible to schizophrenia. As a result of that emotional or stressful event, the person may experience a psychotic episode.

Mental health professionals divide schizophrenia into 3 categories. These 3 categories include positive, disorganized, and negative symptoms.

Positive symptoms or psychotic symptoms show up in mental patients when they experience delusions and hallucinations. This is because the patient has lost touch with reality in certain significant ways.

“Positive” here does not imply positive, rather it describes symptoms that should not be present. Delusional patients think people read their thoughts or plan evil against them. They often believe that people secretly monitor and threaten them.

Some believe they can read and control others’ minds. These patients often hallucinate. By hallucinating, these patients can hear or see things that are not real.

Disorganized symptoms occur when there is confusion in thinking and speech. Close observation of someone living with this condition would most certainly reveal the person having trouble communicating in coherent sentences or carrying on conversations. People with this condition tend to make very slow movements and have difficulty making sense of daily sights, sounds, and feelings.

Schizophrenia symptoms are seen when the individual involved shows emotional flatness and lack of expression. In this case, a person cannot begin and complete life activities, especially those involving social interaction.

You may notice that his/her speech is always brief and lacks content. His/her life will be characterized by a lack of pleasure or interest in life. The word “negative” refers to a lack of certain characteristics, but not to a person’s overall attitude.