Hi justanother47yr ,

Thanks for the reply. You have some great advice that I will be sure to follow up on in regards to carers and loved ones rights as well as carers agencies.

I totally agree that I know her better than anyone. I'm not a psychiatrist but my wife does not live with a psychiatrist - she lives with me and I have the advantage, like all carers, of trust of information and complete observation. Unfortunately as a carer we have an emotional investment with our loved ones which makes it a tricky playing field when responding to the multiple roles we need to play. A Dr. has no emotional contract with patient (at least in temporary hospitalisation, maybe not in a longterm therapeutic relationship) so impartiality towards the sufferer is utilised.

Referencing your own sons illness (sorry to hear), my wife doesn't hear voices. She has hullucinations and delusions and disrupted thought. I'm working slowly on how to help her with understanding what's real and what isn't, but just as I seem to make some minor ground she invents another way justifying the delusion.

In regards to the two jobs, yes one will probably have to go. My full time job pays the bills but my part time job is the one I love. Unfortunately it's the one that causes my wife stress (Army reserves!) as it requires me to go away from time to time so I more than likely will need to discharge.

My wife doesn't smoke or drink or drug or even drink coffee. She's pretty straight up in that sense so I think that's a major plus.

Thanks again for your input. Much appreciated.