"Hey, Zixin, how have you been recently?" I usually greet the patients first in the outpatient clinic, so as to have a good understanding of their recent life and overall state.
"Alas! Doctor, she's really lazy! She is often told to go out, and she doesn't want to go out. Staying at home and not helping with housework is really useless!" Parents will accompany the consultation, and Zixin's mother is no exception. She is never absent for every follow-up consultation.
Interestingly, whenever I greeted Zixin, it was Mom who responded, not Zixin.
Written by: Zhao Yingxin, Associate Consultant, School of Mental Health, Castle Peak Hospital
"Zixin, what do you think?" I tried to let Zixin respond.
"I..." Zixin's organizational skills are relatively weak when expressing, and it takes more time to think.
But as long as you give her a little more patience, she can answer questions on her own.
However, Zi Xin's mother rushed to answer again: "Doctor, look at her, she is stupid, slow and lazy! Isn't she helpless?" Zi Xin's mother was quick-tempered and very straightforward when she spoke, often talking to doctors and nurses. In front of the ruthless batch of sub-cores.
And Zixin, who has always been unconfident, often just bowed his head and said nothing. It is not difficult to imagine that such a situation should often be staged in their home.
Expressed Emotion refers to the attitude of caregivers or family members when dealing with mentally ill and sick people.
When the caregiver is often excessively critical or hostile to the patient on the one hand, and on the other hand, excessively intervenes in the patient's life or is overly involved in self-emotion, it is called "High Expressed Emotion" (High Expressed Emotion for short). EE)--Zixin mother is a typical example.
Many studies have shown that patients with schizophrenia who live with family members with "high emotional expression" for a long time will suffer more mental stress and increase the risk of relapse.
In many cases, family members with "high emotional expression" do not deliberately target the patient, but out of tension and concern for the patient, but there is no need to do so.
Therefore, during the consultation, we all hope to communicate more with the patient's family, so that they can understand their feelings and expectations for the patient, and then gradually guide them to change the way of expressing their emotions, so as to reduce the tension in the family and the recurrence of the patient. crisis.
"Hong Kong 01" "01 Medical Clinic" cooperates with the School of Mental Health of Castle Peak Hospital to publish a column written by medical staff every other Tuesday.
"Cheng" means to let the water stand still, let the water settle down, and then become clear.
I hope you can meditate and savor every little story, see the details, understand the heart of yourself and others, and see things and situations more clearly.
See clearly, know how to cherish, I hope this column can calm your emotional waves and enjoy the quiet time.
I hope you will share this experience with the people you care about, so that you can have one more partner on the road to a better life.
Story details have been revised to protect patient privacy.
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