Saadia Sediqzadah, SM ’19, a psychiatry resident at the University of Toronto, received a painful lesson in the important caregiving role that family and friends play for people with mental illnesses. While she was in medical school, her brother began experiencing symptoms of schizophrenia. In a Perspective piece published July 11, 2019 in the New England Journal of Medicine, she described the challenges of learning how to support her brother through his illness.
“As painful as it is, this experience has helped me as a clinician,” Sediqzadah wrote. She learned that while antipsychotic treatment is important for patients, it can never supersede the psychological support of family and friends. Rather than try to force her brother to accept treatment, she and her family are focusing on listening to him and helping support his practical needs. She wrote, “Every day, I am learning to be a better sister for him. In the process, I believe I have also become a better doctor.”