Friends and Family:

Families and friends play an important role in getting help for a loved one. Often before psychosis develops, a person will show changes in behavior:

• Skipping sports practices or other school activities
• Decline in schoolwork/grades
• Sitting for a long time doing nothing
• No longer making or keeping eye contact
• Dressing inappropriately 
• Seeming more sad/depressed or happy/hyper
• Sleeping more or less than usual
• Sleeping at different times than usual, staying up during the night and sleeping during the day
• Change/Increase in substance use
• Not engaging with friends and family as usual
• Laughing without a known cause or seeming more distracted; talking to oneself or someone not present
• Using words in unusual ways or making up new words
• Showing strong or inappropriate emotions