Every relationship has its ups and downs, but what does “in sickness and in health” mean if one partner has schizophrenia? While severity of the condition is a factor, relationships can survive if each partner gets the right support.
Most people who are married and have schizophrenia met their partners before the onset of the disease. “Schizophrenia makes it hard for people to form close bonds. People tend to stay single,” says Dost Öngür, MD, clinical director of the Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder Program at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass.