I'm wondering if there is a chance in a million anyone who does know about nutrition etc. has seen anything useful in regard to treating this. A neighbor of mine in her early late 20s has a clear case of schizophrenia (fair bit of paranoia). I noticed her losing weight (starving) a while back the odd time I spotted her in the stairwell. She was very covert about leaving and returning to her apartment. I actually thought she was a man at first because of the clothes and hair, "in disguise" she has told me. She lost her job, lost a lot of weight and has not paid rent for nearly a year. The owner is a nice guy and not evicting her as he does not really need the money, owns the place outright. It seems she is keeping the apartment in good order. He disconnected the gas for safety but has kept the electricity running, pays the bill. I live in Colombia now so I contacted a doctor and a mental health voluntary group. They did their best but she becomes incredibly violent when approached about her situation and they can't compel her without a blood relative etc. She is ok with me as I am a foreigner, don't speak much Spanish so I don't fit her paranoia I recon, at least for the moment. She will accept food from me so at least she is not slowly starving now. I have actually recently moved but I still drop by every couple of days with frozen 'leftovers'. The psychiatrist has said to wait for her to get over the current bout however it seems to have lasted almost a year. As she will accept food, anything she should be getting more or less of? I have done a fair amount of research but there seems little that dietary studies have found. Chancing my arm but any ideas appreciated.
Dude please be careful. You've got a good heart and it's in the right place. But you also surely know that schizophrenics have poor outcomes, they cannot have social relationships, and they are incredibly unpredictable.
More impressed you living in Colombia without speaking Spanish... But be careful, food is not the cure for true schizophrenia, there could be a serious chemical imbalance that requires medication but without any treatment this will not end well for her or you if her paranoia decides you are a threat.
Thanks for confirming my failure to find anything much other than schizophrenics on medication tend to gain weight and don't like fruit or fiber. I am careful and very light touch with her. She is about the same age as my daughter and was under my actual roof (small apartment building anyway). I'll provide food and hope she does surface enough to want other help.