Hello! I always thought my uncle behaved a little strangely. Firstly, he sleeps whenever he feels like it, often awake at night. He goes out in the garden to take a piss in -5c when both the toilets are free (at a cabin used for family gatherings). I’ve heard him make sounds/talk to himself a in some rare instances. He eats unhealthy and has bad hygiene (pees all over the toilet seat and doesn’t wipe it up, doesn’t wash his hands). He also smokes a shitload of cigarettes, which leads him to sometimes get extreme coughing and barfing. Regarding family, he is often around us when we gather, though he isn’t as talkative as before. He sometimes plays tennis with us in summer though. He does care about the people he’s around. He distributes Christmas presents to every corner of the family. But at the same time he is stone faced with monotone replies more often then not.

He grew up in a safe and wealthy home with my dad and grandparents. None of them are diagnosed with anything.

He does take some medications if I remember correctly. Don’t know what they are for specifically. I think he has a bad stomach too.

Sooo… I’m not trying to mock anyone suffering from mental illness. I’m just very concerned for him. I have never heard anyone in my family even mention schizophrenia, ever. Isn’t this something I should know about? 

How can I support him? Do I have to be concerned about developing schizophrenia? I feel like it’s insensitive to ask him about it. I’m 17m if it matters. If this isn’t schizophrenia, what else could it possibly be?