Hey! So I do not have schizophrenia just to start this off, but I work with people who do in a psychiatric hospital. I had a question to help improve my understanding and allow me to be of more help. 

Are there things that I can do to help people who are struggling with communicating how they feel due to the amount of internal stimuli? 

Are there things I should avoid that could make somebody struggling feel either inferior or “called out” which would cause them to shut down? 

Is it comforting to have someone silently sit nearby while experiencing schizophrenic symptoms? 

What are some coping and anxiety reducing methods that you have used in the past to make things feel less overwhelming? 

And lastly, loneliness. Are there ways that as someone who’s a professional and has to stick to professional boundaries are able to provide support through the loneliness that accompanies these symptoms? 

For disclaimer, I do have BPD and I understand so many emotional of the emotional responses to having mental illness, but as I’m not someone diagnosed with schizophrenia I can’t 100% understand what it feels like. I’d love to hear input to allow me to be more reliable and supportive within my field to help people I see regularly dealing with this. Thank you! ALSO, feel free to add extra information that you deem helpful that wasn’t asked here :)