5 Meaningful Ways Families Can Support Someone With Schizophrenia

5 Meaningful Ways Families Can Support Someone With Schizophrenia
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5 Meaningful Ways Families Can Support Someone With Schizophrenia
Food writer Gail Simmons on what it really means to show up for a loved one living with the condition.
By Ana Pelayo Connery Published: Mar 25, 2026 10:30 AM EDT
Gail Simmons for COBENFY Connections
Gail was compensated for her time.
Gail Simmons has spent much of her life bringing people together around food. Long before building her culinary career as a media personality and cookbook author, the table was where her family showed up for one another. Sunday dinners. Holiday meals. Ordinary evenings that became meaningful simply because everyone was there. In those shared moments, Simmons learned one of the most important lessons of her life: Connection matters, especially when life gets hard.
That lesson became deeply personal when her older brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia . His experience changed how her family understood mental illness and showed her what it truly meant to support someone you love. “At first, we didn’t know much,” Simmons says. “There wasn’t easy access to information the way there is now. We learned slowly, directly from his care team, and from living it day by day.”
Gradually, Simmons and her family came to understand that schizophrenia is a health diagnosis, and like any other health diagnosis, it’s out of any one person’s control. No amount of frustration can change that reality. What matters most is figuring out how to help your loved one get care while offering steadfast support. Here’s how she believes families can be there for their loved ones living with schizophrenia.
1. Show up, even when you don’t know what to say.
Some days, Simmons’ brother felt like himself. Other days, he didn’t. On the harder days, connection didn’t always look like conversation. Sometimes it meant sitting quietly together; other times it meant bringing him his favorite food or meeting for coffee at a place where he felt comfortable. “Food was never about fixing anything,” Simmons says. “It was about being together in a way that felt safe.”
Those small, everyday moments mattered more than grand gestures. They reminded her brother and the rest of the family that he wasn’t alone. And just as importantly, they showed him that he didn’t have to talk unless he wanted to. Over time, that kind of presence made space for something else: a sense of safety. When people feel protected, when they don’t feel pressured or judged, conversations can happen more naturally.
That belief is at the heart of why Simmons partnered with Bristol Myers Squibb on the COBENFY Connections campaign, which aims to highlight the importance of connection for people living with schizophrenia and how, by creating spaces where people can connect and talk openly, it can help them find the right support and treatment for them.
As part of the campaign, Simmons hosted an intimate gathering with two people living with schizophrenia, Avary and Chanel; their respective care partners, Ashleigh and Fines; and a clinical psychiatrist, Dr. Patricia Ares-Romero.† They cooked, shared a meal, and talked about life with schizophrenia. “I realized how rare it is to sit down and talk like that,” Simmons says. “I hadn’t done it in a long time, and it was incredibly powerful.”
2. Offer steady support along their treatment journey.
Schizophrenia remains one of the most misunderstood and stigmatized conditions. In the U.S. alone, an estimated 2.8 million adults are living with schizophrenia. Many feel isolated, unsure where to turn, or hesitant to speak openly for fear of judgment.
That’s why Simmons was excited to join several members of the schizophrenia community to do exactly that: have an honest conversation about the importance of connection, including how to talk openly with your doctor to find the right treatment, all while sharing a meal together. During the dinner, they spoke about what daily life looks like when you’re living with schizophrenia or you love someone who is—what’s helped, what’s still challenging, and how finding support can make a difference.
“It’s nice to know that you’re not the only one dealing with something like this.”
For Avary and Chanel, that included finding COBENFY™ (xanomeline and trospium chloride) , a prescription medicine for adults with schizophrenia. It is not known if COBENFY is safe and effective in children. Please see Important Safety Information below and U.S. Full Prescribing Information , including Patient Information , for COBENFY.
Finding the right schizophrenia treatment for someone living with schizophrenia can look different for each person. This was the case for Avary and Chanel as well. Though their journeys were unique, both were able to have meaningful conversations with their doctor about COBENFY and were supported by the steady presence of their loved ones. Care partners can play a valuable role by listening, encouraging their loved one to share symptoms with their doctor, or simply being a sounding board.
In partnership with their respective doctors, Avary and Chanel ultimately chose COBENFY, which helped improve their schizophrenia symptoms overall.*
The most common side effects of COBENFY include nausea, stomach upset or burning (dyspepsia), constipation, vomiting, high blood pressure, stomach (abdominal) pain, diarrhea, increased heart rate, dizziness, and heartburn (gastrointestinal reflux disease). Please see additional Important Safety Information below.
What struck Simmons most were the similarities between their stories and her own family’s experience. Though Simmons’s brother did not take COBENFY, she recognized the same courage it takes to keep going and the same quiet strength of care partners who advocate, encourage, and stand by their loved ones day after day. “It’s nice to know that you’re not the only one dealing with something like this,” Simmons says.
3. See the person, not just the diagnosis.
During the gathering, Simmons noticed moments of unexpected joy. She learned that day that both Avary and Chanel were artists, and they proudly shared their work. It immediately reminded her of her brother, who was also deeply creative. “He was a musician, a cartoonist, and an artist,” Simmons says. “Seeing that common thread made all of us feel more connected and less alone.”
Gail Simmons for COBENFY Connections
Gail Simmons joins people living with schizophrenia and their care partners at the table.
For Simmons, one of the most important shifts families can make is remembering that schizophrenia is only one part of a person’s life. There is so much more to each individual such as their creativity, humor, quirks, and passions. Making space for all of that helps everyone stay connected. “I had to put my preconceived notions aside,” she says, “so that I could just be there [for my brother] without judgment.”
4. Be there on both good days and bad days.
One of the biggest misconceptions about schizophrenia is that support only matters during moments of crisis. In reality, Simmons says, what happens in between often makes the biggest difference. “Being there consistently, on good days and bad, sets the foundation,” she says.
That kind of consistency takes patience. It means accepting that progress may be slow, unev…

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