Sherlock Imagines and Preferences

Schizophrenia

This was requested by the_Writing_Bear

Warning: Contains spoilers for season four of BBC Sherlock

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You have known for a while that your child was different than other young children but you never thought much of it. That was until he started talking to an invisible friend. At first you and Sherlock thought that it was just a stage that every child went through and that it would pass but that thought didn't last long. You had often asked your son who this invisible friend of his was but he usually didn't tell you much. You were worried that there was something wrong with him but you didn't want to take him to a doctor. Sherlock had asked your son, Tyler, about this invisible friend of his again this morning after he heard him talking to his friend again. He revealed some information this time and it only worried you and Sherlock more and more. Tyler told you and Sherlock that his invisible friend was a woman named Mary and that she used to be married to a doctor. She also had a daughter and he often played with her too. You and Sherlock immediately concluded that he was talking about Mary Watson, John's wife that had recently passed away. Tyler never knew her but he had heard you and Sherlock talk about her.

But he wasn't just seeing things and hearing voices. No, there were more things that deeply worried you. He sometimes had the feeling that monsters were coming after him. You blamed it on TV-shows and influence of other children at school at first but after he had told you about his imaginary friend, you seriously doubted that. He'd often wake up in the middle of the night and rush over to your and Sherlock's bedroom because he had a nightmare or because he felt like something was trying to hurt him. You and Sherlock often stayed up at night, just to assure your son that he was safe. Comforting him got more difficult every time and you were starting to lose hope that you could help him.

School had become more difficult for him too. You and Sherlock had to literally drag him to his school and when you went back to pick him up, he would be crying or he would've gotten in trouble. He wasn't good at making friends and didn't have any besides his imaginary ones. He also had a hard time focussing in class. He was very smart, just like his dad, but he couldn't pay attention to what people were saying. It was like he was trapped in his own mind. It had gotten so bad at one point that you and Sherlock decided to home-school him until he would be able to go back to school and be amongst other children.

Sherlock had studied many, many books and visited countless websites to figure out if this was something serious and if there was a treatment for it. It didn't take him long before he figured out what his son could be suffering from. A mental disorder called Schizophrenia. It was very rare amongst young children but it was possible. His symptoms matched a few of the symptoms that indicated schizophrenia. You and Sherlock immediately went to numerous doctors and psychiatrists to get help. Tyler was on several medications and went to a psychiatrist two times a week. You already noticed progress in his behaviour after a few weeks of treatment. He didn't talk to his invisible friends as often anymore and his night terrors weren't as frequent. He also learned how to interact with other children and he went to a special school where they taught him how to deal with the nightmares and how to stay focussed for a longer period of time. You and Sherlock also had to make sure that he didn't stress too much and that he kept eating well. 

Having a child with a mental disorder wasn't always easy but it was worth it. Some days were difficult and other days were normal but you always managed to survive the day. 

I hope you all enjoyed this oneshot. I wish your brother a happy birthday and hope that he may live for many years @the_Writing_Bear. A big thank you to @midnightanna who helped me write this. You should definitely check out her account if you're interested in 5SOS and Sherlock. Thank you so much for 52K reads and for reading/voting/commenting. I love reading your reactions and opinions. Have a lovely day ♥