My husband's family has a history of mental illness on one side. It has hit several of his immediate family members with everything from extreme shyness (possibly a phobia), to anxiety and panic attacks, to hoarding, to schizophrenia. His youngest sister had a three year odyssey with pain associated with a bad gall bladder. Within months of having it out, she ended up with a diagnosis of schizophrenia.
Balancing meds with support and the person's independence is important. One of the biggest things I have seen is that the line the mental illness comes through, everyone agrees grandma has dementia and hoarding. No one talks about her kids who may or may not have issues. But the grandkids with problems, everyone talks about them and helps out. The only reason grandma is discussed is because she is old and it is acceptable to talk about dementia in relation to old people. They don't talk about her history from when she was raising her kids but it is there in the background of a lot of stories.
Bringing it out into the open has helped the grandkids (at least in my husband's part of the family) that have issues. They are honest and open about having an episode, needing support and taking meds. By talking about it, they are holding themselves accountable. If we listen, we can tell if they are starting to lose it and need extra help via therapy, drugs, diet or whatever.
The sister that has it is in school taking what classes she can handle and trying to get back into her hobbies from before both illnesses. It can take time to get back on track if he really got lost but encourage your son to do it.
Good luck with it all.
