Schizophrenia - General Discussion

William Evans10 said:My mother-in-law finally came home from the hospital today. Honestly, she looks so much better. She’s put some weight back on and actually has some color in her face again. Mentally, she seems more at ease too—not nearly as high-strung as she was before. I actually didn't know, and she wouldn't tell anyone, but based on the psychologist's findings and our recent talks, it turns out she was still dealing with constant hallucinations (even though she insisted they had stopped) along with this "phenomenon" of reading minds and intense paranoid fears. Now, she claims all of that is gone. Her medication regimen has been adjusted; she’s taking Lexapro in the morning, Seroquel at night, and then a combination of Risperdal and Ativan in the mornings and evenings. So far, it seems like this new routine is doing the trick. Along with her previous F20.5 diagnosis, they've now added F71 (moderate intellectual disability) to the chart. Is it truly possible for the illness to have subsided to the point where it causes intellectual disability? And is there any chance that things could progress toward a more severe level of impairment over time?

It is quite fascinating, isn't it? In cases involving mild intellectual disabilities—or indeed any type of cognitive impairment—the standardized tests used to establish these diagnoses often fail to explain *why* a person isn't providing the expected response.
There lies a massive, insurmountable hurdle right there.
Adults living with moderate intellectual disabilities require specialized, dedicated care to ensure they can achieve a decent quality of life.
I find it somewhat unusual that they assigned that specific F-code; here in the States, we don't typically link intellectual disability directly to schizophrenia in that manner. Usually, it is associated with schizophreniform psychoses. That is the standard clinical recommendation.
F20.5 refers to residual schizophrenia.
A schizophreniform disorder is remarkably similar to schizophrenia, but the duration is shorter—lasting less than six months.
That might be the actual reason for the moderate intellectual disability diagnosis (meaning an IQ somewhere between 35 and 50).
I believe it is incredibly difficult to predict the trajectory—whether things will stabilize or slide toward a more severe impairment. I would even venture to guess that symptoms might fluctuate, appearing milder at times before potentially heading toward full remission.
Residual schizophrenia represents the chronic phase of the disease's development (think psychomotor slowing, passivity, loss of initiative, avoiding eye contact or conversation, and so on).
The answer is complex and, unfortunately, rather inconsistent. It might happen, or it might not. But more often than not... yes, it can.
Medication is absolutely critical; in most instances, it improves the symptoms or manages them entirely for a period of time.
Since she is older (I assume), she will likely be on this medication protocol for the rest of her life.

Noah Garcia4 said:From where I'm sitting, it feels like you eventually have to pivot your focus inward, otherwise you're just going to spend your whole life running headfirst into a brick wall. And honestly, prioritizing yourself doesn't mean shutting others out—if anything, it usually makes your relationships much healthier.

Thank God I haven't had to deal with that particular brand of coping mechanism myself. ☕

It improves things with the people who have always truly cared about you. As for those who only know you on a surface level—the ones who see the diagnosis and immediately label you as "unstable"—well, they’re always going to look at you through that lens regardless.

A friend of mine tried to offer me a job recently—along with this group of his buddies I know—and they all turned him down right in front of my face. But get this: when I mentioned I was heading in for a vocational assessment, those exact same people were suddenly telling me *not* to go. It was surreal.

And, of course, it goes without saying that neither then nor now have I given any of them a second glance. Not worth the energy.

EDIT: Their usual line was always "don't bother asking me for a job" because, in their minds, no one with schizophrenia can hold down a position. Yet, once they heard about the official work capacity evaluation, they pivoted to claiming I was just "giving up." Typical.

I have a bit of a question here, and I’m hoping someone can relate.
People close to me, including my boyfriend, keep asking how they should actually react when I’m going through one of those "episodes"—basically, what's the best way to handle me when I get caught up in something intense. Honestly, I never know how to answer them.
What am I supposed to tell them to do? How should they behave?
Should they just drive me crazy or tie me to the bed? Because, if I'm being real, that's usually how things end up anyway. 😢

Eric Mitchell55 said:I have a bit of a question here, and I’m hoping someone can relate.
People close to me, including my boyfriend, keep asking how they should actually react when I’m going through one of those "episodes"—basically, what's the best way to handle me when I get caught up in something intense. Honestly, I never know how to answer them.
What am I supposed to tell them to do? How should they behave?
Should they just drive me crazy or tie me to the bed? Because, if I'm being real, that's usually how things end up anyway. 😢

But what exactly do you mean by "getting hit"? Give me some context here—because when it happens to me, I don't exactly check myself into a psych ward immediately.

Larry Lewis said:But what exactly do you mean by "getting hit"? Give me some context here—because when it happens to me, I don't exactly check myself into a psych ward immediately.

Well, let's see... just this past year, back at the start of it, I felt like I was being targeted by aliens. It sounds wild, but people were following me everywhere—literally all over town. I ended up refusing to leave my room because I had pulled the curtains shut, trying to hide from everyone watching me. I was convinced my own family was tampering with my food and water, which led to some pretty bad dehydration, but I wouldn't let them take me to the hospital. I wouldn't even touch my laptop because it felt too dangerous, and I was terrified that if the TV was on, I’d catch some kind of secret message through the screen, so I kept it turned off and covered with a sheet just to be safe.
In the end, I wound up in a psych ward on a locked unit, blah, blah, blah.

I honestly feel so incredibly alone right now. It feels like nobody understands what I'm going through, and no one seems to have any answers. I'm just stuck.

Eric Mitchell55 said:Well, let's see... just this past year, back at the start of it, I felt like I was being targeted by aliens. It sounds wild, but people were following me everywhere—literally all over town. I ended up refusing to leave my room because I had pulled the curtains shut, trying to hide from everyone watching me. I was convinced my own family was tampering with my food and water, which led to some pretty bad dehydration, but I wouldn't let them take me to the hospital. I wouldn't even touch my laptop because it felt too dangerous, and I was terrified that if the TV was on, I’d catch some kind of secret message through the screen, so I kept it turned off and covered with a sheet just to be safe.
In the end, I wound up in a psych ward on a locked unit, blah, blah, blah.

I honestly feel so incredibly alone right now. It feels like nobody understands what I'm going through, and no one seems to have any answers. I'm just stuck.

But look, if you’ve already processed all of this, then the next time it starts creeping in, you’ll actually recognize the patterns and realize it isn't reality—unless, of course, something entirely new pops up. And maybe it won't.🙂
I suspect that once you fully accept that you weren't actually dispatched to Earth by extraterrestrials, the cycle will stop repeating itself; however, as long as that tiny doubt lingers—that "maybe I'm just fantasizing, or maybe it's actually happening"—it’s incredibly easy to fall right back into it.

So, you have to be smart about it when everyone else is busy debating whether aliens are real, pointing to grainy footage, or claiming they're kidnapping people...

In the end, you’re going to have to manage this on your own without some magic wand or a quick fix from medication.

(And for the record, I'm calling out anyone who thinks someone dealing with psychosis can't maintain self-control. ) ☕

Eric Mitchell55 said:Well, let's see... just this past year, back at the start of it, I felt like I was being targeted by aliens. It sounds wild, but people were following me everywhere—literally all over town. I ended up refusing to leave my room because I had pulled the curtains shut, trying to hide from everyone watching me. I was convinced my own family was tampering with my food and water, which led to some pretty bad dehydration, but I wouldn't let them take me to the hospital. I wouldn't even touch my laptop because it felt too dangerous, and I was terrified that if the TV was on, I’d catch some kind of secret message through the screen, so I kept it turned off and covered with a sheet just to be safe.
In the end, I wound up in a psych ward on a locked unit, blah, blah, blah.

I honestly feel so incredibly alone right now. It feels like nobody understands what I'm going through, and no one seems to have any answers. I'm just stuck.

I've dealt with plenty of similar nonsense in my own head, and believe me, I know how miserable it feels. That sounds like a textbook psychotic break, and in those moments, getting yourself into a hospital is truly the best move you can make.
Since you mentioned these episodes happen repeatedly, I wanted to ask—were you stopping your medication? As much as it might sound ridiculous, it would almost be better if these episodes were caused by missing doses rather than happening despite being on them.

I read somewhere—or maybe someone told me, it's hard to remember—that as people get older, they tend to handle mental health struggles a bit more effectively, and looking at my own life, I think there's some truth to that.
Don't hold it against your friends if they don't "get" it; most of them aren't mature enough to wrap their heads around this stuff anyway.
Believe me, I'm sure plenty of people want to help you, they just don't know how—and frankly, I don't even know what to write to make things easier for you, since I struggle with this same affliction myself.

If I can offer just one piece of advice, it's to stay far away from alcohol and drugs. I hope that sounds redundant, but I know how easy it is to stumble into that scene with people your age, so I felt compelled to say it.

Larry Lewis said:It improves things with the people who have always truly cared about you. As for those who only know you on a surface level—the ones who see the diagnosis and immediately label you as "unstable"—well, they’re always going to look at you through that lens regardless.

A friend of mine tried to offer me a job recently—along with this group of his buddies I know—and they all turned him down right in front of my face. But get this: when I mentioned I was heading in for a vocational assessment, those exact same people were suddenly telling me *not* to go. It was surreal.

And, of course, it goes without saying that neither then nor now have I given any of them a second glance. Not worth the energy.

EDIT: Their usual line was always "don't bother asking me for a job" because, in their minds, no one with schizophrenia can hold down a position. Yet, once they heard about the official work capacity evaluation, they pivoted to claiming I was just "giving up." Typical.

I suppose I should acknowledge that other people's feelings actually play a role in this entire mess. You hit the nail on the head there—it really is just one of those things where everything connects in ways we often overlook.

To be honest, I’m still trying to wrap my head around what actually happened versus what was just in my head. I feel pretty lost right now, if I'm being real.
And then there's that awful stigma hanging over everything...

Ugh, whatever.

Noah Garcia4 said:But look, if you’ve already processed all of this, then the next time it starts creeping in, you’ll actually recognize the patterns and realize it isn't reality—unless, of course, something entirely new pops up. And maybe it won't.🙂
I suspect that once you fully accept that you weren't actually dispatched to Earth by extraterrestrials, the cycle will stop repeating itself; however, as long as that tiny doubt lingers—that "maybe I'm just fantasizing, or maybe it's actually happening"—it’s incredibly easy to fall right back into it.

So, you have to be smart about it when everyone else is busy debating whether aliens are real, pointing to grainy footage, or claiming they're kidnapping people...

In the end, you’re going to have to manage this on your own without some magic wand or a quick fix from medication.

(And for the record, I'm calling out anyone who thinks someone dealing with psychosis can't maintain self-control. ) ☕

I remember this one time—I was right in the thick of a massive psychotic break—and I actually called an Uber to take me to a psychiatric ward in Portland... except, here's the kicker, I wasn't even out of the house; I was just sitting there alone while my family was away on vacation at the coast. I had turned off my phone because I was absolutely convinced the feds were tapping my line—just one symptom after another—until it finally clicked that I needed professional help. And I didn't want to leave the house to go out and pick a fight with someone or cause a scene; I just knew I needed to be admitted.🙂

Eric Mitchell55 said:To be honest, I’m still trying to wrap my head around what actually happened versus what was just in my head. I feel pretty lost right now, if I'm being real.
And then there's that awful stigma hanging over everything...

Ugh, whatever.

Look, you have to wrap your head around the fact that all those delusions—all that mental looping—are just symptoms of the illness. Period. You have to accept that, clear the air with yourself, and stop giving those thoughts any weight—don't fall into the trap of thinking they're some sort of "message" or that you've stumbled upon some secret truth that nobody else can see, if you catch my drift.

Alexis said:Almost all of those episodes happened while I was staying strictly on my medication—meaning, pretty much every single one except for just one instance.

I honestly know so many people who try to talk their doctors into tapering off their meds because they start feeling "fine"—only to find themselves back in the psychiatric ward at a local hospital a month later. It’s a cycle. It doesn't really matter what the specific dosage looks like—what matters is being absolutely, undeniably certain that you are actually stable.

Larry Lewis said:I remember this one time—I was right in the thick of a massive psychotic break—and I actually called an Uber to take me to a psychiatric ward in Portland... except, here's the kicker, I wasn't even out of the house; I was just sitting there alone while my family was away on vacation at the coast. I had turned off my phone because I was absolutely convinced the feds were tapping my line—just one symptom after another—until it finally clicked that I needed professional help. And I didn't want to leave the house to go out and pick a fight with someone or cause a scene; I just knew I needed to be admitted.🙂

🙏 🙏 🤣

Larry Lewis said:Look, you have to wrap your head around the fact that all those delusions—all that mental looping—are just symptoms of the illness. Period. You have to accept that, clear the air with yourself, and stop giving those thoughts any weight—don't fall into the trap of thinking they're some sort of "message" or that you've stumbled upon some secret truth that nobody else can see, if you catch my drift.

Yeah, I totally get where you're coming from. It sounds so straightforward when I read it written out like that, but actually living it is a whole different story. I guess hopefully things will get a little easier as I get older and learn how to manage my own headspace a bit better.

Larry Lewis said:I honestly know so many people who try to talk their doctors into tapering off their meds because they start feeling "fine"—only to find themselves back in the psychiatric ward at a local hospital a month later. It’s a cycle. It doesn't really matter what the specific dosage looks like—what matters is being absolutely, undeniably certain that you are actually stable.

I definitely agree with that. My psychiatrist is actually starting to slowly taper my antipsychotics, and as much as that makes me happy, I can't help but feel this weird tension in my head. I'm just constantly worried about whether this change might make everything worse.🤷

Noah Garcia4 said:🙏 🙏 🤣

And I ended up having to call an Uber because they wouldn't let me on the city bus—apparently, they were reading my mind or some such nonsense.🙂

Eric Mitchell55 said:Yeah, I totally get where you're coming from. It sounds so straightforward when I read it written out like that, but actually living it is a whole different story. I guess hopefully things will get a little easier as I get older and learn how to manage my own headspace a bit better.

I definitely agree with that. My psychiatrist is actually starting to slowly taper my antipsychotics, and as much as that makes me happy, I can't help but feel this weird tension in my head. I'm just constantly worried about whether this change might make everything worse.🤷

Well, then you ought to tell her exactly that—because if you're sitting there feeling gripped by anxiety or dread, then whatever she's doing isn't working.

Larry Lewis said:Well, then you ought to tell her exactly that—because if you're sitting there feeling gripped by anxiety or dread, then whatever she's doing isn't working.

I'll let her know. I'm heading in this Monday, and then we won't see each other for at least a month since she's going on vacation. Yay, life. ☕

Eric Mitchell55 said:I'll let her know. I'm heading in this Monday, and then we won't see each other for at least a month since she's going on vacation. Yay, life. ☕

But seriously, if you find yourself actually missing those doctors during her month-long hiatus, you can always just check yourself into the ward...🤣

Just kidding, mostly.🙂

Larry Lewis said:But seriously, if you find yourself actually missing those doctors during her month-long hiatus, you can always just check yourself into the ward...🤣

Just kidding, mostly.🙂

But honestly, it’s not even much of a joke—my psychiatrist actually told me the exact same thing during our last session. 🤣😍

Eric Mitchell55 said:But honestly, it’s not even much of a joke—my psychiatrist actually told me the exact same thing during our last session. 🤣😍

The point is, I've been dealing with various psychiatrists for so long now that I've basically inherited their twisted, dark sense of humor. 😂