Posts by David Vaughn75

William Evans10 said:I actually asked this exact same thing in my previous post.
Are they all bad people?
Isn't it strange to think that absolutely everyone has conspired together just to do harm?
Especially if this is the second or third time it's happened, and you already know from past experiences that you might have just "imagined" it all?
If you've been through a similar situation before, only to find out later that nothing was wrong and nobody was following you?

The whole thing is just terrifying...

And completely incomprehensible... though I imagine it feels truly horrific in that moment.

Look, it's hard to put into words... we're talking about a physiological imbalance in neurotransmitters here.

It's tough, yeah, but with the right medication and actual psychotherapy, everything can be managed.

Harold Harris20 said:Thank you so much... Honestly, I'd trade places with her in a heartbeat if it meant he could feel better. I just can't wrap my head around why he's barely reacting at all to such a massive dose of meds. At the end of the day, I just pray to God that he's okay, regardless of what happens to me.

First off, antipsychotics don't just kick in overnight—it takes weeks for them to even start working, and recovering from a full-blown psychotic episode is a marathon that lasts months.

And second, there's always the chance the doctors totally missed the mark with the treatment plan, which, let's be real, happens way more often than people want to admit.

William Evans10 said:Haha... sorry, but this shower story is just too funny to me...(REALLY, SORRY 🙂 )

It is fascinating... how "you" can imagine all of that... where does all that imagination come from? All that energy spent and all those thoughts and theories surrounding a single shower... (in your specific case, at least).

A friend of mine has a father who is very old now... he deals with geriatric paranoia. They have similar situations with him... except they actually have to restrain him just to get him to shower, and he thinks they are trying to poison him... and so much more.

It’s not even an issue of capability with my mother-in-law; it’s just that she simply lacks the will. She’s completely indifferent to everything... and honestly, if she starts smelling because she refuses to shower, she doesn't care one bit. It’s all just so trivial to her. She is truly the type of person who could just sit there or lie in bed starving, yet refuse to eat a single bite...

But what can you say? That's just how she is... she's family, and I love her exactly as she is...
Truthfully, my blood pressure spikes to 150 just dealing with her, so I often have to step outside for a quick walk just to clear my head...
But what am I supposed to do? She just doesn't grasp any of it... I could tell her a hundred times that certain things she does bother me...
Sometimes, when I'm feeling down or just in a bad mood... she senses it, and she'll give my head a little pat...
It isn't that she understands nothing... it's just that she understands far less than she really should.

That right there? That's that razor-thin line where intuition turns into pure delusion. Once a stupid idea pops into your head, that little voice inside starts whispering that it’s actually the absolute truth.

A brain stuck in a psychotic loop refuses to believe in coincidences. It’s like if someone walks into a 7-Eleven, turns around, and sees the same guy walking behind them. Then they go back the next day, and boom—there he is again. Suddenly, the whole thing spirals into this insane mental construction: "Oh, he's definitely a CIA agent tailing me." Why? Probably because he wants to kidnap me for some lab experiment. Maybe even my own mother is part of the conspiracy.... and before you know it, the rabbit hole just keeps going deeper and deeper.

Brian Hayes43 said:Do you think it might actually help if you tried shaking loose just the most essential details, much like I did? Perhaps there is a lingering fear of being identified by others. Personally, I finally gathered my courage and laid everything out on the table—my age, where I live, even my name: Vedran.

In my experience, taking that leap feels like the most vital step toward progress. It’s about saying, "Here I am, these are my vulnerabilities, and I am stepping up to face them head-on."

What good is it for me to vent my guts out to you?
I'm a textbook psychotic—living proof that karma (or whatever you want to call this sickness) catches up to everyone, no matter how high up they are in life.

I've already played myself by repeating this a hundred times, but honestly, the only thing that can pull you through is holding onto any shred of faith in the good stuff left in this world. Go see a psychiatrist and tell them every single, messy detail about what's going on.

And don't sweat being hospitalized. Seriously. I met some absolute legends in the psych ward that I still hang out with today.

Brian Hayes43 said:True, everyone’s journey is a unique universe unto itself. Still, I find myself drawn to those here who face struggles similar to mine. I am looking to learn from their experiences—not to mirror them, but to take the wisdom they have gained and offer back my own realizations, much like fitting together pieces of a puzzle so we can all understand and overcome. It serves as both emotional support and a source of motivation.

Every one of us is a vast cosmos on our own, so it feels futile to offer "advice" right now, since people generally only hear what they are looking for. What you truly need is to feel the resonance of another soul. It isn't about listening to the specific words being spoken, but rather just hearing that someone else is speaking at all. You need faith—and I don't mean religious dogma. I believe you will find that faith soon enough, because you have finally realized its necessity and opened your heart to let something in.

If you aren't ready to listen, then yes, you'll only hear what you want to hear. Personally, I don't think I've ever been more prepared than I am now.

I have a question for you: do you believe you deserve love?

Absolutely. I have never been a bad person. In fact, in a way, I am grateful for this "experience." When you approach people and life's situations with genuine empathy, you gain the capacity to be of service to others. That is exactly how I want to spend the rest of my days. So, I believe the answer is yes. 🙂

What about you? It seems to me that you are still resisting something.

That's actually a great way to look at it. Just by wanting to help others out, you've basically already done half the legwork.😉

Hell yeah. I was never a bad guy. If anything, part of me is almost glad I went through this "experience." When you approach people and situations with actual empathy, you gain the ability to truly help. And honestly? That’s exactly how I want to spend the rest of my days. So, yeah, I think so.

What about you? To me, it feels like you're still holding something back.

Ugh, man, my story is such a massive, tangled mess—it would take us days just to scratch the surface of the basics.

Look, all I'm trying to tell you is: stop overanalyzing the problem until you're blue in the face. It won't change a thing. Just listen to someone's soul for a minute and let yourself feel the music of the heart. Because that connection? That rhythm? It always goes both ways.🙂

Check this out. My folks are pulling in about $6.75, they’ve got three houses, and zero debt hanging over their heads. But honestly? The best part is they absolutely adore me—they’d go to bat for me any day of the week. I'm doing great, really. Got a best friend who’s basically my brother for life (he’s living up in Seattle, but whatever, distance doesn't change a thing). Even if everything goes south, I've got a massive olive grove out on the coast that could provide a pretty decent living. And you want to know what I did? Back in '06, I went through a dark patch, slashed my wrists, and ended up stuck in a psych ward.

Look, we’re all our own little universes, so it’s kind of pointless for us to sit here and "give you advice"—people usually just hear whatever they want to hear anyway. What you actually need is to feel someone else's soul. Not listen to the words they're saying, but just... feel them say *something*, anything at all. You need faith—and I don't mean religious stuff. Personally, I think you'll find that faith pretty soon because you've finally realized you need it, and you've opened your soul up enough to let something in.

I've gotta ask you one thing: do you actually believe you deserve to be loved?

Robin Lopez2 said:If you’ve been following this thread, it should be obvious that faith isn't going to put food on the table, find someone a job, or provide necessary medication. It won't make anyone happier.

I'll say it again: faith is dangerous for psychotic individuals. This is the topic at hand, yet the conversation keeps drifting into an unrealistic fantasy world. For those dealing with psychosis, their own thoughts are the primary enemy. You have to cling to proven reality like a lifeline. You need to toss any irrational thought out of your head the moment it surfaces, and antipsychotics are what help you do that. The most critical step is admitting to yourself that something is wrong; only then can we use medication to discard the delusions.

It is a hard truth to swallow, but during my worst psychotic episode, I truly believed I was right and doing the right thing. Everyone feels that way. It wasn't until I received the correct treatment that I realized everything I had said about faith and spirituality was nothing but total nonsense.

And don't you see? This whole thing where you reject faith and spirituality... that's just another kind of faith in itself. 🙂

Jason Vaughn482 said:I have to say, I couldn't disagree more. Are we suggesting that "smart" doctors are those who prefer to manage patients with heavy-duty antipsychotics instead? And let’s be honest, tapering off antidepressants isn't exactly a walk in the park either—or at least, that’s the consensus, even if I can't speak to it personally. For my part, I take Xanax, topping out at 1.5 mg and usually hovering around 1.25 mg, which doesn't strike me as some catastrophic dosage. Honestly, it keeps me feeling steady enough.

In 99% of cases, people dealing with schizophrenia aren't even going to function normally without their antipsychotics.

Justin Rogers5 said:What do you mean, hit a wall?

Man, it was brutal—all those old anxieties I thought I’d buried just came screaming back at once, and they hit way harder than before. Look, I don't want to freak you out if you're also on Lori Silman—I mean, everyone's chemistry is different and someone else might handle it fine—but honestly? That stuff is pure evil.

Robin Lopez2 said:Healthy people are just naturally happy—with or without faith, it doesn't matter!

If someone slips into psychosis, then finding happiness can become a real struggle.

Science suggests the real remedy for happiness is chocolate. 🙂

Do you honestly think those 400,000 Americans sitting around without a job are just having a stroke of good luck? Or do you really believe they’re all just walking around in terrible health? It’s a bit of a loaded question, isn't it—kind of implies there's some grand design behind the struggle, which, let's be real, is a pretty grim way to look at things. 🙂 Do you seriously think people out there are having a blast because they can't find a decent meal or even basic medicine? Like, give me a break. It’s easy to sit here behind a screen and act like struggle is some kind of "authentic experience," but let's get real—it's nothing but misery. There's nothing poetic about starving or being unable to grab something simple like Tylenol when you're hurting. It sucks, plain and simple.

Look, sadness is just baked into the human experience—it’s part of the deal because let's be real, life is never actually perfect. But the weirdest thing? When our brains start hitting those low points, they don't just feel sad; they go totally off the rails and convince us that we've been abducted by aliens or some other sci-fi nonsense. It’s wild how much our heads can play tricks on us when things get heavy.

Gerald Torres2 said:I'm not actually familiar with what kind of anxiolytic that is, so I can't really weigh in here... how did you go about tapering off? Did you do it gradually or what?

Yeah, it was gradual. Honestly, most of the tapering process was totally manageable—I could handle it—but when she dropped me from half a pill straight down to zero, man, I just completely lost it.

Gerald Torres2 said:How long were you on them, and what kind of dosage are we talking about?

I was taking Lorsilan 2 for about two months—twice a day at 2.5mg each time.

Smart psychiatrists generally steer clear of the heavy-duty stuff—you know, things like Loris, Xanax, Clonazepam, and all that junk—because they actually realize how easy it is to get hooked. They really only reach for those prescriptions when things are truly hitting the fan. Honestly, when I was trying to kick my Loris habit, I thought my brain was actually going to melt—I was dealing with these massive waves of panic attacks basically every hour on the hour.

Brian Hayes43 said:I suppose that might just be my own perspective, a unique quirk of my personality. Who knows?

Look, if you ask me, there's a massive, crystal-clear line between a delusional psychotic belief and just having a general theory about how the world works. We're talking about psychosis when someone starts thinking everything is being scripted specifically for them. Like, hey, believing in the Illuminati or some shadowy cabal isn't necessarily "crazy"—it's just a conspiracy theory. But it turns into actual psychosis when you think those groups are personally stalking you, or that they're the reason you failed that midterm at NYU or missed your flight at JFK. You know what I mean? It's that shift from "the world is weird" to "the world is out to get *me* specifically."

Being sane is basically just knowing the difference between those two things.

Robin Lopez2 said:Science has absolutely nothing to do with faith. In the scientific community, faith is redundant; faith is just another word for ignorance. If I have reliable data, there is no need to "believe" in it—I simply know it.

When dealing with psychosis, faith can be extremely dangerous. One should avoid any thoughts or conversations centered on unrealistic concepts. It is vital to stick to things that are grounded and logical, which is achieved through the consistent use of antipsychotics.

Let me run that back: my goal is to actually be happy in this life, and for me, that only happens if I have something to believe in.

So, what does science have to say about that? Is there some kind of pill for happiness? 🙂

Steven Martin13 said:I was really hoping someone might be able to chime in here—maybe share some of your own experiences or just offer a bit of guidance.

My doctor suggested that while I’m taking my 50mg Zoloft in the morning, I should also take 25mg of Seroquel at night to help with the anxiety, along with Xanax PR (though I only take that one very rarely).

As for what's going on, my diagnosis is currently listed as F41—though nothing is set in stone just yet. I've been on the Zoloft for about four months now.

The real struggle right now is this overwhelming, nagging obsession that I’m actually losing my mind—it’s hard to even put into words how intense that feeling is—but other than that specific fear, I don't really deal with any intrusive thoughts.

Is it actually standard practice to prescribe an antipsychotic to manage anxiety? 😕

And what kind of effects should I expect from a dose like that, and how long am I looking at having to stay on it?

I picked up the prescription about two weeks ago, but I haven't actually started taking them yet.😢

Man, I feel that in my soul.
To be totally blunt—I’ve been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and my biggest, most gut-wrenching fear is just... losing it completely.

I’m on 20mg of Zyprexa right now, and honestly? It’s the only thing keeping me level. Aside from that, things are actually feeling way better than they used to.

Brian Hayes43 said:It isn't that we shouldn't be open-minded, but rather that I believe such an approach isn't always the most prudent path forward. You likely feel that one ought to adapt to those standard, "rational" ways of thinking, much like how one learns to navigate the rules of a major metropolitan area. However, my perspective is that any level of unsubstantiated belief doesn't sit quite right when you consider the reality that someone might occasionally find themselves ready to accept the idea that God or perhaps even extraterrestrials are communicating through the internet just to outsmart them.

At the end of the day, cold, hard scientific facts aren't going to bring you happiness. Sure, meds can balance out your brain chemistry, but if we want to actually function as human beings in society, we have to believe there's a reason to get out of bed—we have to believe in the good stuff life throws at us.

Plus, let's be real: even science itself is built on a foundation of believing in axioms.🙂

Brian Hayes43 said:It seems to me that placing any kind of blind faith in something you cannot verify through your own observation is, in our specific situation, a fundamentally misguided approach.

So what you're saying is healthy people get to believe whatever they want, but the sick ones shouldn't? 🙄

Your logic is totally tripping over itself.

Robin Lopez2 said:In my view, nobody is obligated to have any kind of faith; you can just live your life!

To me, faith is just an entry point into a sort of "mild collective psychosis." That's fine by me, provided it stays purely theoretical and doesn't interfere with actual, practical action.

To actually enjoy life, you’ve got to believe it’s worth living in the first place—you know, that there are a million beautiful things out there waiting for you. And let's be real, sometimes holding onto that belief isn't easy.

Me? I’d much rather lean into what I call "blind faith in science"—even if everyone else thinks that's just a fancy way of collectively losing our minds.

William Evans10 said:But what’s driving you? What was the spark? Where do you find that inner strength and willpower? Honestly, hats off to you—keep pushing forward just like that.🙂

Look, everyone needs something to hold onto, whether they’re feeling 100% or they're struggling through some hellish illness 😉 Personally, I'm a science guy through and through, but I also truly believe that God watches over anyone walking a path filled with love and Shine.