Posts by Benjamin Williams7

placidridge said:You're an interesting one—seems like you don't actually have mental health issues, yet here you are hanging out with us folks who do. 🙂
There was a point where I used to blame my mom for having me with a man who was sick, but she isn't the villain here—she was just a woman from a tiny rural town with zero education; back then, people fed her these crazy stories about how Dad had been poisoned or whatever. She handles his illness incredibly well, though—she loves him, takes care of him, works herself to the bone, and just wanted a decent life, which meant having me, and now look—I'm dealing with this too. I'm doing okay right now, and maybe I won't have another episode, but there's no way to be sure what's coming next—all I can really do is tell myself to stop overthinking things and try to stay grounded as best as I can! I love kids, I really do, but with these genes of mine, it's probably better if I don't have them—plus, if I relapse, I don't want anyone else to have to suffer through what I went through with my dad. People aren't exactly kind to you when you're struggling like this. I’d love to socialize more, but everyone looks at you like you're an alien if you have mental health struggles—they act like it's somehow your own fault. ☕

Wait a second, what exactly is your diagnosis? And how old were you when you first became ill?

driftinggull21 said:sony1234

Schizophrenia is an incredibly taxing mental disorder. In most instances, it is progressive and, unfortunately, incurable. Medication doesn't cure the condition; it simply manages the symptoms.
Every individual responds to therapy differently. One person might be sedated and unable to concentrate on a low dose, while another might face constant hospitalizations and psychotic episodes even on maximum dosage.
A common side effect of most antipsychotics is increased appetite—it isn't the medication itself causing weight gain, but rather the hunger. Maintaining a healthy diet and staying active, even just through daily walks, is essential.
What is clinically certain is this: a later onset typically results in a better prognosis and course of the illness.
Schizophrenia inherently depletes a person cognitively, emotionally, professionally, and socially.
You correctly observed that your father seems different. This disease unfortunately alters personality, behavior, thought processes, and worldviews, often leading to emotional instability.
The best way to support him is to ensure he adheres to his medication regimen and attends his appointments, while continuing to treat him as you always have. Engage with him and spend time together, but keep in mind that things may never return to exactly how they were before.

He is actually very responsible about it! He takes his meds regularly, visits his psychiatrist whenever he feels poorly, and he is even able to recognize when he needs to be admitted to the hospital... everything is under control there.
I am fully aware that he won't ever be the same person; I just want him to function as normally as possible. Those headaches of his are so painful to watch. Now that I understand they aren't just typical headaches, it’s even harder. He describes it as if something is collapsing inside his head, or like his brain is falling apart—I honestly don't even know how to describe it.

George Collins4 said:I have a clue. I know how to copy things just fine when I need to.😁

Read it again. Read it eighteen times if you have to. It might still seem like nonsense to you, but give it a shot.

P. J.

Look, I have read this a million times already;
What I am actually looking for are real-world experiences dealing with this illness, not just copied content from some random website (which I've already spent countless hours reading myself).
But, regardless, thank you for the effort!

I’ve been doing some deep dives into this online, just trying to wrap my head around it all from a layman's perspective...
Are you actually well-versed in this stuff? Or did you just copy-paste this from somewhere without having a clue what it actually means?

Please forgive this little blunder; I honestly have no idea how I managed that. He really shouldn't be part of this discussion.

hollowtinker18 said:Schizophrenia is basically just a disease where you lose your own center.

Oh, please! Could you explain what you mean by a "lack of a central core"?
And if anyone else knows...

My dad was diagnosed with schizophrenia about 7 or 8 years ago;
he’s currently on Norvasc and Zyprexa.
He went through all sorts of phases.
In the beginning, he imagined everything: that people were following him, spying on him, even seeing deep meanings in every single color... just everything. He absolutely refused any kind of treatment; in his mind, everyone else was the crazy one and he was the only one who knew the truth. Heaven forbid you even mention doctors—he would turn into your worst enemy instantly. Thankfully, we are past those days now.
Things are different now.😛 Because of the medication, he actually realizes he is ill, and he can even laugh at himself when he remembers the things he used to believe.
But still, he isn't the same old dad he was before all this happened.
The meds caused him to gain a lot of weight, but that's easy enough to deal with... his concentration is nonexistent, he's slowed down, often seems lost in thought, and smokes constantly...

But what haunts me most is when he gets these headaches. They absolutely destroy him. He says it feels like something is wrong with his equilibrium, like he's losing his balance, or like something is fundamentally wrong with his brain...
How am I supposed to wrap my head around that? How can I truly know how he's feeling??
Why isn't everything okay, even though he accepts his diagnosis and takes his medication religiously??
I know there is no cure for this illness, but from what I understand, if you follow your therapy, you should be able to function normally.
I am at a total loss. I don't know how to help him, and I feel completely helpless.

Please, I am asking for any advice, any help, anything at all. I believe there are many people here dealing with this exact situation or something similar.