Posts by Noah Garcia4

And honestly, this was all perfectly on-topic. What am I supposed to do, go mingle with the anxiety crowd? 🤷 This forum is my little corner of the world, and every single one of my posts has stayed strictly focused on the concept of madness. 🙂
It’s not that I’m neurotic; it’s more that I’m psychotic. Not really—I mean, haven't you noticed we’ve been sticking pretty closely to the theme of insanity and schizophrenia? 😉

Larry Lewis said:I suppose, considering how "normal" has become such a wildly subjective—and frankly, terrifyingly broad—concept in this day and age, you might actually be right. 🤣

And honestly, I can't argue with that logic.🤣

David Vaughn75 said:Man, I feel that. Can't exactly sit here and claim I'm not a genius myself while I'm spiraling, right? 🥳

That’s certainly not an impression your posts have ever left on me.🙂

David Vaughn75 said:Honestly, we're all just acting like total morons. 🤣😂😁

I actually heard this back before I lost my mind—that the truly insane people are often brilliant, which is probably exactly why they ended up that way.🙂 🤣 ☕

Larry Lewis 63627 said:It’s a little late for that act; we all know who you really are.😁

Well, can't I have my moments of sanity once in a while? 😁

Larry Lewis said:Stupid?? How dare you even suggest such a thing!!🙂

If I actually sat down to catalog every single idiomatic blunder and lapse in judgment I've committed throughout my life—really took the time to audit them—I’d probably be stuck thinking about it
for at least a week straight.

Alright, that’s it—I’m retiring terms like schizophrenic, stupid, crazy, psychotic, or disordered. From here on out, I'm just using the word "sick." 🙂

David Vaughn75 said:Look, what I was trying to get at is that science still hasn't actually pinned down the exact trigger for psychosis

We all know there's a genetic component—it runs in families—and obviously, massive stress spikes the odds, but the actual "why" behind the onset? That's still pretty much a giant question mark

I’m well aware that science doesn't have a definitive answer for what causes psychosis. However, the consensus is that brain chemistry becomes "imbalanced."

My point is simply that the brain is an engine that never stops running, constantly churning through chemical reactions.

If you look closely, the brains of someone experiencing psychosis and a "neurotypical" person aren't worlds apart; there's significant overlap there.

This isn't some radical theory I cooked up—it's just the reality of the situation, much like the documented case of John Nash. It's just how it works. 😉

Setting aside all the talk about alternative medicine or finding a way to eliminate the trigger and heal completely, we have to remember that brain chemistry is active every single day, even when someone is in remission. 🍿

David Vaughn75 said:Stressful events might crank up the odds of sliding into psychosis, but they aren't the actual cause.

It's kind of like how having a bunch of different sexual partners increases your risk of catching an STI, but the behavior itself isn't the disease—the virus is what actually makes you sick.

I was under the impression that any significant event effectively rewires your brain chemistry.

Larry Lewis said:I'm not crazy—perish the thought—I actually have full-blown schizophrenia... or whatever it is you're implying, I haven't the slightest clue what you're getting at myself.😉

Well, you aren't exactly a complete idiot, are you? 🤣 😉

Larry Lewis said:At the end of the day, we’re all just cogs in this massive, grinding machine—some of us happen to smell nice enough that the system harvests our essence to sell as overpriced luxury fragrances, while the rest of us? Well, the machine just flushes us down the drain like yesterday's trash.
I honestly have nothing but contempt for this entire concept of "civilization" and every soul-crushing thing humanity has ever managed to build—and don't even get me started on God; I have plenty of thoughts there, but I suspect the moderators would ban me before I could finish my sentence.

Just keep consuming and bowing down... Hallelujah!

It’s truly a shame that a whole crowd of people will read this and immediately think, "Oh man, this guy has completely lost his mind."
A person is simply allowed to express an opinion. 😛

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbh5l0b2-0o

This is pretty much what I had in mind.

And honestly, it’s pretty much common knowledge at this point that people who act completely unhinged are usually the ones solely responsible for their own madness. ☕

Eric Gray2 said:I mean, obviously. Especially since these things are rarely black and white—it’s almost never just one isolated cause, and half the time, you can't even pin down what the actual trigger was.

Alright, let’s play devil’s advocate for a second and assume we aren't looking at a genetic blueprint here, but rather some traumatic event—or maybe a cascade of them—that fundamentally shifted someone's brain chemistry.
In theory, if specific circumstances triggered this chemical imbalance, shouldn't we be able to use specific circumstances to steer that chemistry back toward a baseline?

We already know this works through psychotherapy when dealing with "neurotypical" individuals.
If someone is living under constant pressure, the logical fix is to lower the stress levels, right?
What I'm getting at is that our brain chemistry reacts to every single thing that happens to us. So why does schizophrenia seem to be such an irreversible sentence?

I personally know quite a few people who grew up with a parent living with schizophrenia, and honestly, they turn out to be wonderful individuals. It’s tough, of course, watching a mother or father struggle with an illness, but these kids don't carry some sort of inherent dysfunction; they grow up to be completely well-adjusted, successful adults.
I also know two women who were under the care of psychiatrists during their pregnancies to manage medication, and everything went perfectly fine.
Then there are some older women I know who actually regret not choosing to have children back then because they were too worried about the medication risks.
Even though the media and medical community constantly harp on the genetic component and the risk of passing down schizophrenia, I suspect these children actually have a very high probability of staying healthy. It really seems to come down to the individual child. At the end of the day, you have all sorts of eccentric personalities raising kids, and frankly, anyone can become a parent. The modern obsession with creating this "perfect," hyper-idealized environment for child-rearing adds a layer of unnecessary pressure; if you're dealing with schizophrenia, you might feel like you're already failing the prerequisite checklist for modern parenting, which is a heavy burden to carry. How are you supposed to meet every single one of a child's needs when you're fighting your own battles? I’m certain these kids won't lack for love, but people tend to second-guess that because emotional blunting is one of the symptoms of the disorder.
Anything is possible 😉

David Vaughn75 said:Stop obsessing over the clinical symptoms of the disease and start focusing on the actual quality of your life.😉

Aye aye, captain.😉

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpzONffFOjg 🤣☕

It’s one thing to deal with things that aren't actually there, 🧐

But honestly, what's really eating at me right now are these "negative symptoms."
The house is clean, dinner is made, and I’ve even managed to squeeze in a little workout this afternoon, yet I still feel like I'm failing. My psychiatrist actually sat me down and told me that just hitting the baseline isn't enough; I need to aim much higher.
Specifically, she pointed out that simply being free from hallucinations isn't the finish line.

(Schizophrenia is often categorized by its positive and negative (or deficit) symptoms.[17] Positive symptoms involve experiences that most people don't encounter under normal circumstances but are present in those living with schizophrenia. These can manifest as delusions, disorganized thinking or speech, and various sensory hallucinations—auditory, visual, tactile, olfactory, or gustatory—which are generally viewed as hallmarks of psychosis.[18] Hallucinations are frequently tied to the specific themes of a person's delusions.[19] Fortunately, positive symptoms usually respond quite well to medication.[19]

Negative symptoms represent a deficit in normal emotional responses or cognitive processes and tend to be more resistant to medication.[8] Common examples include a flattened or blunted affect, alogia (poverty of speech), anhedonia (the inability to feel pleasure), asociality (a lack of drive to form social connections), and avolition (a lack of motivation). Research suggests that negative symptoms contribute more to poor quality of life, functional disability, and the burden on caregivers than do positive symptoms.[20] Often, individuals with significant negative symptoms have struggled with adjustment even before the illness fully surfaced, and their response to pharmacological treatment is frequently limited.[8][21])

And as a person, I feel stuck in this limbo. How am I supposed to just go back to being my old self after everything? Sure, I'm getting older and that takes its toll, but I feel like I've managed to hold onto about 80% of my actual personality. I can live with that. ☕
On a side note, I've noticed that exercising helps immensely. It’s almost like I get a shot of those "positive symptoms"—well, more like a burst of mania—that actually manages to lift my mood for a bit. ☕

Would you all agree with me that schizophrenia should be classified as a physical disease?
I'm convinced it is.☕

fadedlynx96 said:I'm not entirely following this post; is this guy your boyfriend, a potential boyfriend, or what exactly?

If he isn't talking about sex, does that mean you won't talk about schizo issues either?

It’s all pretty unclear to me, but I really should get to sleep.

He’s just a friend who happens to be my neighbor. We were just discussing how, despite it being 2024, sex remains such a heavy taboo.
I wasn't hitting on him or anything; we were just talking.
I don't have any issue discussing any topic, really.
But if you ask me, schizophrenia is actually a much bigger taboo than sex, which is why I'm glad we have these 173 pages dedicated to the subject.

And within this thread, we have people actually living with these mental health conditions, as well as those who live with them or know them personally. It can be incredibly draining to deal with someone who is struggling. Sometimes, navigating a relationship with someone dealing with an illness is just plain difficult. 😛

Mental Health Classifications:
1 F00–F99 – Mental and behavioral disorders
1.1 (F00–F09) Organic, including symptomatic, mental disorders
1.2 (F10–F19) Mental and behavioral disorders due to psychoactive substance use
1.3 (F20–F29) Schizophrenia, schizotypal and delusional disorders
1.4 (F30–F39) Mood (affective) disorders
1.5 (F40–F48) Neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders
1.6 (F50–F59) Behavioral syndromes associated with physiological disturbances and physical factors
1.7 (F60–F69) Disorders of adult personality and behavior
1.8 (F70–F79) Intellectual disabilities
1.9 (F80–F89) Disorders of psychological development
1.10 (F90–F98) Behavioral and emotional disorders with onset usually occurring in childhood and adolescence
1.11 (F99) Unspecified mental disorder

🤣

I just found out that sex is considered such a taboo subject among people in their 30s, and while I suppose that individual might have a point, it leads me to wonder if schizophrenia is also treated with that same level of social avoidance 🤣☕

David Vaughn75 said:It’s not even that I need to go out there and start picking fights, it’s just that I need to stop letting people walk all over me and actually fight for what's mine.

Fine, I went ahead and deleted it. Honestly, I don't know; I'll fight for whatever battles are worth the effort, and if they aren't, then they aren't.
You'll make it happen. As they say, where there's a will, there's a way. 🧐