22 posts shown.
bluejackal2 said:Ever since my first psychotic episode back in '99, the DMV has been playing this little game where they just keep extending my license period. It started out with maybe just a year at a time, then it jumped to two, then three, and last time they bumped it up to five years, but this year they hit me with another three-year extension.
cosmicdriver42 said:Look, I know. I was just speaking out of turn there—obviously a psychiatrist handles the prescriptions... 😁
Though you definitely have people out there sourcing them and taking them on their own initiative...
cosmicdriver42 said:Who actually prescribed that to you? For what diagnosis? From what I understand, that's pretty heavy-duty stuff they bring out when things are at their worst, though I'm not entirely sure which specific category it falls into or exactly what it's used for...
Harold Anderson3 said:Hi there 🙂
Something actually crossed my mind today, especially given how much we've all been dealing with this whole pandemic era.
Do you guys think COVID is a harder illness to deal with, or is schizophrenia more taxing?
Rebecca Rivera3 said:Joseph Fowler33, thanks for the support... it really helps knowing I'm not the only one going through this.
Have you been in treatment for long? Are you able to maintain a normal routine? My ability to function tanked quite a while ago. Lately, I’ve just been living in flannel shirts, haha... if you know what I mean.
Were you hospitalized in New York City? Did it actually help at all?
If you don't mind me asking, which type of schizoid do you fall under?
Life seems to be slipping by right in front of you while you wonder why you're even bothering to live it... and honestly... it would be so nice to just disappear.
Rebecca Rivera3 said:I have this urge to end my life, and it isn’t the first time, but somehow I’m still here. I don't kill myself; I’m always just... here. Surviving. Just dragging myself through this miserable existence. If I could actually feel better or get my thoughts under control, I would, but it just doesn't work that way. I am suicidal, plain and simple. I know that much. I don't want to go to a hospital right now, and I won't. I'll wait for this feeling to pass, but if it keeps going, then I'll go.
bluedrifter45 said:It’s relatively high, I suppose. I imagine it probably makes you feel quite drowsy, doesn't it? Aside from its role as a mood stabilizer, valproate is also utilized for certain types of epilepsy, though that likely isn't relevant to your specific situation.
bluedrifter45 said:I'm just asking because I doubt I'd be the first person to deal with nightmares or hallucinations while on Ambien, so maybe try to keep an eye out for that too.🙂
silvergardener6 said:Regarding Valproate—given your specific situation, using it as a mood stabilizer essentially works by boosting those GABA neurotransmitter levels. Since GABA acts as an inhibitory agent, it’s generally believed that this process helps to dial down manic episodes. I guess it just helps steady things out.
Harold Anderson3 said:Oh yeah... I definitely remember you now. Man, it feels like a lifetime ago. You’ve got a much sharper memory than I do; honestly, half of what happened during that stretch is just a blur to me, especially those little "details" people tend to notice.
How have you been doing? Maybe it would be better if we moved this to private messages, just like Azzura suggested...🙂
Andrew Doyle said:Consider this some friendly advice: think twice before you hit "post" and be extremely careful about the personal details you leave lying around on these forums. For certain topics, you're much better off just sending a private message. 🙂
Harold Anderson3 said:I actually spotted him over in my neighborhood recently, so if I run into him again, I'll definitely try to strike up a conversation. That is, assuming he remembers me—we used to hang out back when we were both patients at the hospital, so hopefully he does. To be fair, I was feeling pretty wiped out back then too, so I wasn't exactly in the mood to be social.
Anonymous said:Sometimes I can’t help but feel like life would be a lot easier if I were just more ruthless. But honestly? That’s just not who I am, and I don't know how to function in an environment like that. Even when I’m surrounded by people who seem well-meaning on the surface—even though we all know deep down they’re total snakes—I still give them the benefit of the doubt until they eventually stab me in the back. When they do, I just end up feeling disappointed, angry, and heartbroken, wondering how this keeps happening to me. I truly love genuine, good people, but they tend to live in their own little bubbles. Nowadays, if you actually want to build a meaningful life and surround yourself with decent human beings, it feels like you have to fight through a gauntlet of chaos just to establish a sense of security and independence.
I’m curious to hear from you guys: how have you structured your lives to find peace? More importantly, how do you navigate around the materialists, the egoists, and those selfish power-trippers with warped values who seem to hold all the cards?
slybison6 said:I have someone very dear to me who is living with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. To be honest, I don’t know much about the condition itself, but I find myself desperately wanting to figure out how to help them. It’s an incredibly heavy situation to navigate because I’m certainly no doctor, and they refuse to take the medications prescribed by their physician; they claim the meds make them feel like a "zombie," leaving them in a constant state of sleepiness where they just can't function normally in daily life. I wanted to write everything out here in detail, so if anyone has walked a similar path or dealt with something like this, I would truly appreciate it if you could reach out and share your experience with us...
So, looking back, about twenty years ago—right during the height of the war—this person was brought into a clinic. At that time, their speech was completely incoherent and disjointed, and their physical presence was totally withdrawn, almost coiled inward. They were talking about being persecuted by people... though I honestly have no clue how we even got to that point. Everything changed from that moment on. From the time they hit their twenties all the way through to today—they’re 42 now—they’ve only managed about three years of steady employment. In the town where they grew up, it was nearly impossible to hold down a job because word travels fast, and everyone knew they had mental health struggles. The thing is, this is an exceptionally intelligent individual. They’ve had several serious relationships over the years, but they always seem to fizzle out after about eighteen months or maybe two years at most. People who don't know them intimately—those who just meet them and perhaps spend a little time together by chance—can sense that something is "off," even if they can't quite put a finger on what it is. They frequently stir up conflict and constantly speak ill of those closest to them—the very people who have offered them the most support and unconditional love. There is absolutely no logical reason for them to lash out like that, which is the great mystery to me. Is their perception warped? Are they blurring the lines between reality and illusion? I can’t peer inside their mind to understand why, and that leaves me feeling lost. Right now, they’ve found work in another state, doing some kind of intense physical labor, working 15-hour shifts. They claim to possess a level of strength that makes everyone else admire them. Their ego is through the roof; they have this overwhelming drive to prove themselves to the world. They try so hard to present the best possible version of themselves, yet simultaneously pick fights with coworkers, claiming an "inner voice" tells them these people are negative influences, and that only they can know the truth. They used to use alcohol, which acted as a massive trigger and accelerated the onset of their illness, but they haven't touched it in a long time. No one at the job really understands why they act the way they do, but they've already started labeling them as frustrated or unstable. People see the cracks, even if they don't understand the cause. They’ve pushed away their mother and refuses to take her calls. They even cut off their best friend, claiming they felt "persecuted" simply because the friend reached out with a simple, caring text asking, "Hey, how are you?" Even when his mother asked for a small amount of financial help, he shut her out. There wasn't some grand betrayal or specific reason; it just happened. Meanwhile, they have this new friend who seems okay for now, to whom they vent all this negativity about the family members who stood by them when they had nothing—back when they couldn't even afford a cup of coffee or a pack of cigarettes. Lately, they've entered a phase of boasting about their achievements—they are quite the writer, actually, a true artist—and they carry this sense of superiority, as if they are above everyone else. They spend money recklessly, throwing it around as if they've forgotten that just six months ago, they were completely broke. Any time they form a connection with someone, it tends to sour quickly because they develop a certain image of that person—or create one entirely in their own head. They often seek out conflict as a way to force a break in communication; if someone bothers them or a situation feels uncomfortable, they'll spark a fight just so they have an excuse to stop interacting with that person. And then there’s the emotional aspect, which is my biggest puzzle. How can someone seemingly lack emotion, or at least refuse to show it, when just a week ago they were being tender and kind? It’s like a light switch flips. One day they are perfect, the next they are bitter and negative. One day they might treat you like the most important person in the world, and the next, they treat you with pure disdain. I can't wrap my head around how that behavior fits into any kind of "normal" framework. It’s not normal, obviously, but it’s so jarring. Either they are intentionally playing games with people, or they are struggling so deeply within themselves that they can't find peace. They’ve been doing this grueling physical work for two months now. About seven days ago, they complained that they had lost their "spark"—that joyful side of them that used to make people laugh at work—and that they just didn't have the energy to be the life of the party anymore. When they first started the job, they complained about stiffness in their hands, but that seems to have passed. Still, they won't touch medication and have no desire to. Communication is almost entirely one-sided; they talk incessantly but rarely listen. It’s mostly monologues about work or complaints about their loved ones. They have this uncanny ability to pretend everything is under control when it clearly isn't. Deep down, I know they are a good person, but being their friend is incredibly taxing. When you weigh the good against the bad, the bad side carries so much more weight. They reject any help from medical professionals because they believe their intellect alone is enough to manage their own life. And while they are undeniably brilliant and highly articulate, the conversations are often so bleak and heavy that people end up avoiding them or mocking them, which they perceive as further persecution. If anyone has dealt with a similar situation with a loved one, please reach out. I need to know what to do and how to actually help. They abruptly cut contact with me recently, but I know it might not stay that way—in a week or a month, they might just reappear as if nothing ever happened.
edit: It’s honestly wild how often he does something, and then later tries to turn it around and claim everyone else is doing it and that *they're* the ones in the wrong. It’s such a bizarre cycle. He’ll try to mimic people he actually admires, but he just ends up doing a terrible job of it, almost like he's wearing a costume that doesn't fit. And the jealousy? It’s palpable. Seeing other people build genuine connections clearly eats him alive, and instead of trying to build his own, he just burns bridges with everyone because he can't handle seeing those bonds exist. I don't know, maybe I'm overthinking it, but I can't quite put my finger on what this behavior is—it just feels fundamentally broken. You can sit him down for hours, have all the deep conversations you want, but talk alone isn't going to fix this kind of mindset... it just isn't right.
Roger Sanders said:I stumbled upon some scientific research regarding the link between Vitamin D levels and schizophrenia, such as this: https://www.vitamindcouncil.org/vita...schizophrenia/
I can't quite wrap my head around one thing:
1. Is a deficiency in Vitamin D actually a potential trigger for developing schizophrenia?
2. Or is it more likely that people already living with schizophrenia simply have low Vitamin D levels, making the deficiency a mere byproduct of the illness?
Grace Lewis6 said:Oh, I've got that going on too 🥳
The funniest part is when my upper right and lower left eye both twitch ☕ at the exact same time 🙄
But I'm not even going to Google what it could mean, because I'll just end up worrying for no reason...