Schizophrenia - General Discussion

up99 said:The Fashion is that whenever I mention drug use, people immediately give me this look of total judgment.

That's got nothing to do with it.

up99 said:Just picture the scene. I’m sitting with my buddy—someone I've known since we were kids, a great guy. And suddenly, BAM! Out of nowhere! I'm staring him dead in the eyes and I'm convinced he's about to murder me. I think he's plotting something. His phone rings, he starts talking to someone irrelevant, and my brain just screams that it's his accomplice... AAAAARGH, pure chaos, darkness, paranoia, total misery, FEAR.
Whoa, hold up. I could have been hauled off to a psych ward right then and there. They probably would've just tranquilized me with a heavy dose of Thorazine without a second thought.

They wouldn't hit you with Thorazine; they'd send you straight to rehab!!!!!! Drug-induced hallucinations have absolutely zero connection to schizophrenia, man, and they're treated totally differently, so stop equating them once and for all!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's one thing when you're hallucinating and spiraling because of drugs, and it's something else entirely when we're talking about schizophrenia. Go pick up a DSM-5 and find a code under substance abuse somewhere. And please, don't take this the wrong way. For it to be psychosis, those hallucinations and paranoia need to last for weeks or months—consistently.

up99 said:Nobody here is actually sick; some people are just acting like spoiled brats expecting everyone else to fix their problems. And the best or worst part? They actually expect it. They want the pills, the doctors, the little treatments......

You've got it all wrong. Nobody else fixes your illness except you. Medication is just a tool to help you get moving in the first place. But before you can move forward, you have to get clean. According to the stats, only 10% of people with schizophrenia are completely incurable, 20% recover fully, and 70% improve partially—so you aren't exactly dropping any truth bombs here. You insult me by saying I'm not trying, but I am fighting like hell, you couldn't even imagine it. And I believe I'll get off the meds one day, but now isn't the time. Because if I quit and the illness comes back—then I'm really screwed. Every new psychotic episode knocks you several steps back and trashes everything you've built. Last year, my mental state almost forced me off my meds, and I thought I was done for, but then it snapped in a matter of days—before I could even turn around—straight to the hospital, where they immediately tripled my dosage, and that was that. Better to play it safe and go slow; that's the only way you can actually taper off.

Do you honestly think anyone *likes* taking antipsychotics!?!?!?!?
That crap slows you down, makes you drowsy, makes you gain weight, kills your sex drive, and in the worst cases, causes hand tremors, body stiffness, tension... you're just waiting to get off them. But if you care about staying healthy, you have to force yourself to take them. People constantly quit on their own just to feel "normal," and then they end up crashing hard and landing on even higher doses. You have to be patient in life!!!!! Again, for you, getting clean is a huge win, but for me, it's the exact opposite.

Look, at the end of the day, you’re the only one who can actually heal yourself. Pills and doctors? They’re just tools in the kit. That’s it. It’s like telling someone, "Why bother with a computer, a TV, or a house with central heating? Just go live in the woods on a tree branch and deal with the lice." It's ridiculous.

If I had been around a hundred years ago, I would’ve ended up living like some crazy vagrant under a bridge, or they would've tossed me into some horrific asylum. If I were lucky, maybe a wealthy family would have hidden me away from the public eye. Schizophrenia affects about 1% of the population globally, regardless of where you are.

Anyway, congrats on finally cracking the code and finding the true cause of schizophrenia. I'll be sure to nominate you for the Nobel Prize committee. 👏 😵 🤮 🤮

Quote:

Holstein says: that’s got absolutely nothing to do with it Seriously, congrats on cracking the code for schizophrenia! I’ll be sure to put your name forward to the Nobel Committee myself. 👏 😵 🤮 🤮

And why not just let them run wild? Not everyone is going to fold like a cheap lawn chair just because they're shaking in their boots.
There are still folks out there who aren't afraid to see things through to the end and actually stand up for themselves.😉 🙄 👍

Holstein, with all due respect to what you wrote (above), I get the feeling you haven't truly exercised your own will and consciousness. Maybe you have, just incorrectly.
If you had read a bit more closely, you would have seen that I also believed in that at first. I believed it for a full year. And during that year, I was in such a deep psychosis that I absolutely couldn't function. I couldn't even talk to people. I was so disconnected that my voice almost failed me entirely.
And I just experienced that "break in consciousness." The death of the ego. I don't know why you won't believe me.
I fell into an even deeper depression. My movements were limited to trips to the grocery store, and even then, I had to pick the least crowded ones because I’d get lost in big stores like a small child. By the time I reached the register, I had to focus everything I had just to say: "Here you go, sir!" I didn't speak to anyone; I avoided people, all while being deeply unhappy and shaken by everything happening to me.
There were moments when my lower lip would tremble, my muscles would twitch, and I felt like I was going to snap. This lasted for over a year.
I can provide more examples from experience if you need stronger proof.

But what is the crucial part here? It's the fact that even when your brain is in total chaos, there exists a mind that cannot be stifled or mistaken. That mind is consciousness. Think of it that way.
When I had to pay for something, I would always leave cash on the counter because my hand would shake too much to handle change. I avoided group dinners because I wouldn't have been able to eat soup without my hands trembling uncontrollably. Despite all that, consciousness remained steady and constantly grew. That is the key.
In moments like those, a person is so terrified that they don't even think about facing the situation; they just look for any way to run from it.
I was taking large amounts of speed mixed with alcohol; if you look it up online, you'll see that exact combination is what leads to schizophrenia.
What else is vital? In those situations, you feel completely alone and far from everyone you love. There is no one you can trust, no one to hold onto, and no one who feels like a friend. I was lucky enough to stumble upon a guide, the book "Tib," which advised exactly what I am advising now: do not be afraid, because these are just illusions created by your own mind—THEY DO NOT EXIST IN REALITY. It's like a small child being afraid of shadows in their bedroom.
The book goes further into explaining these hallucinations, but I won't complicate things right now.

I don't consider myself fully healthy yet, but I have pulled myself together enough that I am incomparably better than I was, and I believe it will only get better.

Richard Murphy6 said:Quote:

Holstein says: that’s got absolutely nothing to do with it Seriously, congrats on cracking the code for schizophrenia! I’ll be sure to put your name forward to the Nobel Committee myself. 👏 😵 🤮 🤮

And why not just let them run wild? Not everyone is going to fold like a cheap lawn chair just because they're shaking in their boots.
There are still folks out there who aren't afraid to see things through to the end and actually stand up for themselves.😉 🙄 👍

Scientists and amateurs alike have been grinding for over a century trying to nail down the essence, the causes, and the cure for schizophrenia, yet this absolute genius thinks he cracked the code in a few days.

That whole year you spent holed up inside wasn't psychosis or schizophrenia—it sounds way more like social anxiety or something along those lines. You already mentioned seeing several psychiatrists who never once gave you a schizophrenia diagnosis, so please, for the love of God, drop it and focus on what's actually happening with you.

And where do you get off acting like I didn't use my own willpower or consciousness? That was incredibly rude.

If we’re playing the "stop taking meds" game...
-let's tell heart patients to stop too
-and diabetics
-and cancer patients
-and pretty much everyone else, because your logic regarding antipsychotics is exactly the same kind of nonsense.

stormylynx23 said:Scientists and amateurs alike have been grinding for over a century trying to nail down the essence, the causes, and the cure for schizophrenia, yet this absolute genius thinks he cracked the code in a few days.

That whole year you spent holed up inside wasn't psychosis or schizophrenia—it sounds way more like social anxiety or something along those lines. You already mentioned seeing several psychiatrists who never once gave you a schizophrenia diagnosis, so please, for the love of God, drop it and focus on what's actually happening with you.

And where do you get off acting like I didn't use my own willpower or consciousness? That was incredibly rude.

If we’re playing the "stop taking meds" game...
-let's tell heart patients to stop too
-and diabetics
-and cancer patients
-and pretty much everyone else, because your logic regarding antipsychotics is exactly the same kind of nonsense.

It isn't the same! Does schizophrenia cause physical changes in the brain? NO! So, it's absolutely not the same.
That is exactly what I am trying to make you understand—you aren't sick! Someone suffering from social phobia or panic attacks isn't "sick" either.
In reality, people are only considered "ill" to the extent that they can't perform the functions society expects of them, and that shouldn't be used as a valid basis for labeling someone as sick.
Psychology and psychiatry are relatively young sciences (not counting Buddha), so don't cling to everything you're told, because even they don't truly know everything.
If your doctor had told you a different, more positive story, you wouldn't view your "illness" this way.

Besides, that crowd you consider "normal"—the ones you feel abnormal compared to—is completely unaware of any of this!

stormylynx23 said:Scientists and amateurs alike have been grinding for over a century trying to nail down the essence, the causes, and the cure for schizophrenia, yet this absolute genius thinks he cracked the code in a few days.

That whole year you spent holed up inside wasn't psychosis or schizophrenia—it sounds way more like social anxiety or something along those lines. You already mentioned seeing several psychiatrists who never once gave you a schizophrenia diagnosis, so please, for the love of God, drop it and focus on what's actually happening with you.

And where do you get off acting like I didn't use my own willpower or consciousness? That was incredibly rude.

If we’re playing the "stop taking meds" game...
-let's tell heart patients to stop too
-and diabetics
-and cancer patients
-and pretty much everyone else, because your logic regarding antipsychotics is exactly the same kind of nonsense.

Exactly. If they had given me that diagnosis, I'd be living under that label forever, dealing with all the baggage that comes with it—like the fact that it's incurable and requires constant medication.
But since I don't have it? Huzzah!
🙄

Don't act like a child.

So, I was flipping through this massive medical textbook on psychiatry the other day, and honestly? I felt like I was reading a checklist of my own personal flaws. Every single disorder in there felt weirdly familiar. I’ve actually heard other med students say the same thing—it’s like when you study a specific disease, you’re suddenly convinced you’ve caught it. By the time they graduate, they’ve basically "survived" a hundred different illnesses just by reading about them.

That's why if you actually have schizophrenia, you can't just decide that for yourself. You need an actual doctor to look at you objectively and make the call. You can't just hand out your own diagnoses. It doesn't work like that. If you start reading up on something like bipolar disorder, you'll walk away thinking you've got it too.

Noah Sanchez7, did your psychiatrist actually give you a Sch diagnosis or what?

stormylynx23 said:So, I was flipping through this massive medical textbook on psychiatry the other day, and honestly? I felt like I was reading a checklist of my own personal flaws. Every single disorder in there felt weirdly familiar. I’ve actually heard other med students say the same thing—it’s like when you study a specific disease, you’re suddenly convinced you’ve caught it. By the time they graduate, they’ve basically "survived" a hundred different illnesses just by reading about them.

That's why if you actually have schizophrenia, you can't just decide that for yourself. You need an actual doctor to look at you objectively and make the call. You can't just hand out your own diagnoses. It doesn't work like that. If you start reading up on something like bipolar disorder, you'll walk away thinking you've got it too.

True. I just can't accept the idea that something is incurable, or that it can't be fixed or at least steered back toward a positive outcome.
There is always a path that leads to schizophrenia, so there has to be a path leading back out.
If it isn't there, find it!

Noah Sanchez7 said:It isn't the same! Does schizophrenia cause physical changes in the brain? NO! So, it's absolutely not the same.
That is exactly what I am trying to make you understand—you aren't sick! Someone suffering from social phobia or panic attacks isn't "sick" either.
In reality, people are only considered "ill" to the extent that they can't perform the functions society expects of them, and that shouldn't be used as a valid basis for labeling someone as sick.
Psychology and psychiatry are relatively young sciences (not counting Buddha), so don't cling to everything you're told, because even they don't truly know everything.
If your doctor had told you a different, more positive story, you wouldn't view your "illness" this way.

Besides, that crowd you consider "normal"—the ones you feel abnormal compared to—is completely unaware of any of this!

Actually, it totally does!!!
It messes with the neurotransmitter balance in your neurons. Think of neurotransmitters as the chemical messengers passing signals between nerve cells.

Antipsychotics just work to get that balance back where it belongs.

And just a side note—I’m an optimist. Always have been. I don't see my condition as some huge tragedy.

Noah Sanchez7 said:True. I just can't accept the idea that something is incurable, or that it can't be fixed or at least steered back toward a positive outcome.
There is always a path that leads to schizophrenia, so there has to be a path leading back out.
If it isn't there, find it!

We never actually fought about that—it was always just about whether or not you need medication.

vividskipper15 said:Noah Sanchez7, did your psychiatrist actually give you a Sch diagnosis or what?

I saw a therapist who had me take this massive assessment—it felt like at least 250 questions.
Once you finish, they plot everything on a coordinate system to map out where you fall. Basically, there are these boundaries for "healthy" ranges, and most of my results were right in the middle, except for the schizo markers.
When I pointed out that it looked like I had schizo tendencies, he just told me that while those levels were elevated, I didn't meet the actual diagnostic criteria.
He prescribed me Lexapro (20mg) and then referred me out for rehab.

He told me to come back once I’d been clean for six months.
I've actually been clean for a year now, but I haven't gone back.

You were most likely taking the MMPI, which is the standard tool used for personality assessments. Schizophrenia is just one single scale on that test, alongside depression, hysteria,
social introversion, and several others. If all your other scores are within the normal range and only the Sch scale is elevated, you almost certainly don't have schizophrenia. A high score on that specific scale doesn't equal a diagnosis; it merely points toward certain eccentricities in thought patterns. It is never sufficient grounds for a clinical diagnosis on its own—especially since you claim everything else is normal. Honestly, you’re probably more stable than most of us. 😁
Whenever someone experiences psychotic episodes or hallucinations triggered by drug use, we're dealing with an area that remains difficult to pin down. Clinicians rarely hand out a definitive diagnosis immediately because it’s hard to distinguish whether the symptoms are purely substance-induced or indicative of an underlying condition. Furthermore, there is a very high probability that these deviations disappear once the substances leave the system. That is likely why you avoided a permanent label. In my experience, I have seen plenty of cases just like yours. For individuals in this situation, the emphasis is always placed on the fact that the hallucinations were a product of drug use. Psychiatrists view those symptoms much differently than they would if a young, healthy person started hallucinating without any clear external cause.

So, here's the deal with schizophrenia: it all comes down to a chemical mess-up in the brain involving neurotransmitters. Think of neurotransmitters as the little messengers that carry electrical signals between neurons. One big player here is dopamine—the theory is that people with schizophrenia either have way too much of it or their brains are just super hypersensitive to what's already there. Researchers are also looking at other chemicals like serotonin, glutamate, acetylcholine, and norepinephrine, thinking they might be part of the problem too. But honestly, most experts point the finger at an imbalance between dopamine and serotonin as the main culprit behind the symptoms. That’s exactly why antipsychotic meds work the way they do; they target those specific neurotransmitters (and a few others) to try and level things out.

Can you actually see brain damage from schizophrenia?

If you look at modern imaging tech we use here in the States—stuff like CT scans, MRIs, or PET scans—the evidence is pretty clear. There are undeniable differences in how the brains of people with schizophrenia function and look compared to healthy brains. We're talking visible stuff: enlarged ventricles filled with fluid, deeper grooves (sulci) between the brain's lobes, and a smaller hippocampus. Plus, there's often reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex, which is the area responsible for thinking, memory, and learning. There's a whole laundry list of these structural and functional changes, many of which can be linked directly to specific symptoms or cognitive struggles.

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vividskipper15 said:You were most likely taking the MMPI, which is the standard tool used for personality assessments. Schizophrenia is just one single scale on that test, alongside depression, hysteria,
social introversion, and several others. If all your other scores are within the normal range and only the Sch scale is elevated, you almost certainly don't have schizophrenia. A high score on that specific scale doesn't equal a diagnosis; it merely points toward certain eccentricities in thought patterns. It is never sufficient grounds for a clinical diagnosis on its own—especially since you claim everything else is normal. Honestly, you’re probably more stable than most of us. 😁
Whenever someone experiences psychotic episodes or hallucinations triggered by drug use, we're dealing with an area that remains difficult to pin down. Clinicians rarely hand out a definitive diagnosis immediately because it’s hard to distinguish whether the symptoms are purely substance-induced or indicative of an underlying condition. Furthermore, there is a very high probability that these deviations disappear once the substances leave the system. That is likely why you avoided a permanent label. In my experience, I have seen plenty of cases just like yours. For individuals in this situation, the emphasis is always placed on the fact that the hallucinations were a product of drug use. Psychiatrists view those symptoms much differently than they would if a young, healthy person started hallucinating without any clear external cause.

I didn't start hallucinating for no reason, I'm certain of that. I wasn't the only one using, but I'm definitely in the minority when it comes to experiencing these manic episodes.
My buddies were fine, yet I was seeing demons and stuff. How do you explain that?

Are you a psychologist or a psychiatrist?

stormylynx23 said:So, here's the deal with schizophrenia: it all comes down to a chemical mess-up in the brain involving neurotransmitters. Think of neurotransmitters as the little messengers that carry electrical signals between neurons. One big player here is dopamine—the theory is that people with schizophrenia either have way too much of it or their brains are just super hypersensitive to what's already there. Researchers are also looking at other chemicals like serotonin, glutamate, acetylcholine, and norepinephrine, thinking they might be part of the problem too. But honestly, most experts point the finger at an imbalance between dopamine and serotonin as the main culprit behind the symptoms. That’s exactly why antipsychotic meds work the way they do; they target those specific neurotransmitters (and a few others) to try and level things out.

Can you actually see brain damage from schizophrenia?

If you look at modern imaging tech we use here in the States—stuff like CT scans, MRIs, or PET scans—the evidence is pretty clear. There are undeniable differences in how the brains of people with schizophrenia function and look compared to healthy brains. We're talking visible stuff: enlarged ventricles filled with fluid, deeper grooves (sulci) between the brain's lobes, and a smaller hippocampus. Plus, there's often reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex, which is the area responsible for thinking, memory, and learning. There's a whole laundry list of these structural and functional changes, many of which can be linked directly to specific symptoms or cognitive struggles.

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So, does this mean I can just go get a scan and get a definitive "black and white" answer on whether I have it?

Noah Sanchez7 said:So, does this mean I can just go get a scan and get a definitive "black and white" answer on whether I have it?

Go ask an expert. Maybe check with vividskipper15

stormylynx23, you're taking the words right out of my mouth! There isn't just one single cause for schizophrenia anymore; there are countless different theories on what triggers it today.

You claim your hallucinations didn't just start out of thin air, so obviously they were triggered by drug use. As for why your friends didn't experience the same thing, I can't give you an answer for that. Everyone reacts differently, and you just had the misfortune of dealing with much harsher consequences. You aren't an outlier; psychiatric wards are full of young people who suffer psychotic episodes due to substance abuse.
The human brain remains a massive mystery, and its capacity for recovery is truly incredible.
In your case, drugs caused a chemical imbalance—specifically, opiates acting on the neurotransmitter receptors mentioned above—but once you stopped using, your brain recovered and regained its equilibrium. You should actually consider yourself lucky!!
I'm a psychologist, but neuropsychology was always my favorite subject in college because the brain is such a phenomenal machine.

A much more pressing question is why you're so desperate to be diagnosed with schizophrenia. Most people would be incredibly relieved if their psychiatrist told them they *didn't* have it!

When it comes to obtaining definitive anatomical proof that you have Sch, it’s simply impossible. Everything mentioned regarding differences in brain anatomy remains largely uncharted territory. Even if someone were to point out one of those structural variations to you, no one could tell you with any certainty that you definitely have schizophrenia. There are far too many potential causes and competing theories to make any kind of absolute claim.

Of course I don't want to have schizophrenia. It's just that I noticed something wasn't right, so I started looking into it. I found literally every single symptom listed for schiz within myself.
Anxiety, dread, hallucinations. There were times when I wouldn't see my own brother for who he actually is, but rather how I was imagining him in that exact moment.
I’ve also been having some unsettling thoughts about God, the Devil, Jesus, and Lucifer—all sorts of religious contradictions. Even a fear of God... and things like that.