questions about Schizophrenia

my sister in law has it, ive never known anyone who has had Schizophrenia, and i was wondering, what is it like to have it? what are your symptoms? do you hear voices? if so what do they usually say? etc. im very interested. it would help me to understand more of what my sis n law has. thanks

 

*sigh* i guess i could help you with that. last week i was diagnosed as a manic psycotic bipolar schizophrenic =(((

ok when you think to yourself you should be able to hear your own voice in your head right? it should sound like you and of course its whatever your thinking. well imagine another voice but its not yours and it doesnt think what you think. you can be quite happy thinking to yourself and then you'll hear someone elses voice like a whisper in your ear and as clear as day. you often need to stop your own thinking in order to listen to this other voice. it can sometimes get very frustrating as my voice isnt very nice.
a simple example for you.
My other side is not a happy person. i have no control over him. hes not me in the slightest he has his own voice, his own opinions and his own personality. he talks freely to me and often speaks over me. basiclly hes a dick to be honest.

When you talk to your sister in law or when you just look at her try to spot times where her face is blank. you know she should be doing something but for a short time she seems blank - well thats her listening to the other voices.

People assume your mad when you hear other voices but your not your just unlucky. its not nice having other people inside your head. its much like being born with a brother or a sister but their not a physical form. they just wernt born with bodies and they need to share your own mind to live <<< well thats it. its just someone else.

its hard at times yeh and it can get depressing but you learn to cope as best as you can.

hope this helps

 

wow, thank you so much for sharing, it was very helpful. for me, that is something very confusing for someone who doesnt have it to understand unless its really explained from someone who has it. and yes, ive seen her kind of become blank for a moment, but im just getting to know her and i thought maybe she was getting a feel for me, but she was doing it for a bit too long unless she was really pscho-analyzing me. (which made me feel really self-concious) I cant imagine having to deal with that, I have anxiety disorders, and PTSD, and a little OCD (very mild) and I cant stop my head from repeating something bothering me over and over, like a broken record. so as much as im interrupted with the thoughts in my brain, Its nothing compared to having another voice in your head disturbing the other thoughts.

 

I have OCD too but its mild like yours. It only bothers me if I see it and Im not one to wash my hands every 5 seconds. silly things annoy me like shop displays. if all the baked bean tins are facing 1 way and theres an odd one out then id need to turn it haha i dont mind that at all it kinda makes me happy. PTSD? i think i know the SD means stress-disorder but not the PT part.

 

Post-Tramatic Stress Disorder.

one of my little OCD's is when i hold change or dollars, i start counting. the germs freak me out

 

uh
multiple personality disorder is not the same as schiz,
technically schiz is a whole variety of symptoms so diverse it adds up to being
not much more than a clever word for 'nuts'.

i reckon most crazy people (about 90%) actually fake their symptoms
to get attention -or- so they do not have to do a boring job -or- because they're bored.

I'm an hons psych graduate

I was incarcerated in the assylum because I refused to fight for apartheid.
I told them I would kill anyone who cut my hair.
The very next day, they anounced Mandela was to be released.

So I studied psych after that.

The world had gone crazy so I figured the assylum was the sanest place to be.
You should read 'catch 22'.

 

what does that mean? fight for apartheid?? mandela? i dont understand.

 

Have you ever had LSD? They're not much alike, but it gives you the general understanding of how such things work.

I had full sensory hallucinations and delusions about aliens. I saw people who weren't there. Imagine there is a ladder of metal. It's just a normal ladder to you, but, maybe I see the ladder as glowing red hot and it burns to touch it.

I don't know. It's very hard to describe to someone who hasn't been there.

 

i have schizophrenia, i can tell you that it cannot easily be described as "just hearing voices" or "seeing things that arent there".. my whole perception is effected. the only way i can describe it is if you are an alien and you just landed on a strange planet full of aliens. i will literaly look at people and start laughing because i think these alien people look funny.. its a feeling of total disconnect from the world. i think i am on this planet by mistake

 

here is a short story i wrote about it :

http://www.2010-south-africa.org/literature/south-africa-literature/african-child-soldier.htm

 

I don't want to offend you, but I think that's cool... people are very strange. Have you ever thought of where you could be from?

 

schizophrenia is like being on a bad trip 24 7 according to my psych prof. The systems are so broad though, you could almost classify anyone as slightly schizophrenic. I thought i was schizophrenia for a couple months cause of halucinations but it was just me being stoned for a while after a trip, it went away and never came back.

 

dont be afraid of feeling disconnected from the world. some people feel isolated cause theyre ahead of the curve. Most great minds in the world were alone.

 

people's knowledge on schizophrenia is a lot more ridiculous than I thought.....

anyway, it's hard to say what your sister-in-law is thinking/feeling/experiencing with her mental illness, because each case of schizophrenia is different, and behaviors amongst two schizophrenic sufferers could be very similar, or in two completely different ball parks.

the most common symptoms observed in schizophrenics are delusions, hallucinations, social/occupational dysfunction, neglected self-care, apathy--inability to experience pleasure, show emotion, initiate/take part in important activities...

schizophrenia is grouped into five main categories...
Paranoid Type.. not to say that this is the "best" type to have, however, this is the most organized kind of schizophrenia observed. usually these individuals cognitive skills are still intact despite hallucinations/delusions. people with this type of schizophrenia are the ones who usually are scared shitless that someone/everyone is trying to kill them. they are being watched. "god" is telling them to do things... etc. I have met many people with this type of schizophrenia, and it is definitely managable with therapy/medication.. although it's obviously not 'curable'
Disorganized Type.. Individuals show extreme disruption in their speech and behavior, also flat or inappropriate affect (such as laughing at a funeral).. often times someone with disorganized type's delusions are not focused around a central theme.. and he/she will speak in "work salad".. often difficult to even understand.
Catatonic Type.. these individuals often repeat or mimic words or movements of others. he/she displays odd mannerisms with his/her body or face, like grimacing. also he/she will display excessive motor activity, or absolutely none at all, sometimes staying for hours in a weird position of the body. this is a very rare 'category' and not many fall into int.
Undifferentiated Type.. a fancy way of saying said patient doesn't fit neatly into any one of these categories, however definitely meet the criteria for schizophrenia but do not fall into the paranoid, disorganized, or catatonic types.
Residual Type - these are individuals who have had atleast one episode of schizophrenia but no longer manifest major symptoms of the disorder. he/she can still have leftover symptoms though... like irrational thoughts, social withdrawal, overall negativity, etc.

 

there is strong evidence that schizophrenia physically attacks the brain. it starts in the back of the brain first, and like a spreading wildfire, it slowly makes its way to the frontal lobes. this of course takes several years. but 5-7 years is considerably short compared to longevity of life.

once the main centers of the frontal lodes are attack, well, all logical and reasoning abilities are greatly affected.

it's a brain disease. arguably, it cannot be easily caused by psychological issues, say from childhood.

http://www.schizophrenia.com/disease.htm

 

good story

 

i'm schizo...i think. i dunno...whenever i ask what my "official diagnosis" is they feed me some bullshit about how they try to avoid labels...but i'm prescribed antipsychotics, have been psychotic, and hallucinate, so i figure i'm schizo. anyone, yeah...schizophrenia...hm...well...basically you're constantly on some sort of psychadelic. if it's bad (sometimes it varies...tends to go through episodes)...you've just eaten a half ounce of shrooms and you'd better hope it's a good trip. you can get delusional to the point where you're no longer a functioning human being.

i can function pretty well. i don't show any symptoms. even when i'm really far gone, i still know what other people will perceive to be sane/insane so i can play it off pretty well. you wouldn't notice the difference, even if i'm completely psychotic. it has once or twice got the point where it was noticeable.

what i've noticed about my friends and family: chances are, if you think you notice something wrong with her...like she's going through an episode...it's 'cause you're looking for it. you're looking for a reason to think she's crazy. ...that's what a buddy of mine did. now i don't tell anyone. i get über pissed when my family brings it up too. you wouldn't believe the hell i've been through in my mind and in institutions.

so yeah, my advice to you is to treat her no different from anyone else. that's how i prefer it. but yeah...some people i guess might like talking about it. personally, i only don't mind talking openly about it online...no clue why.

 

i've had mris/cat scans/brain scans/all that and my brain looked completely normal.

 

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tripped out.