A couple of mental health questions for anyone?

You can answer any or all of these questions, it would really help me out. :slight_smile: I’ve been having problems with my mental health for about 2 years I suppose you could say, but was only recently diagnosed. I’ve had a wide range of problems, however, the main ones were hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia (which sounds just like it’s out of the book, I apologize it’s so cliche). I’m much better than I was, obviously. However, I’m not completely out of the woods. I just had a few questions- First of all, is it dangerous to be on high doses of medications for a long period of time? Also, although I’m much better than I was, I still have social anxiety (I cannot seem to go to school. I dropped out my senior year of high school and have tried at college 3 different semesters now, only to fail each time due to my horrible social anxiety), and am very paranoid about other people (I feel others are unpredictable and could act out or do something completely unexpected at any given moment which could be dangerous), and so on and so forth I won’t go into everything. My question is, will all this just go away with time? Or will I have to live with it and deal with it forever? And my last question, I know I have these problems that I take the medications for, but will I ever be able to stop the medications? Thank you in advance to anyone who responds!

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Hi. I became ill in 2010. I still have voices even on meds. I have tried twice to come off meds but I get ill again. I don’t have social anxiety, except when depressed. When I’m depressed I withdraw myself from ppl. I want to be alone and I belive other ppl think I’m retarded.

You never know about the future. You might recover completely. But recovering from psychosis takes a lot of time. Be patient and do what you manage TODAY. Don’t try living in the future or the past. Stay out of stress. Stress makes us worse.

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i think you should be telling all of this to a psych doctor…maybe there is more available help out there that you aren’t aware of…as for getting well—everyone is so different,i don’t think there is a yes or no answer…hang tough

I’ve been on medication for 32 years, sometimes high doses. I take online college courses. I have worked, albeit, mostly part time since 1983. My diagnosis is paranoid schizophrenia. I’m wary of strangers but I deal with it, not always well, but I try to go outside every day, and I drive on freeways and just went to a great concert last week. No one can predict the future, the disease and symptoms and prognosis vary from person to person. I’ve met people with schizophrenia who I thought would never work, but I run into them somewhere and they have a job or go to school. I came from the depths of agony and misery in my disease but now I have many moments of stability and relative peace.

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Hi there, I have received this label since 2010. In my case symptoms remission is possible. But it doesn’t mean spontaneous recovery. I am not trying to say antipsychotics are the answer either. I am off medication. I did not choose to do this on purpose. I walked into a second psychotic episode after i was put on an extremely high dosage of antipsychotics for two years. I mean I walk from no hallucinations to fully hallucinated WHILE on strong meds.

What’s happening was, I managed to reason and rule out the possibilities that the voices are spirits or individuals talking to me. I deduce and conclude that they are hallucinations only. My voices are gone within a day and I’m stable for the rest of my time. But while the voices stop, I was off med for 6 months as the voices told me to stop taking them. There is no reasons to start taking antipsychotics again when I’m not psychotic and who will take med to stop hearing voice when I began to hear voices while on heavy med!

I’m not asking u to go off med. but I think it is worth while to know story like mine. I’m off med with no positive and negative symptoms. I feel much better while off med. I begin to recover only after I go off med. I still have some concerns I’m working on but antipsychotics are not the solution.

I’m reading and working on my health. I think further relieve of symptoms are possible.

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i think the question about the medication is pretty simple but complicated at the same time, basically medication reacts different to each specific individual so what works for me might not work for you etc and it goes with dose as well, you might need a high dose and me a small dose and its up to your doc to determine what you need and how much, the problem is finding one that is suitable for you, i was lucky i found a good one but i was taking a bad one for so long 7yrs, it was just too strong and i didnt realize until later on,

the social anxiety is a harder question and i think you should talk to your doc about that or your nurse, maybe they could suggest some therapy or maybe a support group if you can handle that.

its really good you have come to this forum to talk though, takes guts even just to post something, so well done and welcome to the forum x

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Daydreamer,what meds are you taking right now?can list all your psychiatric meds?

http://www.healthyplace.com/psychological-tests/

I became ill in 2008 and was mistreated (I was only put on low doses of atypical antipsychotics which don’t work for me) until 2012 when I was put on chlorpromazine and huzzah it reduced symptoms so that’s when I was diagnosed. For years I put my life on hold thinking ‘when I’m better I will be able to do this and this and this’ but getting better hasn’t come I’ve learnt I just have to accept who I am and self manage and do things around my bad days etc this may not be the case for you, I know people who have been put on meds and it all goes away and as long as they stay on meds it’s okay.

I also get social anxiety and I’m not a good example as I’ve been so isolated for years, I don’t know where you are but I know in the states there are social cognition classes and clubs for people with mental illness, I go to a pottery class for people with learning difficulties and mental illness, I don’t find them threatening because I know they’ve fought their own battles and won’t judge, that can be the start? As for college, have you looked into online classes and courses? I’m doing a degree that way, just saying physical college isn’t the only choice you have.

I don’t think you should put your life on hold until you’re better, self managing is the key, doing any therapy that’s offered to you and that you can do, it will be hard work but you will get there, you’re already half way there by knowing and acknowledging they’re delusions and hallucinations, well done! As for meds it depends on what one’s you’re on and I think that’s something to ask your doctor, you may be able to stop them after a while and your brain is back on balance, some people can be on them forever and other can come off after a while and it’s okay. It really is different for each individual so sorry about being so vague.

Good luck and I hope you find this site helpful!
Go steady and keep asking questions!
Meg.

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First off, you don’t need to apologize for having common symptoms. As far as will this all just go away? Most likely not without some therapy, coping classes, re-learning life skills. It’s all different for everyone. You sound like your recovering quickly.

As far as meds… when I fist got diagnosed, I was on high doses, but as I’ve aged, and gone to therapy and gotten out patient therapy and other ways to learn to cope… my dose has dropped. As I learn new things, get healthier, quit smoking, cut back on the coffee… I might be able to cut my med dose again. As I have said many times… I am doing this under the guidance of my doc. I’m not just winging it.

There is away to over come this… but it does take work
Med doses can drop when you’ve been stable a while and begin to heal. Good luck, I’m rooting for you.

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Dont count on it going away. Schizophrenia is known to be a lifelong thing once you have the diagnosis. I myself have pretty much fully recovered, which is not what you should expect, 1 in 5 recover, but I am on meds, I didnt naturally recover- intense stress or skipping meds has made me relapse for a day.

The meds are not always fun but they are necessary.

When you realize a lot of other people hear the voices and some will deal with it by gang or cause stalking, you can cope. These kind walk up to a stranger and try to talk about something private to the victim or stalk talking crazy talk to a stranger. (The people who try to pick up a date like this MUST be avoided as they are usually life wreckers or batterers)…This way you know this person is psychotic and best treated with caution as many are mentally unstable so best avoided…I REFUSE to behave in this manner to cope with schizo as it harms as the mental care will not help the victim and calls it delusional. Google these terms to get better informed…shrinks will ruin you for trying to discuss this or get confrontational…You just have to accept this as something you will deal with for the rest of your life…If you ignore the voices, do not talk to self aloud and do not follow orders from voices (and do not discuss whatever caused your nervous breakdown) you can be okay…If a specific person or group of people and their crazy behavior led to your nervous breakdown, you cannot talk to anyone you met from this group again…do not return phone calls, emails, answer door to them and just unfriend them from Facebook…these kind of stressor people will worsen your mental health symptoms and have to be avoided. If psych doctors tells you to stay in touch with the group saying you have ‘false memories’ about the person (usually PTSD from this person making threats or bragging about illegal stuff), DO NOT TALK TO THIS PERSON AGAIN AND DO NOT KEEP CONTACT. This care tactic by mental care has gotten many folks hurt…do not take a chance as the mental care will ruin your credibility with the cops and it is hard to even get these kind of crazy people to leave you alone again. Restraining orders are useless, attorneys don’t take the case and cops will torture you for complaining about these groups of abusers…just cut contact and let them go, forget it and keep busy trying to move on.

Some cities have TERRIBLE problems with this and schizo victims are best off leaving…the nuts of the city will bust you down to retail or restaurant jobs, living with a parent or gang stalking abuser permanently…it is just the nature of your city, kind of like the plantation slaves of old days. If you see a lot of gang stalking while you are visiting a new place, you know you won’t want to move there…

The gang stalking at work can ruin your employment…if you can find a job where coworkers are not talking crazy and you are nowhere near stressor people and have limited public contact, you are in heaven…stay there forever…Never discuss diagnosis or your old group of former friends, and sometimes gang stalking doesn’t happen at work if you are a listener and keep a lot of your life private. This practice makes you a favorite with coworkers, go to work to function at 110% and boss will love you if you cross-train on coworkers’ jobs and stay late as needed. (If you are on disability, you should not EVER discuss diagnosis and only accommodations such as changes to work duties, hours limits so you can do the job…) You must have a ‘public persona’ never talking crazy, worrying aloud…you need to have some topics to discuss to look okay such as your children, vacations, hobbies…weather…Proactively study anything that could improve your performance in your job or another job in your company that you desire…Do not let your appearance go…sleep so you function even if you need meds to do it…exercise to keep stress/depression away.

NEVER spend all you earn…some of the gang stalkers will ruin possessions or crazy mechanics will ruin your vehicle so things quit timed with the voices…You MUST live conservatively with just the basics and non-flashy and keep money in the bank or the nuts will ruin you financially or employment problems could keep you trapped in hellish job situation…Savings is the ability to tell a hostile employer to ‘SHOVE it’ AND still remain in your own housing while you find another job…some of the gang stalking at work involves sexual harassment by coworkers looking to force mistress or girlfriend…defend your job with the sexual harassment and hostile work employment rules. It is so sad but I have watched more than one male coworker ruin a female coworker’s job to get her…get her homeless and sometimes these kind will look you up to house you…beat you senseless as he desires and getting away is hard as domestic violence shelters are always full…No kidding…things are so sick but forewarned is forearmed.

Some colleges are running hellish discrimination zones with regard to mental illness…get some student loans and get harassed out of class and get ruined. I had good luck never disclosing these bad college attempts and attending elsewhere or you can talk to college dean where things did not go where due to your illness/harassment by others and ask that records be closed. Please try the community/junior college online classes, take 1-2 classes at a time paying cash and see what you think there…Try the colleges in smaller communities outside town…things are not as crazy. Choose an associates degree or certification with little public contact and acceptable starting wage so your work will not be useless like a history degree or art…Graphic design is good…computer stuff…accounting…Paramedics sometimes do not hear the voices much as it is life and death work and psychosis stops for some…

You will learn to run with the voices as background noise if it never quits. Taking a little bit of the medications can help you sleep if taken at night and pills are cut into pieces so long-lasting coating is broken up…seroquel is excellent help in 50mg to 200 mg for this…at 450 mg+, sometimes the voices stop.

You may find apartment living difficult…some of the gang stalkers harass neighbors and try to be a stressor. There is also so much more noise when sharing walls…rent accordingly, mobile home, single family unit, duplex at most.

Several of my friends experienced a slight case of psychosis, were harassed by unwanted males/coworkers, had their homes snooped and still managed to get this to stop by marrying the guy they were currently dating or shacked up with him. I would only do this if the man has the same understanding of the situation and doesn’t call you a headcase as this disrespect can ruin you if you have children…These friends have a family, lovely husband, wealth and nice home…Some of the women who remain alone claim they are bothered much more by unwanted male attention, vandalisms, stalkings, threats, especially the attractive single women…Finding a roommate you already know is not a bad idea to get some of the ‘social problems’ to stop.

Please consider attending a local Employment networking group (general or field specific to your intended employment) so you can get some socialization with professional-acting people and get used to normal people again…If the people in these groups do not act right, you are in a city with a problem and should consider moving if you can stay with a friend or relative elsewhere for free to see what you think of another city.

Hope this helps…spent a lot of time on this post. I’ve heard the voices for 10 years now after a woman I met was bragging about driving friends crazy…I have Bachelor’s degree, 10 years of full-time employment prior to nervous breakdown, lived alone for 18 years, 10 of these years in my own home…I’m 40…Medication never worked to stop the voices…I saw a lot of my former friend’s malicious intentions towards other people as she was a sex abuse victim who found her abuser new victims, getting some friends harmed very badly and many others ruined/harassed/battered/stalked for 30 years. Some of these people are now gang stalkers and vandals. Her wealthy family does not work and spends most of its time pursuing her former victims, some who still hear the voices…If you have a story like this one, you must quit talking to anyone you met thru this kind of group but some have nervous breakdown after divorcing someone wealthy, rejecting unwanted wealthy male, work competitor or college competition decided to ruin you…Crazy is a product that is now bought and sold…lots of things are a borderline sham to support this. You have to learn to work around the system, problems, abuses and just blend in…things are much worse in poorer countries. I will explain if you wish to know something specific…I’ve complained everywhere and heard a lot of other stories. I did not hear the voices much until age 30…I had things almost completely normal except for meeting this group of scheming abusers…

You seem to have gotten a lot of information from your questions.

Cake,

I realized I did not explain use of Disability Support Services at the college…I have had positive and negative results.

One instructor kept acting like he was trying to get a date, he allowed two students to babble loud crazy talk during class causing me to move desks far away to a computer that didn’t even have the software, then the instructor deviated from the syllabus so badly I walked into class each time with after spending days on something the instructor claimed was not due which wasn’t even what was listed on the syllabus anyway. My pdoc filled out the application to use disability support services which usually is used by persons who need notes taken for them due to writing problems/hand mobility or need a sign language interpreter but I needed to state due to schizo social problems I may need to take tests in a different room, receive my homework assignments in writing or get extra time on assignments (not always allowed)…This was just enough pressure from the management to straighten out this class and reassured by the instructor I was doing fine. I applied no other pressure to this mess, let the problem go and left after getting an A in the class…I had never encountered any problems with anyone at this college in 15 years of taking continuing education classes in my spare time (knowing several instructors on first-name basis) but curriculum was so out of date and instruction became so bad with internet classes, instructors were teaching classes with DVD video and had to google their subject to answer basic questions. I no longer bother with this place. Lynda.com is nice for tech stuff, design & business.

Next attempt, I moved to big city to take classes at community college with what seemed like most up-to-date tech program in state…It was a gang stalking hell with the other students & unprofessional instructors…The mental care is so bad in this city, I was not able to find good care and ended up with an out-of-date senior pdoc who kept making threats but kept my meds coming…first pdoc I tried wrote the most unprofessional applications for Disability Support Services she totally obliterated my credibility then told the school to call her to make an appointment so pdoc would talk to me if I ever complained as she felt I was a crazy liar…she just wanted to charge me for an appt. The school canceled my financial aid on me as I have a Bachelors degree for which I paid cash and also took continuing education classes over the years for which I paid cash…sometimes when someone really needs financial aid, it is not possible to even get Federal loans, even if you always paid your bills on time. I have had to file an appeal for Federal Student Loans before so my education could be financed and I have NEVER had the school EVER cancel me…this school dropped my class enrollment and did not even allow me any time to even try to find another way to pay for it. Other people with schizo found this city impossibly hard to deal with in every way due to unprofessional people/illiterate gang stalking people working everywhere and FLED TOWN…Once you realized many of the poor gang stalkers were actually stuck in this city with no other options than minimum wage slavery, no higher education allowed without bad harassment (or banned due to almost illiteracy due to horrible public schools) and little charity/state aid (not even a mobile soup kitchen any longer as it was creating too much litter), everyone able ran off…Even Section-8 wait is 4+ years…I am happily living elsewhere now and much less stressed…

One instructor at this second college said he had been sued by a student with a mental illness who said she was mistreated by this instructor and anyone who needed ‘help’ needed to sign up with Disability Support Services…this was the one instructor who was professional…Two were heinous…I found out others had complained about these two but since the air of the city centers around ‘unprofessional behavior’ flaunting it like a weapon to some, there is no attorney that will file another suit of discrimination. It is just a community expectation to have some acting this way and better off people happy they don’t deal with it much personally, glad someone else is dealing with it instead…

PLEASE…IF YOU FIND YOURSELF WITH A STORY LIKE THIS, TRY TO MOVE TO SMALLER COMMUNITY AND TRY TO LIVE in FREEDOM…STAYING IN A PLACE LIKE THIS IS NOT REQUIRED. Refuse to gang stalk in the new community, work and act normal…Things are better elsewhere!

ATTEMPTS TO CONTACT ACLU have proven local chapters do nothing about this stuff…