So I admit - I have an aggression problem. When I get angry I throw things and my husband says he’s scared of me. Hell, I’m scared of myself if he says this! He said he was even contemplating going to police!
So I’m wondering - is it part of my sza to have this abusive problem? When I was in remission I wasn’t like this. It came when I relapsed and been like that ever since. I never realised I’m violent and abusive. I can scream and verbally abuse at times and throw things. Is this anger part of mental illness? Maybe I need therapy… or take more amisulpride…
The only time I’m aggressive in the least is when I’m having a mixed episode and then it’s pretty much only verbal, but has gotten a little physical in the past with breaking dishes. I would say if you are having this problem you need to get some help with it. Your husband deserves to feel safe.
When I was 17 years old and in college, my parents came to see me there. The three of us went to a movie downtown. Afterwards I was wicked angry how the movie ended. That was the first time my Dad worried for my sanity.
I’m sorry you are struggling. If you are having a mixed episode you may need a meds change to increase your mood stabilizer. It’s terrible that you harmed yourself, I hope you’re ok.
I don’t think that’s sz. But it could be mania. Have you ever tried dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)? It helps to learn to think rationally and control emotions. My best friend did that for a year and it helped her a lot.
No its not personality its from extreme paranoia, when I was psychotic I thought my brothers were stealing my energy telepathically so I attacked them. Violence in sz is well documented. It affects 8-10% of szics vs 2% of general population. The majority aren’t violent though. Never attacked anyone before schizophrenia or when I was on meds.
Thank you @Leaf. Yes I want to ask my pdoc when I see him (hopefully soon) to increase my lamotrigine. Actually I’m doing it already - I’ve been on 150mg and now on 175mg
I’m ok, I did play with knife other night but just a prick and slight scratch. Had arguments with hubby this past day and wanted to cut but didn’t. Did throw my journal and pen across room though, scaring my husband (who wasn’t even in the same room).
Maybe it’s hypomania as @LilyoftheValley implies. But sz can cause aggressive behaviour sometimes too - I read about it, how hostility can come about. Mine wasn’t paranoia based though - it was just rage. So probably more a part of mixed episode. Been very irritable and depressed lately over last week or so.
I don’t know if your statistic is right or not. Here’s what I have heard for years:
Statistics show that people with schizophrenia are no more violent then the rest of the “normal” population. It’s about the same percentage.
If this statistic is still valid, the second half of it is that when a schizophrenic becomes violent, it is usually due to three factors or a combination of three factors. Violence by schizophrenics is usually due to not being medicated, because they’re drinking or using drugs or they had a history of violence before they became schizophrenic.
In a related statistic, the violence by schizophrenics is usually committed against people they know i.e. family or friends.
You can blame it on the media that the general public has the idea that schizophrenics are all dangerous and could snap at any time and attack who is ever near them or that they all commit random violence against innocent random strangers. This misconception is due to the occasional gruesome, bizarre murders that the media reports and sensationalizes and the only time the general public read anything about schizophrenics all they hear is about these rare incidents.
So several years ago a young guy with schizophrenia killed a woman sitting on a bus next to him and beheaded her. Something like that is rare but it was really played up in the media and was in the news for weeks. That was an extreme incident that rarely happens but that’s all the general public hears about schizophrenics.
It’s the only thing about schizophrenics they are exposed to. It doesn’t make the evening news or it doesn’t go viral that I have been working for the last 35 years or that I baked a perfect pasta, beef, cheese casserole tonight. It’s the rare violent mass shooting committed by someone who might be schizophrenic that the world hears about. And since that is the only thing they hear, it is no surprise that they associate schizophrenics with violence.
I find I get angry about my delusions, which is a problem as I can’t take action and fix them. I have to take my meds and hope for the best. Can you increase your dosage and see if that helps?
However if you are angry at the real world, you need to take positive and healthy action to stop people taking advantage of you.
If you are unsure of what you are angry about, try journaling and see if you can figure it out.
Edit: I should add, one of the things I get angry about is all the time I have lost due to the illness. It is bitterness eating me up and I’ve made some progress but have a ways to go.
I don’t get angry, but reading the family support forum I see that a lot of sz/sza folks get angry or hostile towards their caretakers. That’s a very efficient way to get booted out onto the streets. Caretakers and family members can only take so much stress before they have to consider their own mental well-being as a priority.
I’m glad I don’t have this problem. I experienced schizophrenia for a couple of years and then most of my symptoms fell away in the months to follow with the help of medicine. No more delusions, paranoia, hostility, or derealization. No more word salad or thinking I’m a god or that other people aren’t real. Just me and my daily routine, nice and boring as I get older day by day and hope for the hallucinations to stop just like everything else stopped.
i dont get it your days are gona get nice and boring.so you are saying you are cured.the other day you said you were playing video games.im sorry i just dont understand.u propley just have depression .because for me i cant get out of bed and most people here are also very sick.
I spent two years thinking I was a prophet and I crashed my truck because a voice in my head told me to drive fast to prove I was psychic, I floored it on the highway in the rain and rammed my truck into a guardrail at 100 MPH. I was very, very, very sick for 2 years. I’ve just recovered, I’m not cured. I still hear voices, it’s just nowhere near as bad as it used to be.
