Hi, I´m new here. My current issue is: ¨How do I introduce my illness to others?¨
Any input will be accepted, thanks.
Some good advice I got here, is “never lead with your mental illness”.
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Any explanation? I´m just very curious… Curiosity killed the cat though, so.
Let people get to know you and your abilities first before you tell them.
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I like to do it pretty head on. Just rip off the band-aid. I usually set myself up by telling an amusing story of some of the lighter parts of the disease. Like, “So this one time, I thought I was being tracked by the government, so I microwaved my license plates! Isn’t that ridiculous? Why did I think that? Oh, I have schizophrenia!” I usually tell this story after people have known me for a couple days, so they know I’m not a serial killer. The downside is, sometimes people take it badly and are afraid of you. But usually, everyone just chuckles, and they accept that it’s a part of you and move on.
When I first started telling people, I only came out to my closest friends. I think it’s easier to start with just the people you know will love you anyways. I told my best friend, and when she took it well, it gave me the courage to tell someone else.
Or, maybe you’re not ready to tell people yet. It is a very personal decision each of us makes depending on our own lives and where we live. I work in special education, so most of my friends already had experience with mental illness, and weren’t afraid. I might have made different decisions if I was in a less tolerant environment. You know your own situation best, so you know what would work best for you.
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I´d like to inform my teachers at least. I mean, if it makes things easier for the both of us, yanno… a basic understanding? I don´t really know. Disorganization has killed my ¨everything¨, well… mind. Anyways, I feel as if the episodes I´ve had already at school, are just the onset of the disease… Like, I feel an unsteady ¨relapse¨ -like episode, training down the tracks at full speed… I´m just paranoid probably. Soooo, yeah! Go on.
I’m sorry. I recently had to contend with the beginnings of a relapse. The good news is that my doctor and I were able to work together to stop it before it got out of control. Telling teachers is a good idea, because you might need special accommodations. Maybe your doctor could write a note for you to give to your teachers, explaining what you have and what kind of extra help you might need. My doctor wrote me a note for work.
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Would I ask my psychiatrist or?
My therapist is the one who wrote the note for me, but you can ask whichever one is easiest to get in touch with. If you live in the US and you’re in high school, you might need something called a 502 form. Your school guidance counselor would have information on this.
I just spoke with my counselor, he has nothing on it. Where would I obtain this form?
Your school district might not use it. In that case, a doctor’s note would probably be fine. What did your counselor say you might need?
Well, My aunt an I spoke with him, so i’m hopefully assuming that he’s taking me seriously when I say “I have schizophrenia”. Yanno? I have the diagnoses papers and what have you, but other than a 502.
It would be the school’s responsibility to give you a 502. It is a type of individualized education plan. If they don’t say you need one, they probably run things differently. What sort of accommodations do you think you might need? When I was in school, I sometimes needed a home tutor instead of going to class. I also got unlimited time on tests, and I got a copy of all notes at the end of class.
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Well… they have me in an “online” class, which is stressing me out to hell an back…
It’s none of their business, I wouldn’t say anything.
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I mean, maybe they’ll give me a little slack… Yanno, understand that I need more time and what not.
Is it online instead of in person? Then things probably run very differently. What parts of it stress you out?
All of it stresses me out… Like, it’s at school, but, in a classroom of computers.
Oh, I see. That does sound challenging. Did you already speak to your counselor? They should be able to work with your teacher to find a way for you to complete the class with less stress.
The most they can do is hand me the answers, which isn’t even possible. I’m trying my hardest to tap into the website and yeah. Illegal actions. 
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