Hi, I go by Joe and I am 16 years old. I’ve been wondering If I should seek examination for schizophrenia/schizoaffective/typal personality disorder. I wanted a second opinion from people who experience these first hand. I decided to reach out after tonight’s events. I struggled to get out of my room because I thought “monsters” or entities were in the house or were present in some shape or form. This didn’t last for too long but then I started to get paranoid that someone or something was watching me and it made me very uncomfortable. This wasn’t the first time this happened, it occurred about 2 months ago. I would be very scared and paranoid that something was after me, this tends to show up when I’m alone or at night time more frequently. I wound’t typically hold on to one delusion for a long time, but would have these mental breaks from reality that can be very scary for me that only last for about a week. I’m able to function just fine for the most part this aspect really can make life frustrating.
I also noticed how my thoughts aren’t really “normal” compared to others. My internal voice is always in the voice of someone else and it tends to go against or express opposite of what I feel. like my internal voice would say “yes” when I really mean no and vice versa. I recognize the majority of my thought processes as my own but sometimes my thoughts become more random and I’m in less control of them. This makes thinking particularly difficult because my thoughts would create a “word salad” which sometimes causes me to speak “out of order”. On worse days I would loose control of my thought process and be really paranoid about my mother and needing to kill her, obviously I wouldn’t and don’t want to do that.
It’s really difficult describing this with other people because they assume I personally believe these things to be rational but instead of understanding my brain is giving me false information and it’s the inability to organize thought. I tried bringing this up to my family when I was younger, the possibility of me have schizophrenia. I wasn’t taken seriously due to not seeming like a “typical” crazy person.
At the time I would be very closed off socially and would stay in my messy room only coming out to you use the restroom or retrieve the occasional microwavable macaroni bowl. My room would get so messy the floor was hard to walk on without stepping on garbage. I didn’t shower frequently, hardly ever, and would laugh at inappropriate times when the tone is serious. I still have this issue with laughing or smiling when someone is crying. Not because I don’t care, I just find something funny and I don’t know why. This used to get me in trouble when needing or being told to apologize by my parents and I would smile, I couldn’t control or help it. My social withdraw and inappropriate expressions isn’t nearly as bad as it used to be, it is a lot better now having more than one friend and going out of my way to friends at times.
I didn’t take a lot of the negative symptoms into too much account because I have ADHD so a lot of executive function and overall dopamine regulation could explain some of it.
Welcome Joe. The forum is usually rather quiet at this time but I am sure that others with more brains than I will be along to answer your query for you.
All I can suggest is that when you have these experiences, touch base with us here and talk it through
You probably will not get a dx of Sz at just 16…
There are a lot of hoops to jump through before you get to that
What I might suggest is to find a person in real life you can really trust, and tell them what’s going on for you.
I have been in some dangerous situations at my most vulnerable times, and I’d advise you to think carefully and confide in a relative or close friend - even your doctor.
At 16 you should be able to access your GP and tell them everything going on
You describe a lot of things that I myself experience as someone with SZ.
Have you spoken to a professional yet? It might be beneficial for you to do so.
We kinda don’t diagnose on the forums, and leave it up to the peeps making the big bucks, but I believe it would be a good thing to see a doctor regarding what you’ve told us.
Hey, @JoeCool3646, welcome to the forum. I had similar experiences when I was 15, and then later at 16 I was diagnosed; I’m 19 now and on medication since I was 15. My big suggestion, something that helped my prognosis immeasurably, was getting help ASAP. It started out as episodes that would last 1hr-1 day. Tell someone you trust, perhaps a patent or guardian, then move forward to seeing a doctor, probably a GP, after that you might go see a psychiatrist. Medication early helps tremendously, so please, for your health, talk about it. It won’t get better sitting on it, in fact it’ll get much worse if it is indeed psychosis.
I think the first big hurdle is trying to convince family to seek an evaluation. The last time I brought it up when I was 14 everyone assumed it was for attention or was easy to downscale how server it was. It came to a point I was even convinced I was just seeking attention and gave a false into admission that it was fake. so now my family is skeptical. I can understand since I did “admit” to their suspicion. I think the best way to go about it is just be honest through the whole experience in spite of how isolating it can be. I find that adults are harder to get to recognize unlike my friends and peers at school. I’m very hopeful though , this is only a period in life I’m sure help will turn up soon and things will get better. I’m very happy, for all the positive outcomes in life might come my way.
thanks for all the support guys! It’s really comforting to have a group of people help me on my journey. I’m glad to have found this niche little community
There is a book in psychiatry called the DSM, currently version 5, that lists and describes all currently recognized mental illnesses.
Take a look at this link. Look on the right hand column “DSM 5” and read the criteria for schizophrenia. Don’t diagnose yourself, but if what you read matches up to what you are experiencing then there is a chance you have schizophrenia (or some psychotic disorder) and may want to talk with a professional. Ignore the column on the left “DSM IV” that is old and outdated now, but for what it is worth that is the DSM version I was diagnosed under 17 years ago, Paranoid subtype.
Know that the meds are a bit of a crap shoot. Some won’t work, some will have side effects, sometimes you get lucky and they work without side effects. Psychiatry is a bit a of a guessing game, both in terms of your exact diagnosis and what meds might work. There is no DNA test, blood test or brain scan than can say definitively what you have
I’ve had similar problems. It is common among schizophrenics. I’ll see something sad in a movie , and I will be grinning ear to ear. In my case, when I see something bad my awareness automatically switches to something else. I’m thinking about something else entirely when my awareness switches away and I start grinning and snickering. It’s embarrassing when it is over, but most people just look the other direction.
Welcome to the forum! I think it could be different things causing your symptoms. By that I mean a dr would have to evaluate your symptoms, moods, and behaviors in order to see which diagnosis fits.
You need to talk to your parents about seeing a psychiatrist to be evaluated.
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, this is only a period in life I’m sure help will turn up soon and things will get better. I’m very happy, for all the positive outcomes in life might come my way.
really glad to be here.