How do you explain lack of cognitive functioning to people?

I am not sure the cognitive difficulties make much difference at this stage ie 59years old and never employed. It’s not as though if they fixed things I’d walk into that ideal job. It could though have made a big difference having them recognised in my 20s and 30s.

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Time passes for some of us. The SZ remains. I am 74 and have seen the Changes in the system from the inside out.

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I usually relate it to something people already know. Things like I space out or spaz out sometimes seem to work. I know some people who say they have ADD when they don’t, simpler and more socially acceptable.

In the case of some, incessantly. Time spent complaining about the problem or making excuses for the problem is not put towards mediating or fixing it.

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Sorry but that’s a bit harsh. Not all of us can solve/reduce problems without help or support. For some of us that help and support has been hard to come by.
I would suggest if you can sort things without help and support it was never much of a problem in the first place.

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I went from “poor prognosis” (never expected to function independently) to running circles around neurotypicals. I decided to trade up for a different set of problems.

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Then it could be they overestimated your problems/underestimated your abilities. Whatever ,we are not all the same and not all problems are the same. Some problems people need help with and shouldn’t be condemned or disparaged for needing that help.

I think sometimes when people are doing well they can be too judgemental of those who have ongoing issues/problems.
Then again the inability to see that others might need help with a problem because you don’t might come down to a theory of mind deficit.

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I support those who I see making an effort to recover.

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That shouldn’t exclude those needing help with that process. It may be that some are making a lot of effort to recover but are hampered by lack of help. Self help only works to a certain degree within certain parameters .
I would hate for people to be put off seeking help because you think they are a doozy for not sorting things out themselves.

I would hate for people to think recovery is impossible because they have to wade through a tonne of complaints to find examples of recovery.

Saying you have a problem and need help hardly amounts to “complaining” .

jumping in - I think people need to hear it all - Those who have recovery and how they did, those who tried and failed, and those still in the process. You never know who needs to hear what and all of it will help someone at some point.

There are times I need to hear others complaining about what they have gone through just to know I am not alone in my suffering. I also love to hear how people have done well and what they were doing that helped. And those who are still trying because maybe something I say can help.

I’ll support education, even though it is expensive!

That is the only real issue I have ever had with this community, in general. There is a wide spectrum of both functioning and then luck in some ways (how many meds before something worked, how long before relapse, how many relapses, how significant recovery in cognitive functioning, etc). And it is human nature in general (so it seems) for people to assume that anything good they have going for them, that they surely earned it 100% (no help, no luck, etc) and that everyone else should be able to do just the same. People who had one psychotic break and then never relapses, unable to empathize with anyone who hasn’t been as fortunate, etc. But this is something I have seen in all aspects of humanity, on all communities of all kinds in some way or another. It’s just an annoying little part of life, when you’re on the less fortunate side of the glass. Overall this has always been a fairly mature and sweet-natured community to me, but even here that exists.

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Hello Turnip!

Jayster

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I think it is a big problem. I can function in a conversation to a point, but I can not set goals and focus on things like bieng financially indepent, and things that are needed.

It is part of both negative and positive symptoms of schizophrenia for me which can be looked up on the internet by anyone.

Every day its like I have to start all over again from the basics get out of bed hygiene, breakfast and so on are all out will power to me everyday and It does not become auto pilot or routine.

Yeah, I identify, Dude1.

Jayster

For me sometimes/often it can be hard to gel the range of thoughts into a coherent and organised whole. It’s like functioning is an essay where you have to get all your points in order in order to do well. The trouble being you struggle to structure the essay.
I put much of that down to executive functioning problems.
Some days, I guess it’s the same for a lot of us, I can think more clearly than others.

I write all of my ideas on sticky notes. Then I arrange them until I find an order that works. Then I copy the order down and I have an outline for my essay.

Everyone has problems. All problems can be worked around. Find the workaround that works for you.

As a SZ, seeing something everywhere makes me question myself. I find this to yield great results for my well-being, but it can be humbling to do so, and therefore difficult.

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