i.e. return to school, work, etc. I had my first and hopefully only episode in March but stayed in grad school, though progress has been slow. I’m now debating whether to take a year (or maybe just a few months) off from school or just keep going. I’m frankly not sure what I would do with myself if I took a year off. My main concern right now is low motivation and possible cognitive impairment, and I’m not sure if time off would help or hurt with these.
Took about a year for me. Even then I wasnt ready to go back to school, I had to really struggle and force myself. Its never going to be as easy as it used to be sadly, and I thought it was hard before my first break lol
I took a part time job towards the end of the year too, but for the most part I did an intensive outpatient program, wouldnt have made it without that highly recommend if you can find one in your area
I am still not fully functional after 2.5 years after my last episode. I have had more than one psychosis though so that may not be relevant to you. I have zero positive symptoms but my negative symptoms don’t seem to be getting any better. At best, they are slightly better than when I was first put on AP’s. Maybe a tiny bit better on my current drug than when I was on Invega.
I got a job 6 months after my first hospitalization and went to a college in the following years, even though I’d never went to high school. I had a spiritual awakening five years later that must have been a recurrence of psychosis only this time worse in a way. I gave up on college after that, I was at a music school at a university and missed out on that, but I did work two more years until I relapsed on pot and went off my meds. Point is, I’ve gone in and out of psychosis. Nobody understands how I can read so well and cannot hold a job, they might think I’m lazy. I’ve heard of a autistic people who cannot dress themselves and can read at a high level. My problem with work is no mental energy and a broken body. My pdoc says I need a volunteer job and I have to admit I would like to be able to associate with people again.
Went into my first psyche ward in 1980 at age 19, then spent a year psychotic and unmedicated in a group home, followed by 8 months in the hospital. Got out in 1982 and moved into a fancy group home and nine months later got a job which I stayed at four years. In 1983 I enrolled myself in community college.
About three or four years
I’m not as bad as that, but it certainly applies to me
If school and work are the yardsticks by which functionality is measured, then I’ve never ‘become functional’.
functional is kind of a big ask, I would say I was ready to go back to work about a month out of hospital, but I didn’t know how bad negative symptoms would affect me. It then became clear that this wasn’t gonna be so easy for me.
Can you define functional?
After my first episode I was on disability for 5 years before I was able to live on my own and hold a normal job.
I let the initial stages go on way too long untreated.
For me it was a handful of years
But I was deeeeeep , in psychosis. And with the right medication it could have been much sooner I recovered!!
But it’s neither here nor there. But the fate can be much sooner for u
It’s hard to define the first episode because the voices talked every day for the first 22 years. However I stabilized enough to work awhile 3 years after the onset.
I’ve been sick for 7-8 years and I’m still struggling. I was prodromal for 3-4 years. It has been a waste!
It’s been 5 years since my major breakdown and 3 years since my last suicide attempt. So, 5 to 3 years.
From the point I got treatment, it only took about 3 months. But from the start of the episode to getting treated it was nearly 2 years.
My first episode was not disabling. My second episode landed me in hospital in spring and by next summer I was working. Then by winter I was psychotic again.
Functioning isn’t everything. Right after I was put on Abilify I got functional again going to university 5 courses/semester etc but after a year I started developping shopping and sex addiction problems that I later found on the FDA website that they are caused by Abilify. Now on Risperdal I am less functional but I dont have any addictions. My life quality is better.
Thers also positive symptoms which affect life quality without always affecting functioning. On Latuda I was able to work full time during the year I was on it but it was hell with the side effects, my life quality was low, nausea, insomnia, positive symptoms, akathisia. My life quality is now better on 6mg Risperdal eventhough I am less functional.
I never fully recovered. I been in and out of psychosis for years. They are considering long term care for me if I have another incident.
Honestly, took like 7+ ■■■■■■■ years, man!
I’m on year 10 or 11 and I’m slowly getting better. I think something ■■■■■■ up happened to me but can’t really prove it and get people to believe in it or even care about anymore. I tried getting help and compensation just by talking but that didn’t do anything. I’m mainly paranoid and scared for myself but ya I think I dug too deep into my brain or mind and had worsening effects + I have addiction issues that make it harder for my brain to heal, which never did. Some people never recover from schizophrenia and I might be one of those people that never did…
I have tried volunteering and even ‘working’ a bit but I don’t like it or want to do it and don’t enjoy it. I like just sitting at home in my room isolating and learning – a bit like an autistic kid.
I also am obese and not physically fit and I make myself my own worst enemy by talking about my delusions by posting them and opening my mind and crap and I get sicker than a dog.
So it took like 7+ years to get over my dissociation and be content and even happy. I was like a low functioning schizophrenia that look and acted normal for the most part. But as my dissociation went away, I started getting memories of parallel universes and past lives that never stops and I blame myself for opening up and drinking copious amounts of caffeine.
I did about a week’s worth of voluntary work about 5-6 months after my 1st hospitalisation . It was going round the wards with the hospital. library. Not exactly a good job for someone with severe social anxiety, who struggles to initiate conversations.
I’d say the autistic symptoms and the SA were a bigger barrier than the schizophrenia.when it came to working. The biggest sz type symptom was/is difficulty showing initiative in non trivial situations