I don’t think I have schizophrenia, I think I just have a kind of mild psychosis brought about by smoking weed. I know have some sort of anxiety disorder, also brought about by weed, that can cause me to get depressed. I’ve had times where my symptoms have been really present, but they’ve been more confusing that distressing. For me the worst of my symptoms are anxiety and paranoia.
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My symptoms are nowhere near as severe as they have been at times in the past. I’m fortunate that my symptoms are, for the most part, kept in check by medications. I deal with some anxiety and paranoia, though still not as bad as it used to be, even just recently. Getting off alcohol helped lessen my depression and anxiety, and the addition of Haldol recently has helped with the paranoia. It’s been a long time since I had an actual psychotic break. I’ve learned my lesson about being med compliant.
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My symptoms are very severe, when not on medications. While on medications, I have minimal to no symptoms. I am truly blessed.
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My negative and cognitive sym ptoms are worse. .
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My cognitive symptoms are improving with work. Although it is not up to where it was when I was in college. I still have some negative symptoms. But, I am willing to live with that, although people notice it. A friend of mine came to visit me today and asked me why it was that I don’t leave my apartment and join in the social activities with everyone else. So, I had to explain that I perceive that people don’t like me. I told her it may be true or it may not be but, that is my perception. She offered to sit with me on occasion, at dinner. I thought that was sweet of her.
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When I’m off my meds I loose all touch with reality. Get extremely paranoid and delusional and deny I am sick. When I first went on my meds I had extremely bad negative symptoms. As the years went by all of my symptoms have gone away. Just dealing with a few side effects.
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Since I can function (although rather poorly) while ill, I believe that would have my illness categorized somewhere between mild and moderate. When I am doing well my symptoms feel quite mild. However when I am not doing well it feels impossibly severe to me, and I suffer very powerfully.
I don’t think there really is such a thing as a “mild” mental illness. If one’s issues were “mild” and barely impacted them, they wouldn’t seek help for them. There is only the question of if you can function or not. Perhaps classification should thus be changed to “functional” vs “disabled” rather than “mild” “moderate” “severe”. (Maybe on a scale like functional, moderately disabled, severely disabled)
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My symptoms vary from severe to the point I end up sectioned, to mild enough that I can live from day to day but not able to work or do anything particularly useful with my life at the moment, just get through the days. I have learned I need to stick with the meds, but even with them I still hear voices, have visual hallucinations and paranoia which is the worst for me. My mood is pretty low too, but I did have a severe psychotic episode recently so I’m hoping things will slowly improve back to manageable. The symptoms never leave me even with meds, but they certainly make things much more bearable. I’d say my symptoms are at about 5/10 at the moment.
@catsrcool it’s very good that you know a cause of most of the ill mentality. doc and i still don’t know most roots of most of my mi, though he felt that pr0n might have affected the way i behaved.
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I’ve realized that drinking alcohol causes depression in me. It sucks. The memory of being drunk is so seductive, but thinking about my hangover the next day dissuades me.
Any time I come off an antipsychotic I experience intense anger. I’m not likely to get physically violent, but I am likely to get verbally abusive. The last time I got off my med’s I saw myself spiraling out of control, so fortunately I got back on them.
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My symptoms are pretty bad right now just being on nothing but perphenazine and hydroxyzine. Very irritable paranoid.talk of suicide a lot.
My symptoms are not that bad on meds. Off them i turn totally into another person who isn’t able to function at all. Voices and paranoia are much less on meds thank God.
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I’m… Functional. At times barely, but still somewhat functional.
I have very mild anxiety and paranoia, and I havr some voices. The meds kill those things mostly.
What I struggle with is the negative symptoms, like no motivation, fatigue, inability to put words to my thoughts, ambivalence, and so on.
The meds don’t work on them, some might even claim they make them worse.
I’d rather suffer through that than go off my meds again and begin to suffer positive symptoms as well. The last time I tried going off, I got an express ticket to the psych ward, lol.
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Hey,
I have schizophrenia. I have breakthrough symptoms even on the lowest dose of medications I can do. It’s not rocket science but it’s a process where you work with your doctor to achieve best function…and that is without the negatives and the side effects which make a huge difference.
If your not schizophrenic and you have some depression and anxiety then get with your treatment team and get some treatment. Ssri’s work well with both…but it’s hard work finding the right one…
Seriously… Get well and get out there and live! It really is simple.
Get well…move on.
A friend in the struggle,
rogueone.
I think that I lost 80% of functionality during these 6 years of decline.
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