Speaking of recovery…I’m going down the rabbit hole and need to up my dose of Rexulti. Everyone knows when to be scared, everyone with sense. I’ve been having these “bad days” back to back week to week.
I would say I’m on the road to recovery or remission.
I’m back at work, I’ve just increased my hours. I’m back home. I see my psychiatrist every fortnight and take my meds as prescribed and I’ve just started to add a healthy diet and exercise to the mix.
I work with complex legislation and am a decision maker at work. I have to make good and back decisions and they have to be thorough so they stand up in court. So far all the unfavourable decisions I’ve made that have been challenged have stood up to a thorough and independent review process.
My team leader just QA’d a lot of my work for a review of my position in my current team, everything came back well apart from one or two mistakes. I took the feedback well and use it to better my work.
I work with a lot of people and I don’t think any of them would guess there’s much wrong with me apart from the fact I took about nine months off last year when I was going through a bad psychosis. No one knew what was going on but everyone knows something went wrong. They probably all think I had a nervous breakdown which is fine. But everyone is very supportive of me at work.
I think working really helps me, working in the right environment surrounded by the right people really helps.
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Right on! I think you’re right!
Well put Pixel! Good formula for recovery. Ontook this two week course out in San Diego and the five recovery pathways are the following: Hope, recovery environment, empowerment, finding meaning and purpose and finally last but not least realizing that we have choices in life and that those choices r up to us.
No doubt strong support systems r crucial. I remember I went through a period of years where I was isolating and felt I had no one to turn to. Very bad few years for me which I’m finding is not too atypical for a person diagnosed with sz.
I hope so. I know ill always be a little insane. I hope I can restabilize after this topamax
I think recovery and healing is very possible.
I also think that things can improve to be even better than they ever where.
That one can be happier and more well than one has ever been in ones whole entire life.
I think that may of happened to me.
As child my energy was not in my body. I had time period of overwhelming apathy, deep depressions , loneliness etc I was a bit of a wierdo. But before that as toddler was apparently out going.
As a adult I had time period where i did hear voices saying very hurtful things, always putting me down , violent etc
Bombarded with hate is what i felt i was. that stressed me out and it was physically painful also with such tense , uptight body.Had lots of urinary tract problems.periods where i Couldnt do my own shopping .i binge drinking alcohol which i nolonger do.
i smoked ciggaretes but have now quit. I also had strange beliefs.
After that painful torment I managed to get better and then get of medication and no longer heard nor do i now hear voices.
I was with out medication for about 5 yearsor more i think and doing rather well.
Then one day after I had recovered from cancer i had stress
The plumbing was not in order and i had leaking taps and did not feel i could afford to fix it.
I had several plumbers over that could not fix the problem.
I did not then know the building has a fixed plumber that is the buildings plumber.
This stress made me feel a bit overwhelmed and confused. Probably deasociation also.yeah.
I had some strange thoughts and worried a lot.
I was against my will taken to mental hospital.
Think it was my third or fourth time.
I was put on medicine again.
Olanzapine.
That was couple years ago i think.
I am now on lowest dose of olanzapine.
Recently I was given Abilify because a dr said it could help me lose weight.
This medicine did not work well with me.
Good it works for others but im just not one of them.
After 2 weeks of becoming sicker i quit taking it.
Then I felt so horrid with worry, stress, strange thoughts that I thought I would have to go to mental hospital and was prepared to take myself but instead i took a tiny dose of olanzapine and half sleep tablet and went to sleep.
Next day was improved and i did not need hospital which i am grateful for.
It can be so scary.
Those isolation rooms in mental hospital can be pretty scary too.
In a way I feel better than i ever remember. This because i know who i am and i love this.
I have moments where i feel and look like myself. I love who i am. love to feel like myself.
I have moments where i can laugh even.
I believe i have met people in spirit that i can laugh with and even hang out with.
I believe it is possible for me to have a real and great love life romantically with possible future marriage and also friends etc
I believe i can work enough hours in person with to me doable work to get of “doll”.
I believe in improvement, healing, and much more.
I believe in recovery, support.
independence can be so much. I think i see it differently.
I think appreciate someone just being around can be nice.Regardless what they do or dont do but for who they are and even those who dont work at all can do so much good.
I can not take on all kinds of work tasks .
Am grateful for what I can do though.
Currently employed 2 hours week. Cleaning.
There is help.
As my Gp said to me there is good help available.
There can be a health care plan, medication, support network, exercise, etc
@JeffSimpson11 Jeff, if you get a chance and like to read, get a copy of “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden.” It is an autobiography of Joanne Greenberg who suffered from SZ and was sent away and was given psychotherapy by Freida Fromm-Reichmann (the outer circle from Freud’s colleagues). After years of therapy, she was cured and became a successful writer. Her world due to SZ was very scary and the book deals with all aspects of it. There are a number of pdocs who say she was misdiagnosed, but read it for yourself. As someone with par. sz, she gives me hope. BTW, she was not given any meds except those to help her sleep on difficult nights. Her one-on-one psychotherapy with Frieda helped her break through her delusions and voices.
Hey Zak! Ya I read the book and I saw an interview with the author and you’re right she was very insightful about sz. It took me a long time to get where I am and I’ve wanted to write a void myself about my life as it, so far, had been quite a journey and finally at 58 back to work full time. Very rewarding to go back to work as a peer support specialist. Thanks for your response Zak!
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It really depends on what ur recovering from. Positive symptoms, yes, with meds and adaptation. Negative symptoms, no, theres no getting better; u can learn to live with them better a tad.
Only 15% of sz’s have full functional recovery.
Cognitive problems as well I don’t believe ppl recover from. Sorry, I have to say it how it is.
Might want to goggle Pat Deegan
I didn’t get that memo. I got better.
Missed that memo, too.
thank you reggie. i am inspired by your post. yes indeed – believe!! judy
Well we are 1% of the population so I hope that’s a big enough market for them to research good drugs for the negative symptoms. Maybe they’ll come up with something better than NAC + Sarcosine.
Maybe u overcame those symptoms, not they got better. Or they weren’t very disabling in the first place. From personal experience the negatives don’t. From meeting ppl in their 40/50’s with serious cognitive deficits I can judge that they don’t.
I was given a poor prognosis and told I would never live independently. And I push back against neg symptoms every day.
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I went to the NIMH and participated in a Sz study for that Human Genome project.
the researchers said I don’t have Sz. Sz Is a disease that starts in your 20s, has positive and negative symptoms. I have suffered a psychosis NOS, and it should have been coded that way, but it wasn’t.
So this question, is recovery possible? I’d say it also depends on if your clinician coded it appropriately (Sz or psychosis NOS) or not. Sz ICD coding is quite popular, probably or billing purposes. @Wave that’s where ‘healthcare is a business’ comes in, and it’s what healthcare reform is allabout. I hope that @mortimermouse is learning this in class.
I love the video by pat Deegan. So inspiring. i’ve seen it before. Thanks for sharing. Recovery is possible with some work and knowledge.
Good for u pixel! Your will sounds string. Accomplish what u want and don’t listen to naysayers.