I would have liked to become a pharmacist or a dentist or a physician or gone to law school. These goals are all too lofty now that I have my negative and cognitive symptoms. Have you ever heard of a lawyer who couldn’t speak to people because he had poverty of speech? So schizophrenia is very directly limiting my ability to pursue my dreams. Without sz I was on course to accomplish amazing things because of my academic potential. Now I’m struggling to slog through online community college classes and I can’t speak. The inability to speak really makes life difficult. Also the inability to think in abstract frame of mind significantly limits my ability to be academically productive, I feel like I can’t get interested in things my brain is inflexible and robotic, I can only comprehend simple concepts. So with my new sz brain I can’t learn and grow like I used to. Plus I have memory issues which make taking exams difficult. I really got ■■■■■■ over when I got this illness. It literally came out of nowhere!
Risperidone is a bad drug for negative symptoms. If you don’t have negative symptoms by all means take it.
All these are awesome answers I think computer programming is something I would like to learn also. I too lost alot of memory and abilities from the illness, so it’s one day at a time you know?
I think so. Mainly my past physic history rather than the disorder.
Not impossible, my sz has just put up more challenges.
I wanted to do something utilizing my degree. My highest aspirations will probably never be realized as I want to discover something new. So far I don’t think I have been putting that much effort in it and my productivity has declined.
I wanted to be a pharmacist but sz and the side effects of medications have gotten in the way. Some of my medication side effects include memory loss, so it is difficult to study something new. I’m studying a Diploma of mental health at the moment and it is haaaaaaard work!
That sounds fun. Good luck to you.
Similarly, I want to be a psychiatrist. A schizophrenic psychiatrist. It sounds like the punchline to a bad joke.
I am not 100% sure what my dream job is yet but I think I am going to pursue Psychology in college. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a Psychiatrist. At this stage of the game (late 40’s and dx with SZ) I think Med school is off the table I may change my mind. I start school in 2 weeks and I am going to do my best, with respect to my illness, to do well. My son is a junior in college shooting for Med School/Psychiatry. I can live vicariously 
I’d like to do research in the philosophy of psychiatry at a hospital. First step a PhD.
It’s not impossible, though competition is fierce. Schizophrenia’s negatives for me are a pain but do not make it impossible. Being a patient myself helps a bit - not so much because of the insider’s perspective, that can bias as well - but it did move me to read a lot about this condition. Maybe it is like this for anyone, schizophrenic or not, but I felt like a bird catching a thermal here when it comes to motivation. I’ve been exploring several topics as a graduate student, and when compared, perhaps for obvious reasons, it is easier to keep going in this field. Intrinsic motivation and all…
Had to leave my medical studies as a result of the illness.
I see that alot of you guys want to study mental health and psychiatry that’s really cool that you’re willing to help others while you’re still under attack from the illness. I don’t think I’ll get my dream job but I’ve been wrong before lol.
My dream job was to be a meteorologist and the illness slammed the brakes on it. However I must admit that if I could have put a more serious effort into math and physics and spent more time studying in the Summer I might have possibly made it before the illness hit. I also probably would have been better off studying history which I quite frankly was better at even though I enjoyed the weather more. Sometimes it’s better to be practical than to follow your dreams.
I’m an emergency psychiatrist. I was able to follow my dreams in spite of my illness. I’m up during the night. During the day I relax and I sleep and spend time with friends. They don’t know that I have schizophrenia at work.
I trade shares and foreign currencies which i can do from the comfort of my home sitting at the computer its pretty easy i also work for my partner in a small business which is not bad i have a degree in psychology which i did before i got sick id go back and do clinical psychology if a could but i dont think i could handle the stress anymore but im happy where im at
I wanted to be a medical examiner but I have too much trouble functioning in school so I dropped out of college
I want to become a mangaka. That is my dream. It tak3s me even longer to complete the stories but it still turns out well. Meeting their crazy deadlines is going to be hella hard. Still going for the win though.