I can remember the early days of having schizophrenia. I was so afraid of the implications of subtle body language, like a lingering millisecond of eye contact, the way my feet hit the ground when I walked or the way I held my hands to my side. It was a struggle to go into a store or, really, anywhere I was bound to see another living member of the human species.
With a simple scratch of the head, someone could be telling me to go forward, or that what I was doing was right or wrong, or that they were acknowledging the symbolic crown on my head that made me a king or a prophet. It’s not hard to imagine that I was having a tough time in the midst of all the anxiety and delusions.
I do better with routine but am not sure that a daily routine of doing hardly anything counts. I certainly think a good routine round when you eat and sleep helps. Neither of which I have.
I think low motivation and difficulty organising and planning affects the ability to have a routine.
I always stick to a medication routine - setting my cell phone alarms at the same time everyday and I will check off my meds on my phone. Sticking to a routine as much as possible is important for us. Thanks for posting this @SzAdmin
Routine has been my salvation. That, and an arseload of sticky note reminders and then Google Calendar alerts when technology finally caught up to my diagnosis.
I like routine, but it can be hard to keep up when you’re not sleeping right.
I remember that walking in public problem before I was on meds. With every step and swing of my arms trying so hard to act normal and still looking like a complete loon…and all the evil looks I got from people, hyper-aware of every move they make. What a nightmare. It’s no wonder I wanted to kill myself so badly. I still can’t walk through a mall.
We’re similar to autistic people in that we need routines so badly. I woke up an hour late this morning like less than an hour ago and it made me upset, for example.