@cactustomato
Had to look up Scientology and the eight pointed cross, can understand why you were upset
Most everyone I met in hospitals were nice enough, we just all had things to work out
What’s interesting for me, people I met in one state hospital, I could have sworn were in a hospital in a different state while I was there, when I made eye contact with certain ones, they knew and I knew, maybe they were familiar spirits
This one guy was in the same hospital as me twice. Coincidences happen more than you thinks I think we schizophrenics just notice more due to our hypervigilance
@Tyme
I didn’t learn about brain shrinkage until on this site, I think it’s supposed to be minuscule, can’t remember, but it was disturbing because I have been on various antipsychotics since 1994
I was discharged as a Chapter 11, meaning because I didn’t complete basic training I earned no benefits, if I had been injured during BCT that would have been a different story, that would have been a medical discharge, I would have gotten the same benefits as if I had been wounded in combat.
They changed the rules about getting benefits so that people couldn’t get them from failing Basic, because apparently people were intentionally failing basic so that they could get a few months of military benefits after.
I really feel like therapists are only helpful if there is material or homework beyond what’s said in the office. Most of the recovering I did was through in depth reading of material on coping skills and techniques. After being put on Seroquel and other medications for schizophrenia, every day I would work on something about a goal or my self. Instead of being shunned, which is how some are towards those with mental illness, it’s easier to be loved and embraced and accept that we’re imperfect and life is imperfect. That doesn’t mean handing over your rights to a psychiatrist, however medications can help eliminate psychosis and mania or mood swings or any sort of hyper awareness. Abilify does not directly impact the central nervous system like most anti-psychotics. Seroquel attached to dopamine throughout the entire brain, whereas Abilify only attached and then detaches, much like an SNRI or SSRI, it seems to deviate a bit which is why it’s an atypical. I think atypicals are better, because they don’t cause as many side effects like TD and muscle spasms. You could survive an overdose of Abilify, however most other medications are more dangerous to mess with. Seroquel gave me epileptic seizures. I don’t like weed, but it seemed to somehow tone down or diminish the hallucinations I used to have. Weed is like an anti-psychotic, that’s why I don’t enjoy it anymore. It doesn’t make me high, it just makes me dysphoric and numb, sometimes it heightens anxiety. Either way, if you were going to choose any sort of medicine I would choose marijuana over legal highs or pills, LSD, etc. I’m ruling them all out. I am also trying to completely abstain from alcohol and not drink in social situations. I only got one beer tonight but it wasn’t really worth it.
Paranoia of the government is a prevalent delusion in western/Americanized cultures. However if you were in Africa in the past, it would be fear of the witch doctors or thieves in the night, I bet…the government thing is like a collective sign. It’s highly symbolic…a lot of people who experience those types of persecution delusions have had trauma at some point, or have recently experienced a traumatic event. It’s hard for me to even remember or convey what real schizophrenia psychosis was like because I have not felt that way in a long time, despite financial issues etc.
■■■■. I was making amazing connections until I went in a full blown meth induced psychosis … Is this why I can no longer make awesome connections and why I can’t really even think through things? 