I used to love video games, TV and reading but now I can’t concentrate on anything… after I start doing something I feel like moving onto something else. I thought it was the side effects of the antipsychotics I am taking since I didn’t use to be like this before I started taking my current antipsychotics, but I’m told that boredom and lack of concentration are negative symptoms of the illness. I wasn’t like this the first time I got diagnosed, this problem has been plaguing me only after the third time I got out of hospital. Now, after being told that they are the symptoms that I have this time, all my hopes have been dashed. The doctor told me that exercise would help with my negative symptoms but I’m not sure after having read some articles on the internet about exercise and negative symptoms. Life is so boring now I want to just die a lot of times.
I’ve been in a deep slide of negative symptom before and that built into a depression. Ask your doc about something for the depression and mood stabilizers.
The positive symptoms fade and soon we are left with nothing. This illness strips a lot away from us. I had to go to therapy, CBT and I got put on Latuda which is a AP with some anti-depressant quality and that really helped me get motivated enough to get more help to eventually crawl out of that wax build-up.
It’s horrid and I fear going back there. Life was passing me by and I had no way of reaching out to live it. Finally my meds were the kick start to help me get back on my feet.
As far as what the internet says about symptoms… yes there are some good sites, but even the best of them have to be taken with a grain of salt. Don’t believe that everything you read will work or won’t work for you personally.
You have to give it a try and see for yourself if you feel better. I have NO idea how it happened but for some unknown and Thankful reason my Sz didn’t take away my love of swimming. One small miracle.
It was hard, and I just couldn’t go as much as I used to, but I did always feel better after a swim and a good walk.
Of course that good feeling would fade, but it was just enough to help me remember to try it again.
Good luck and I really hope you can pull out of this. Negative symptoms are so much worse for me then positive ones. I’ll put up with my voices any day compared to not having the will to live.
I sometimes feel the same way, but I am into some very serious exercise, powerlifting, and it makes me feel cured of negative symptoms for the rest of the day and makes me feel more alive. I think that I have been fighting off negative symptoms by lifting heavy weights, nothing makes me feel more alive.
I am on three sedating medications.
I also drink plenty of caffeine. I start my day by slowly, like a sloth, making a black coffee, then I browse there forums while drinking it, and when I get out of my chair I am not sluggish or sedated anymore. have a test in an hour and a half, im gonna sit here and let the coffee work, eat breakfast and then go knock that test out! But without coffee right when I wake up, I would definitely exhibit negative symptoms.
There’s easy ways to treat concentration and apathy. I can have trouble concentrating and become completely apathetic if I dont workout and drink coffee to go to school. The adrenaline from lifting hundreds of pounds is like nothing else, that always spikes my motivation. I have to drink preworkout supplements before going to the gym, they have like 260mg of caffeine and vitamins stuff.
I go from waking up, feeling very sedated and rather helpless to finishing tests before anyone else in the room and then lifting hundreds of pounds with ease- thanks to the total of about 390mg of caffeine I drink every day. I have a black coffee, (like 130mg) then a preworkout drink (260mg) when I workout, and on days that I dont workout, I drink black coffee right when I wake up and then in the middle of the day between classes.
I asked the psychiatrist about my caffeine consumption, he pointed out that unless I cant sleep or am a nervous wreck, its fine. I keep it under 400mg a day though, I read somewhere that having that limit is a general health guideline.
I have no way to measure that. I just drink until the pot is empty. My sis got a smaller coffee pot, but I found the old one. 
How many large mugs of coffee would equal 400 mg? I will have to find this out.
probably three. starbucks blends are stronger, part of the reason why people flock to starbucks like theyre heroin addicts getting their methadone for the day
Sorry to be cheeky, but methadone clinics are much more mellow then a Starbuck’s counter.
Everyone is twitchy in there.
I’m not diagnosed with schizophrenia so technically shouldn’t have negative symptoms but experience lack of drive/motivation/ambition/future goals. I guess if i didn’t have the internet i’d be bored a lot of the time. Even with it i get times when i feel bored and empty.
I get asked from time to time at the group i attend what i’ve done during the week. That’s an awkward situation because i’ve done nothing that might interest others.
Today i should be having a wash(haven’t done so for well over a week) but that simple act seems like a task too far.
I sometimes think having a partner somehow increases motivation. I certainly have reverted in some ways to the me i was before i met my wife. Another thing is medication although it lessens things like paranoia i think it can push you into a laidback ,devil my care state of mind (or at least increase that feeling) that might increase things like the aimless drifting that could very well be seen as a negative symptom…
I don’t mean to be corny but this site really helps with the negative symptoms for me. it helps to feel you aren’t alone plus you have to read what people write to join in and there’s an element of concentration involved, yet, it is right on the topic that concerns us most, right?
keep trying to enjoy and good luck. judy
ive been thinking about this lately i dont think we should go around giving ourselves a hard time about it im in my head sometimes big deal.
Maybe your negative symptoms are due to medication not schizophrenia. I dont have schizo negative symptoms, all of my lack of motivation, low energy are the side effect of my med. and i am 100% sure on that.
i dont know either mindwhisperer could be the meds or noti dont know.