I don’t know what to really talk about here. I was diagnosed about a year and half ago and recently the symptoms have been getting worse. Lately I’ve been getting “paranoid episodes” where I sit in my room, alone, and just act paranoid from anything. I’m convinced I have an alien device in my arm and that there are people out to get me. I hear bad voices that come from the right side of my head and a few good voices I hear on the left side. I don’t really want to go into detail here about what they tell me, but they are labeled good and bad for a reason.
I really hope I don’t sound crazy. I’m just scared people will make fun of me or laugh because of how I think. I just want to get to know people who understand, since there are little to no support groups in my area for stuff like this. I’m nervous and just want some reassurance.
Sorry if that was long, thank you for reading if you stuck around this long. I hope to make friends here, friends that actually are going through what I’m going through.
You can post on just about anything. Heck we’ve got non-schizophrenics who come here just to chat.
You won’t find that here.
Welcome to the forum.
Welcome to the forum!
Hi and welcome. This is a very supportive community, no one will make fun of you here for sure. We all have our paranoias, and as my therapist told me, even “normal” people have paranoia. Here some hear voices, others see things, others both…
You don’t sound crazy at all, you have symptoms, that doesn’t make you crazy.
Are you on meds?
My standard list of suggestions:
- Get a copy of this book and read it and have your family read it, as well. (Torrey can be a bit totalistic and unwilling to see exceptions to his “rules” at times, but most of the book is really worth the effort to plough through.)
http://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Schizophrenia-6th-Edition-Family/dp/0062268856
. - Get properly diagnosed by a board-certified psychopharmacologist who specializes in the psychotic disorders. One can find them at…
http://doctor.webmd.com/find-a-doctor/specialty/psychiatry and https://psychiatrists.psychologytoday.com/rms/
. - Work with that “psychiatrist” (or “p-doc”) to develop a medication formula that stabilizes their symptoms sufficiently so that they can tackle the psychotherapy that will disentangle their thinking.
. - The best of the psychotherapies for that currently include…
DBT – http://behavioraltech.org/resources/whatisdbt.cfm
MBSR – http://www.mindfullivingprograms.com/whatMBSR.php
MBCT - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22340145
ACT – https://contextualscience.org/act
10 StEP – http://pairadocks.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-10-steps-of-emotion-processing.html
. - the even newer somatic psychotherapies like…
MBBT – https://www.newharbinger.com/blog/introduction-mind-body-bridging-i-system
SEPT – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatic_Experiencing
SMPT – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensorimotor_psychotherapy
. - or standard CBTs, like…
REBT – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rational_emotive_behavior_therapy
Schematherapy – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schema_Therapy
Learned Optimism – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learned_optimism
Standard CBT – https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Treatment/Psychotherapy & scroll down
. - If you/she/he needs a professional intervention to get through treatment resistance, tell me where you live, and I will get back to you with leads to those services.
. - Look into the RAISE Project at https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=raise%20program%20schizophrenia.
. - Look for mental illness clubhouses in your area (which can be hugely helpful… but may also pose risks). Dig through the many articles at https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=mental%20illness%20clubhouse%20model to locate and investigate them.
I’m on quite a few. Prozac and Klonzapan for anxiety, Wellbutrin for depression, and Geodon for the schizophrenia.
You should talk to your pdoc about those symptoms though, sounds like you need a med adjustment.
He wants me on Clozapine but I’m too afraid of needles for the blood work. What pills do you take and are they effective?
I was scared of needles too… But I was court ordered injections, and now I got used to it. I’m on Invega Sustena (Xeplion in the EU), it’s a really good med for me although a bit slow acting. I’m still improving, I only started on it a year and a few months ago.
Welcome nothing to be worried or scared of here is a welcoming an supporting group help how we can
I’m thinking of toughing it out and taking the Clozapine, I’m just so scared of needles and my doctor is so adamant about prescribing new medication. He tried to switch me to Saphris a few months ago and my suicidal thoughts and urges almost put me in the hospital again. Now I’m kinda worried about changing meds.
I don’t really know what to tell you, for me this drug took so long to act that I tend not to advise people to change meds, I’m a patient person, I waited a long time for my delusions and paranoia to pass. I’m better since I’m on a lower dose, I was too sedated in the highest dose. But maybe you need a higher dose or a more suitable med for you, your pdoc probably knows best.
I’m no longer scared of needles to be honest, it passed rather quickly. Now I’m the one that asks for bloodwork to check how I’m doing. I have an appointment next week and will ask for another one to see hows my cholesterol and prolactin levels.
Hello, welcome.
I’ll ask him for alternatives, he just put me on Geodon because you gain the least weight on it (he always has to comment that I’m heavier than normal). I don’t know, I’ve heard the more you’re exposed to your fear the easier it gets, maybe I can kill two birds with one stone with the Clozapine.
Lol you getting over your fear of needles is making me want to try it.
Last time I went to do bloodwork I looked at the needle and everything 
Good luck on what you decide.
I hope to be able to do that one day lol
And thanks for all the help, this conversation made me feel better about changing meds. 
Glad I was able to help.
As for needles if the office or room has a picture or clock look at that with short deep breaths and before you know it is over with and little by little you can get better with dealing with a jab at the time and coping the after effects of seeing and or feeling the jab i had a huge problem with needles okay about them now mine was down to some fear and a lot of scars on my arms making problems.
Changing meds can be a rough time is it for most alot of us here have and will do again so your not on your own about this feel free to talk or chat about whatever Thank care! and thinks are not always as bad as me think them to be
My friend told me that physically you don’t even feel the prick, your mind is just so focused on that one area that it’s overly sensitive. I’ve had blood work done tons of times when I was younger, which has led me to fear needles. Maybe it’s time to face my fears, I’d really love to not be terrified of needles. Maybe I can work on this in therapy as well, maybe some exposure therapy? Now I’m just babbling lol.
And thanks, I think me finding this site was one of the best things I’ve done this year!
Feel free to babble away i do a lot babbling buddies