I first hallucinated as a child. I was hospitalized for the first time at 17. I was hospitalized for six months when I was 19. I didn’t have many symptoms in my 20s. I was not in therapy or on medication.
I started therapy again when I was 30. I was hallucinating, but I didn’t tell anyone because I didn’t know they weren’t real. When I was 32, my counselor saw and heard me responding to hallucinations. I was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and then at 33 after the third hospitalization in three years I was diagnosed as schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type.
Oh ok. I understand. I’ve been hospitalized eight times. I’ve been in counseling for almost four years. I’ve seen a psychiatrist for 1.5 years. I trust the doctors.
Lack of insight leads to late realization and diagnosis in mental health cases. That may have been the case with LouiseG. I can look back now and see that I didn’t keep getting burned while I was cooking because I was stupid. The part of my brain that says “don’t touch it, it’s hot,” was just working very slowly. That’s my guess anyway.