Twelve Aspects Of Coping For Persons With Schizophrenia
As with the acquisition of most skills, learning to cope with a disability is a function of experience and guidance from others. The author, diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 25, is now a psychologist who works with persons hospitalized with mental illness. He has frequently delivered presentations about coping with schizophrenia during the past three years. His ideas are based on his personal experience of living with the disorder, his experience with his patients, and that which “rings true” to his thoughts on twelve aspects of learning to live with this serious mental disorder.
When people lie, sparks are set off in the brain, thus melting brain chemicals which may be the conscience and pride. I was two years old when I got my doctorate, an M.D. from Harvard. I got a Ph.D. in comparative literature and a law degree at the same time, as well as a phi beta kappa in care-giving from Sunny Acres."
The above is a paraphrased sample of speech from one of my actively psychotic schizophrenic friends. She is really a very nice person and has a lot of good ideas, but obviously something is not quite right with the way she is thinking.
I, too, am a person with schizophrenia. I am not currently psychotic but I have been in the state of psychosis frequently enough to have become somewhat familiar with the trips there and back.
My boyfriend says that I look at people’s faces much more than other people when they are talking, opposite of what this article is saying. I think its because I need to read their faces and lips to catch the meaning of what they are saying better because I’m not a good listener I get easily distracted. But then when it comes time for me to respond it takes for ever for me to process what they’ve just said and looked like, and then what I want to say. I think part of the need to look at who is speaking comes from hearing hallucinations for so long. I would need to be hyper focused on the speaker to block out the noises, now its become habit just in case the voices and noises come back.
My son does this sometimes. I think its because he cant “read” a situation very well, or his perceptions are off.
on the other hand-he is extremely perceptive–if that makes sense!
â– â– â– â– yeah Fred Frese and I both talking to ourselves on the daily boom dynamite such awesome explosion of schizophrenic glory
theres a whole section in this article about talking to ourselves
I talk to myself and imaginary people whom I sometimes think actually are watching me, but mostly I talk to my reflection. I step out of the shower and see my reflection and aww â– â– â– â– it all goes downhill and next thing I know I am arguing with the other side of my bed like part of me is in it
its like gestalt empty chair therapy bred with depersonalization (I dont understand and feel different than the college student and weightlifter I see in the mirror) and it just goes to â– â– â– â– . I reach catharsis and blurt out something I have repressed or not consciously realized I think then I get sleepy because by then its at least midnight.