I think that the concept of schizophrenia, specifically the part of it that assumes that you can only get so much better, has become deeply ingrained in my subconscious and is in contest with the belief that I can get better and the efforts I’ve put towards getting better. There’s an underlying belief of futility. I want to be able to believe that I can completely recover. Achieve some level of remission. I think belief in the possibility of complete recovery would enrich the efforts and practices I’ve made habit. Do you think that belief in total recovery is a healthy idea for a schizophrenic to hold onto? Or that it could be a productive belief?
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I’m a firm believer that hope is power. My hope has given me the strength to see myself improve in ways that still blow my mind. Like I’ve been in a relationship for 3 years now. That’s a first for me and something I worked hard for. Hard work pays off in the end. Keep believing.
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I have always held on to the hope of recovering fully one day, everything i do is an effort to prove them all wrong and hopefully one day live free from antipsychotic medication, i know it might never happen but the thought really appeals to me and i live with that hope it could one day be possible.
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Fake it till you make it isn’t just a saying.
It works.
Start telling yourself you’re better,
Treat yourself after achieving small goals,
Make your bed every morning.
It matters.
If you keep the right mindset,
Do your self care (including medications and such),
You’ll totally make it.
Just have to force yourself to pretend you’re already there.
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Everyone different. I won’t rule out anything as impossible.
For me, it was best to accept that my condition is chronic. Over the years, I read a ton of self-help books hoping that I’d have some kind of epiphany or mental breakthrough that would cure me completely. I chased this idea for a very long time, like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. I gave many books away over time, but reserved a whole row on my shelf for books that taught me coping strategies There’s one newer book called Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff. It’s the best out of all of them. Overcoming Distressing Voices is my second favourite. The Feeling Good Handbook comes in third.
When my symptoms first started, I got super scared. I was so worried about medication side effects, that I explored all kinds of other means to get rid of the problem. I tried grounding exercises and similar meditations found in spiritual books. I tried Qi Gong. I tried Kundalini. Those didn’t get me far. I think some exercises made me feel less spaced out but the voices continued, and I was seeing stuff that wasn’t there. Sometimes, I wondered if I was making things worse.
After the failure to get rid of the voices, I tried training to control the them with different meditation exercises. I had mixed results, but nothing good enough to make money off the voices as a psychic…Yes, I had started to think it was the only skill I had left (I failed at everything else) and I also wanted to be able to say, “No, I’m not crazy, I’m really psychic.” It wasn’t meant to be though (there’s more to this part of my story, but I don’t think we’re allowed to discuss it here).
One day, I realized that regardless of what the voices’ true nature was (massive telepathy or just delusion and psychosis), I needed help badly. I couldn’t live with them any longer. I couldn’t hold a job. So talked with my doctor. She referred me to a psychiatrist and I went on meds. They took the edge off a lot of symptoms in about a month. This was after years of chasing rainbows.
I don’t regret trying alternate methods. I’m stronger because of the mental training. Thanks to Zen training, I can let many voices come and go without being totally mesmerized by them. But I do think I should have gone on meds much sooner (even if a lot of what I feared about them has happened…such as getting fat and diabetic). I held out a bit too long.
TL;DR? It wasn’t healthy for me to hold on to false hope for so long. I’d advise people to focus on coping strategies, and let other things fall into place. If you hit a ceiling you might have to accept limits.
P.S. Sorry for writing this wall of text.
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I went the I am psychic route to lol I didn’t get far. Nice to meet you.
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I thought I saw a turtle in my future. 
just kidding. 
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Yours did work yay 
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