Reducing stress as an aid

[tony]

Continuing the discussion from Welcome to the Diagnosed / Schizophrenia Forum:

@SzAdmin

A Discussion area for people who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, or who think they might have schizophrenia (or who have a closely related disorder or symptoms, or who suffer from hearing voices). Please read the information below about these forum / community guidelines.

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Due to the extremely large number of users and messages posted - we do not have the moderator “manpower” and “womanpower” to tell every person why their message has been deleted - but it it is, its because one of the moderators felt it violated the spirit or the terms of the guidelines below. We hope we don’t have to do it very frequently - but occasionally we do have to delete messages, and on rare occasion ban the repeat offenders. The administrators tell me that so far we have only banned a few users - of the tens of thousands of visitors - and it is only when someone repeatedly violates the rules and shows lack of respect for the community.

[tony]

As I understand it stress is an aggravator to SZ. I have often wondered how assertiveness training might help SZ sufferers. There are many books, articles on the web about learning how to stand up for your self while at the same time having consideration for others. The first thing they say in assertiveness training is that assertiveness absolutely does not mean being pushy and demanding in getting your way. But what it does mean is being able to get what is rightfully yours in the way of fairness by means of enlightened social interactions.

As someone who was likely one of the bottom scorers in the history of mankind on the assertiveness scale I can say it has helped me considerably and I have become a much calmer person. I was like the little dog who is always on the attack as a result of fear. Now after a little reading and realization and I suppose age related maturity I am so much better at handling social situations. So much more at ease. This works out as a greatly reduced stress level for me. It’s the ability to interact with people at work or anywhere in a genuinely pleasant and respectful manner and not feeling compelled to take some aggressive action.
It’s not a pill that restores chemical balance but it is something definitely worth looking at for anyone with SZ and especially if they notice that stressful situations aggravate their symptoms. There are many good books and Youtubes on assertiveness.