Sorry for the negative post but I really feel that SZ is a lifelong sentence. I wake up ready to battle everyday but sometimes you just get tired. I had my first symptoms in 2006 when I was 23 years old, so this marks over 13 years.
Best of luck to fellow sufferers!
I must admit that I had some blissful episodes because of schizophrenia. It’s not all negative for me. I understand you, though.
When I had severe negatives, I wanted to die.
But now, I have mainly positive symptoms,
and I feel ok. Everything changes
I have problems in that something about my spiritual path isn’t helping me. It’s hard to explain and will seem crazy but it’s real to me…
I wish I had more positive experiences because mine involves a lot of fear and energies I don’t want… WTF
Do you have negative symptoms?
Yeah. They say it is to psychiatry what cancer is to medicine. It’s tough and it’s not so good if your multi episodic. Still. You can carve out your own little world and it’s not so bad. Stay on the meds. Figure out what makes best and work from there.
some… I guess. I’m not up on what the whole list of negative symptoms are… I do a lot of praying… I have recently been asking a lot of people to pray for me… I am very spiritually minded but I know the disease is brain based… but I need to hang onto faith and hope to get through this… I believe our minds are much more than our brains… in fact I have some experiences to confirm this.
Haloperidol has been holding me in there for over 10 years. I’ve only been hospitalized once… I have trouble making a living for myself and am surviving on $5,000 a year in Thailand but this is getting a little worrisome…
Yeah it’s tough economically if your not on benefits. Can you get benefits over in the states? I survive living with my father on a disability pension over here. I live a good, realized life which could change any moment but it’s pretty low stressed.
my life has low stress but I am sort of functional but I definitely CAN’T support myself at the level of a normal human being. I haven’t paid enough taxes to get benefits and live outside the states but it’s maybe possible that I could get benefits if I moved back. But even that is not certain because some people told me it’s hard to get benefits (I did about 10 years ago) when you did before and have been supporting yourself. Luckily Thailand is cheap but I’m not really living it up over here… not even close…
If I could have 12-$15,000 of income each year in Thailand I could live a decent life… But I really don’t see this happening…
Not discounting your struggles or your experiences with schizophrenia but 39 years with schizophrenia at age 58 years old is tired.
I’m in remission. My worse problem is discrimination.
I’m 20 years into the med regime after psychosis at 29. So. I’m 49. I still play competitive cricket and I’m fitter than when I was in my 30’s. Just adding simple walking was the beginning of getting fitter and more healthy. I know how hard it can be but you can still do simple things to improve your life. I have sz but I refuse to let it define me or my life…
I much prefer to be known as that weird, cat guy! 
…without parole.
What exactly is your spiritual path? And why do you say it isn’t helping you?
You can pm me.
I’m tired of being weak.
And occasionally get sad about the time that just slips by
I know how you feel, I don’t have any positives symptoms right now but the negative seem to go on and on. I have know interest in doing anything, I don’t even go to church anymore, which was very important to me at one time. Your not alone, keep talking on this forum Hopefully you’ll find some relief.
I get it. I was diagnosed at 24 but I’m almost positive I’ve had schizophrenia since age 8 or so. I have had a lot of negative symptoms in the past. But two years ago I started paliperodone and I haven’t really had bad negative symptoms. I still have positive symptoms. I was switched to the paliperodone injection two weeks ago I so far I feel great.
But schizophrenia is a life long disease. Medicine, at least from my experience, only masks the symptoms short term. Until tolerance builds up and you have to switch medication. For me since age 24 I’ve have to switch medication every three to six months, until two years ago with paliperodone. (I’m 33 now).
Be grateful. You could have had ALS. Or Progeria. Or terminal cancer.
I feel blessed to have an illness that is manageable to the degree it is.
Things could always be worse but having schizophrenia is bad enough.