I am really struggling with my lack of motivation to do anything I used to enjoy. I used to be so free and happy and now I am always stuck. Every day is a battle for me. I feel so dull and flat all the time. Schizophrenia has robbed me of my joy in life. will anyone who relates please give me some tips on how to deal with this?
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I am kind of in the same place. Worked out, read a lot, spent a lot of time outdoors and now I find myself stuck inside on the computer, playing video games or researching a little online, that’s how I found this site. I am encouraged by some of the posts I have read as there some that work to stay upbeat and positive. I have not been doing a good job of it, but some of the people here give me hope.
So much so I may try to get back into some of the things I enjoy and work at the positive aspects of my life instead of the symptoms that have stolen myself from me. Hope you can find some encouraging posts and people to bring hope back to you as well.
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I’m feeling that lately too. Just gotta try and do a little but each day. Make a coffee. Sometimes I can’t even function till I’ve had coffee to get me moving
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Might be NSSz. Might be anti-Ps. (They do tend to do that.) In the short run, you may be slightly over-dosed. Best to report your situation to your p-doc and see what he or she says and does. In the long run, do this stuff (below) so that you need less med dosage.
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Get a copy of this book and read it. Have your family read it, too.
http://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Schizophrenia-6th-Edition-Family/dp/0062268856 -
If you needs a specialized professional intervention (e.g.: because you are getting meds from a doc who is not a specialist), tell me where you live, and I will get back to you with leads to those services.
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Get properly diagnosed by a board-certified psychopharmacologist who specializes in the psychotic disorders. One can find them at…
Find Psychiatrists, Psychiatric Nurses - Psychology Today -
Work with that p-doc to develop a medication formula that stabilizes your symptoms sufficiently so that you can tackle to the psychotherapy that will disentangle your thinking. The best of the therapies for that currently include…
DBT – http://behavioraltech.org/resources/whatisdbt.cfm
MBSR – Welcome to the Mindful Living Blog
ACT – ACT | Association for Contextual Behavioral Science
10 StEP – Pair A Docks: The 10 StEPs of Emotion Processing -
the even newer somatic psychotherapies like…
MBBT – An Introduction to Mind-Body Bridging & the I-System – New Harbinger Publications, Inc
SEPT – Somatic experiencing - Wikipedia
SMPT – Sensorimotor psychotherapy - Wikipedia -
or standard CBTs, like…
REBT – Rational emotive behavior therapy - Wikipedia
Schematherapy – Schema therapy - Wikipedia
Learned Optimism – Learned optimism - Wikipedia
Standard CBT – http://www.beckinstitute.org/what-is-cognitive-behavioral-therapy/About-CBT/252/
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I have the same problem. I push myself. I have become a robot. i noticed sarcosine supplement helped me along with a lot of black coffee. 
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Get anxious or panicky at all?
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no not yet
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Good. But you may want to keep your eyes peeled for that if you’re ingesting a lot of caffeine and have sz.
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yeah it’s helping me a lot and i have no problem sleeping. i’m on vacation, i’ve been walking and doing a lot too. this will change when i go back to canada. it’s ok for now
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I can relate. Therapy is your best option but it won’t help everyone that much and it won’t make you normal. If you, like me, have primary negative symptoms (meaning they are a core part of the illness and not due to the other symptoms) and they’re pretty bad you most likely need to learn to live with them. But if you have the surplus energy you should read up on some of those things notmoses posted. But they won’t cure you. I haven’t gotten around to that yet since I’m in a really stressful situation and just trying to stay sane. But I will when I have my own place.
What helps me the most with negative symptoms is making lists of what to do, etc. The less you need to remember, the more energy you’ll have left to do the things you need to do. Also I’ve heard here that it’s beneficial to have few expectations (or none) from the people around you and yourself. I’m not sure if this makes me do more stuff but it certainly doesn’t make me do less.
Showering helps me get motivated and so does taking breaks before I do things (to “get ready” when I’m feeling unmotivated).
I’m sure many people here are seriously affected by their meds but in my case the negative symptoms are pretty much the same with or without them.
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I don’t take meds and my negative symptoms can suck some days. Lack of motivation, avolition,restricted or flat effect.
I can tell the difference between negative symptoms and depression. I’ve had negative symptoms for weeks yet I don’t feel depressed. But I can end up getting depressed due to the frustration of negatives. Or situational
I find trying to make some sort of schedule can help a bit. Just having an activity that is at a set time because then you pretty much have no choice but to do it.
I have my own business so when I’m seriously unmotivated which is lots of times, I’d wake up at 8 , make sure the guys were all ready for there day then I’d just go back to sleep. But I’m really trying to not do that anymore but I try not to be too hard on myself. On my good days I just play catch up.
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Try not to see your problem as insurmountable and likely to last the rest of your life. That’s what I do anyway. Keep in mind that things are likely to get better in time. If you think your med’s are giving you trouble work with your pdoc to find med’s that don’t sedate you so much. You might try Sarcosine for the negative symptoms.
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