Apparently I’m schizophrenic. My official diagnosis is SZ - “without any specification.”
Sometimes I have an invasion of “loud” alien thoughts, but it’s more like a mix of internal OCD with a little psychotic twist, but besides that I have no delusions, I don’t hear voices and so on.
It’s strange that I struggle so much with SZ even though I’m without these psychotic symptoms?
I think the psychiatrists gave me an SZ diagnosis because of my negative symptoms and because in my youth, at the onset of my illness, I had more dominantly psychotic symptoms.
Our symptoms can change through the years. I was diagnosed sz back in the 1980’s with visual hallucinations but not auditory ones. Now that I am much older I rarely get visual ones and have auditory hallucinations frequently.
Also, sometimes we don’t even realize we are hallucinating or we can’t identify our delusional thoughts. You may have been delusional and the pdoc noticed it but you didn’t.
Lack of insight is pretty common in sz.
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True, our symptoms change. When I was younger I had a tendency to over interpret innocent behaviour from strangers as hostile to me, but besides that I have had no delusions, and the doctors say I have a very good insight into my own symptoms (they use me as a case for young psychiatrists exam where i talk about my symptoms to a student)
Perhaps there is just such a thing as schizophrenia without psychosis (my rare attacks of intrusive thoughts are the only “psychotic” symptom I have ever had).
There is something called “simple schizophrenia” a type of schizophrenia without psychotic symptoms, but I don’t live entirely up to the classification.
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I also struggle mostley with negative symptoms. I identify with my diagnosis “paranoid schizophrenia”. And I have accepted the diagnosis. I have had two doctors who have considered the diagnosis wrong. Personally I think it’s probably correct. I meet (or rarher have met) the criterion for the diagnosis. Delusions, visual hallucinations, disorganized speech. But now it seems gone. It lasted for more than six months aswell. But if the diagnosis could still be removed I would be quite happy. (Nice to find an other scandinavian. I live in Gothenburg in Sweden). 
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Hi, great, your symptoms are gone. I once heard that if you at any time have had the symptoms of schizophrenia the diagnosis can’t be undone (but I guess it’s wrong).
Yes, great to hear from another Scandinavian - I think there are several from Finland here. I have heard Gothenburg is a beatiful city. I never been there even i have been a lot around the southern part of Sweden
Negative symptoms sucks - especially the depressive, anhedonia-like symptoms.
The anhedonia can be painful. And it’s frustrating to notice that the level of functioning I had before doesn’t seem to recover.
I don’t really know if you can have a diagnosis of schizophrenia changed. My doctor says the diagnosis is not yet completly set. ( a so called “arbetsdiagnos”). But I am not to optimistic about it.
I can’t work out how to send e-mails on this forum. But if you can and you want to chat more you are welcome to send me a message🙂. Wish you a lovely day🌻.
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Oh yes, my level of functioning has declined too, but I hope I can regain some core functions step by step. I don’t care that much about the diagnosis anymore, but I still regularly feel how stigmatized it is when I tell someone about it.
Have a lovely day, you too.
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