I’ve been ill for five years now and my symptoms aren’t getting better. Just wanted to know if anyone’s illness improved significantly after several bad years. What changed and why did things get better for you?
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Yeah it does happen a lot around here. Many a folk get good enough to lead decent lives and move on with things.
It’s all about the medications. Get those right for you and you can start on the little things that get you back into life. It’s not easy. Far from it because there’s no way of telling what works for each individual but it’s worthwhile having a good relationship with you doctor and working on finding what works.
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I’ve had this condition my whole life. And truly it’s something you have to work for. Time makes it better from what I’ve experienced.
you have to be open to learn new things about yourself try many things and see what helps you and branch out from that.
Try to find good coping mechanisms. Try to find people you can trust and turn to for support.
It’ll be ok man life has ups and downs. And I know you’re down right now and it sounds like you’ve been down for a while. But you can improve. I know I did and I know a lot of people have. You can too.
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The right meds, a strong support system, and something to fall back on when you can’t take care of yourself. I was mentally ill as a child, first diagnosed with depression at 18 and then schizoaffective disorder at 30-31 after a bout with homelessness. My first job after that was a greeter at Walmart. I now work in IT and am working on my master’s. Plus, I just got my first IT certification. I also have good friends and a boyfriend of 9-10 months. Life is good. It can be good living with this disorder; I swear. Take care of the basics and necessities and build on them.
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The right meds and security. You can go back to university and have a fulfilling life I did
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5 years isn’t that long.
I went without meds for about 2-3 years at two different times. One was when I was first learning to deal with it and the second time was about 8-9 years after I first started having symptoms. The second time resulted in the worst psychosis I ever went thru, it was incredibly complex and very strange, even after I was taken to the hospital by my very concerned landlady (who later i started a relationship with), I ended up in restraints and had to stay a while till I could get over most of it. When I got home I started taking meds again and spent a lot of time sleeping, trying not to dwell on any of it. Point of this way too long story is that, even though it took what seemed like a long time to work, it eventually erased most of my symptoms. I still have mild symptoms from time to time, but usually I feel pretty good. There were other factors in my recovery: having a stable place to live, a significant other who I could trust, and giving up on drinking and drugs for the most part. When I have relapsed on drugs, they were isolated events and I didn’t start using again after those. I drink once in a while, and sometimes I can overdo it to the point I regret going back to it. But the biggest defense I’v e had against being overwhelmed by my voices and other symptoms I had was realizing I had to stay on meds, to make sure I took them regularly, and to adjust or switch meds if I had problems. It’s never too late to start taking meds again. In time, it most likely can only get better. Hope this helps.
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Just hang in there, it may take some time but if you try your best to be the one in control of your reality, progress can be made. Almost a year ago today, I was locked up in a facility for a 4.5 month stay. That place destroyed me. The staff were evil, and there was other evil there that lingered.
For the past two months, I’ve either reduced or stopped almost half of my meds. Some others I take as needed, and the one I take a the max dose even though it doesn’t seem to work as strongly as they anticipated. They keep on telling me I need to take something stronger for my hallucinations. I told them that’s not going to happen. Their meds will never cure me and that’s ok, I can deal with this in my own way. And I’m dealing with things quite well!
Granted that’s not going to happen for everyone. But don’t let yourself become dependent on meds. They should not be your coping skill, but rather complement your coping skills. And don’t hurt yourself by wishing that this would go away and never come back. Likely it won’t, but that doesn’t mean it has to win. You can still have control!
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5 years into illness I was in my late 20’s. Barely working, depressed constantly, illicit drug addicted, I was in a bad spot. I can’t pinpoint when or how things got better, but they gradually did. 10 years after being diagnosed, I participated in the JumpStart fellowship (please google!). It was a safe place to learn, develop friendships and receive feedback. 5 years ago I changed my career outlook from anyone that would hire me to sales and marketing. Having consistent work elbowed out the depression and kept me accountable when it came to using drugs. I’ve had my hiccups (usually relapsing on drugs) but have managed to keep steady employment. It’s a journey and everyone has a different path. Advocating for oneself, direction in jobs/ career, and support of doctors, therapists and family-- most important factors in getting back on my feet.
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My first 2 1/2 years with schizophrenia were torture. I spent the first year and a half in a group home when I was 19-20 years old… I was basically not functioning in society the way a 20 year old man should be. I had no job, money, friends, sanity, school, car, or girlfriend. I spent months sitting by myself in the back yard of the group home fighting to keep my sanity.
I had not even one minute of relief from agonizing, impossibly severe symptoms. After the first group home, it was off to the psychiatric hospital for 8 months at age 21, locked up with about 70 other patients. I got put on meds but I still went through hell and my symptoms were still strong and disabling. The medication did not make me any better but stopped me from getting worse.
But I got out and was put in another group home but this one was clean this time and in a beautiful home in a nice neighborhood in an affluent city. Just being in a nice environment made my plight improve. The symptoms were there still, and strong but after 9 months I improved enough to get a job.
And then a car, and then living semi-independently. Then college and a couple of friends. I stayed at the job for four years even though I was probably psychotic very often. But that was 1984. In 2002 I was living on my own and renting a room in a regular house (non-mental health housing). I was 43 and some of my symptoms got better. Some of my delusions went away and a few more symptoms got less intense.
Now I’m 56 and looking back on working albeit mostly part-time. for most of the past 37 years. I had stints where I worked full time. I have a nice car and I live in a nice apartment with one other person. My symptoms are at an all time low. Today was my day off so I rested and made some phone calls and just leisurely ate breakfast and lunch and went to Jack-in-the-Box for dinner and stopped by Walgreen’s for a couple off items.
As I drove I enjoyed the night air and enjoyed seeing the stars. I stopped to fill up my car with gas and came home and straightened up my room and organized some paperwork for business with my dentist and my college class. Now I’m resting up for work tomorrow and just relaxing with a clear head, a quiet mind, and peace and quiet. And this is reality for me.
Am I cured? Nope, I don’t believe anyone gets a 100% cured. Never seen it in any of the myriad of hospitals and group homes I’ve been in. Even mental health researchers and professionals disagree whether a full recovery from schizophrenia is possible for anyone.
But I will borrow an old Alcoholic Anonymous axiom and say that recovery from schizophrenia is all about, “Progress, not perfection.” In other words, don’t strive for a perfect recovery, but just count on making improvements.
Many, many, many people gain some kind of recovery as they get older. It’s just the first few years that the disease seems to be at its worst. The first few years are the hardest. When I first got the disease, I was just like anyone else. I was just a young person thrown in with fellow sufferers.
I never gave off any sign that I would ever get better in the future. I was just one out of millions with the disease, no different than anybody else with it. I was nothing special. But I have improved and accomplished stuff. But there are basic thing we can do to aid ourselves in our own recovery and maybe make a better life for ourselves. I take my medication EXACTLY how prescribed. I see a therapist and psychiatrist regularly.
I try to eat right. I tend to not get enough sleep which is not a good thing because getting a good nights sleep is instrumental in recovery. I’m working on it though. But to get better, I followed what the doctors or counselors told me to do. I attended the groups, I joined the programs, I sat through the day programs, I went to family therapy.
And I did all this stuff for years and years and it paid off and now I am enjoying the fruits of my labor. I was talking to my sister not too long ago and I told her I was learning things about life and living life like I should have learned when I was young. We both agreed that learning about life at our age makes it even sweeter. Having knowledge is fun. Being older and mellower and tolerant is fun. Having older ladies my own age look at me in stores and give me looks of approval is fun because they can tell I’m a good person and that I turned out to be a good guy and I’m not causing trouble.
I’m not writing this to brag and I think you understand that if you’ve made it through this post so far. You asked for hope and this is what I’m trying to give to you. Just because you’re suffering now doesn’t mean you will suffer forever. There’s many people who are successful and carve out a little niche in life even with schizophrenia. Just keep an open mind and take direction and suggestions. I hoped this helped and I wish you good luck.
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Thanks 77nick77, I read the whole thing. You answered a question I had. Which is does it help with this illness when you are wiser with age. Thank you for that. I also think you enjoy the little things in life. I also try to enjoy the little pleasures in life.
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