I was diagnosed with sza over psychotic depression because psychosis is my primary symptom while the mood disorder is secondary (i.e. fixing my mood symptoms does not fix my psychotic symptoms, but fixing my psychotic symptoms has a tremendous effect on my mood symptoms). They said I have chronic psychosis, that I am, for all intents and purposes, schizophrenic. What about you? What symptoms are more prominent for you? Psychosis or mood symptoms?
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I’d say my depression is more prominent but I get intermittent psychosis as well
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The things that seems to affect me the most are my moods. My manias aren’t too severe but my depressions are pretty extreme. Every time I have gone to the hospital it has been during depression or a mixed episode. I do have a lot of paranoia and feel like the government puts thoughts in my head but I think I deal with those better than my moods. The moods feel all-consuming.
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I’m also sza. I manage my psychotic symptoms fairly well. But I find my depression, and moods to really be overbearing at times.
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My psychosis, definitely. 10 mg of Lexapro and 100 mg of Lamictal, and my mood symptoms are under control.
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Psychosis, I deal with that daily. The mood symptoms are controlled pretty well on my meds
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Properly medicated, my moods and psychosis are controlled.
If my meds are low or if by chance I am not on meds then my psychosis becomes prominent but so would my moods.
My big issues are delusions and paranoia off meds.
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This question is hard lol…
I would say my schizophrenic side is worse than my mood side.
Sometimes when im manic i still cant do things due to my paranoia.
I then enter a mixed state which sux.
But who knows.
I think my moods are pretty fugged aswell 
Regards
Wallafish
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Thanks guys! I was trying to see if it’s normal to be more schizophrenic than depressed or bipolar. It seems to me now that it can go both ways.
@anon39015889 I didn’t know you were sza. I thought you were sz. Sorry, it sucks that your symptoms seem to be all tangled up together.
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What do you take for your psychosis?
@1923mari I take 30 mg of Haldol for my psychosis. It keeps me down to only one or two breakthrough episodes a month, but it also makes me a total zombie. It doesn’t touch my paranoia either. Neither did Zyprexa, Geodon, or Abilify. My pdoc said nothing specifically targets paranoia. I take Klonopin for panic.
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Psychosis is prominent. I hardly have mood symptoms
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Thanks for responding!
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My mood and psychotic symptoms were always both severe and about equally bad historically.
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@anon39736208, How does your paranoia manifest?
It’s mainly my mood symptoms. I don’t halucinate a lot and it’s usually stuff like seeing a “shadow person” or feeling like a bug was crawling on me.
My mood however can be bad. Stuff like depressing thoughts and feeling down about myself. It can get bad enough where I can’t motivate myself to do anything for a bit because I don’t like myself that much.
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@SkinnyMe My paranoia manifests as immense fear that someone is going to murder me and my cat. I am watched and recorded every day because I am a gifted empath, but my meds suppress that ability. I have beings that watch me to make sure I take my meds or they will kill me. I also have other regular people who try to watch me through my windows so they can shoot me.
It’s gotten to the point where people shutting their car doors is enough to set me off - they’ve arrived to target me. It’s a little bit better when my husband is home with me because they don’t want to hurt him, just me.
I feel like I shouldn’t even post this because then I’m asking for more trouble…
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My only real problems are voices and negatives. My mood stabilizer does a find job of keeping me evened out, and doesn’t cause me side effects like the APs do.
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Mood symptoms by far. Negative symptoms are awful.
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