So this friend I have been talking to online for a while good conversation and all. It’s great pass time talking to him. Well I decided to tell him I’m schizophrenic just to see how a person who likes me would take it and he immediately said how would I feel if he stopped talking to me. Damn it’s a cold world out here. Guess I have to get use to people I talk to and or date leaving because I’m schizophrenic. Lonely world be schizophrenic.
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Oh @Sleepy!! That’s awful!! What a terrible experience!!! People don’t understand, and they become afraid.
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Did you tell him how you would feel if he stopped talking to you?
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I’m really sorry you were discriminated against like that. I’m sure it really hurt. Don’t give up. There empathic people out there. @Sleepy
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Yes and no reply so I lost a good friend not even a person i date but friend.
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Yes it’s very hurtful but it’s something I have to live with. It’s very lonely being schizophrenic.
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I understand you had good conversation, but he was not a good friend. It’s a loss, and you will grieve. You will question if it was right to tell him, and you will fear telling more people.
I’m with @LilyoftheValley. There are people out there who care and are smart, kind, and accepting. I hope you make a better friend than he was!
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Man, people can suck sometimes.
Gotta have a stiff upper lip with this disorder. Think of the illness as a filter, you make it known right off the bat so you don’t stick around with false pretenses.
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You can always take the opportunity to explain more to him, even if he doesn’t write back. Explain to him what it means in your life to be schizophrenic, and how much you accomplish and do even with your illness! Teach him how his response affected you. Point out to him that you two were having good conversation and you had schizophrenia then. The diagnosis doesn’t change who you are!
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I will do that. I guess I will have to do this with everyone I talk to. It’s like a scarlet letter lol. I’m hurt now but I will become stronger I have no choice but to
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You don’t have to tell everyone you are schizophrenic. But if you decide to, it’s best accompanied by explanation. And include what you CAN do, not just what you can’t. I came public with my diagnosis around a year ago. Some friends I don’t talk to as much, some friends know but we don’t talk about it, and some friends I’m very open with. Still, I haven’t told all of my extended family yet or all of my husband’s extended family. I am gradually telling them. They are teachable moments. Society needs to learn, but we can also grow and be wise in how we tell them.
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Hoping the best for you!
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I dont broadcast my diagnosis - but niether am i ashamed of it.
If someone asks what i do for a living, i just say im claiming benefits.
Then i get the usual question of “you look ok to me?” - and then i tell them im Sz.
If they dont like it tough. There have been occasions when they dont know what to say.
Ive had the usual cliches of being known as dangerous and jekall and hyde blah blah.
But once they get to know me and i bought them a pint - they seem to be more interested
than scared.
Bearing in mind - it usually happened in the pub - so i never expected an intelligent response anyway.
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I really don’t recommend telling anyone that your schizophrenic. Let them see you for who you are not some label. It has horrible stigma and a lot of people will assume that your totally nuts. It’s just a dx and it doesn’t have to define who you are.
I’m sza and with the meds I’m on I can pass for normal easy most the time
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Well he bypassed it and just kept talking to me. I’ll just take it as he dont care yay.
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I’m sorry sleepy. I don’t use the term schizophrenic. i feel like there is a negative connotation with it. i say i have psychosis. at the same time i rarely tell people that i have it anyways. But that’s what i use.
one thing with this illness you really find out how people really are. This might be negative and it certainly doesn’t apply to everyone but what i’ve learned is majority of people in relationships are out for themselves. most people aren’t true friends. Now if you messaged him back and said you were someone that had psychosis but is really good at painting and able to sell art work. I wonder if they would respond…
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I’m glad. sleepy. you do find out who your true friends are with this illness.
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REALLY happy for you @Sleepy!!!
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What you should ask yourself, is, what is the desire you were trying to fulfill by wanting to be accepted as a schizophrenic.
Then, structure your interactions to lead up to the conclusion being the reveal.
Gay people, atheists, etc. go through this crap all the time, its not just us. Outing yourself to your friends or family isn’t a new concept we discovered.
So figure out what you wanted from that person and see if you can’t get it elsewhere. Random joe blow might not care that you’re gay, or he might be highly religious, that says a world about them and not a whole lot about you.
You’re not any different after having been blown off by this dude other then you found out he had some hangups about mental health and the people who struggle with it.
You don’t need validation from others to be happy with yourself. Even if you do want validation.
Some people can’t give that to you because of where they’re at and what they’ve grown up learning.
Maybe it still matters to him or maybe it doesn’t. I just hope you learned from it.
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most of the time i dont even have the opportunity to talk with people because everyone in my small circle knows that im schizo and im sure they gossiped it around and everyone who asks about me they get told since i live in a really small town.
i went about 10 years without a girlfriend but the first year i moved away to live in a group home for my sza i got a girlfriend. its stupid how bad people treat me here like they dont want to have anything to do with me. which in turn causes me to not like people to a certain extent because of the stigma that they hold.
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