I have 10 aunts and uncles on my father’s side, 4 of which are diagnosed schizophrenics and one cousin on that side who is also diagnosed. Mental illness runs rampant through the rest of the family- not a damn person alive in the whole family tree is neurotypical. On top of that, I’m prone to bouts of paranoia where I convince myself that terrible things are going to happen or are happening. I only believe it on a subconscious level- I can sit there and say “that’s not real” and I know its not, but I’m still afraid that it is.
And these delusions never make a whole lot of sense. One was a zombie apocalypse delusion that went on for two years and I slept for two hours a night or so because of the amount of anxiety I had over it. And that’s coming from someone who’s slept 12 hours a night religiously since they were 8. I’m 18 years old now, and female, and no additional symptoms have manifested that I know about. I’ve developed a temper over the past year or so, but that’s it. I’ve been tested several times and undergone about three psyche evaluations and none of them so far have turned up positive for schizophrenia. On the other hand, these were just simple written exams. You know, scale of 1-10 type questions.
Is it worth another one? What are my chances of developing psychoactive symptoms? When could I expect that to become a problem?
Visit ur pdoc and have a good chat with him/her…
Women tend to develop the illness in the mid 20s, up to thirty. That will be when your at the worst risk. Also when you go through menopause eventually your mental health may get worse, especially if you are mentally ill.
Some women develop it earlier like in their early teens. But generally 24, 25, 26, 27, and older is when it strikes.
Listen to your pdocs, stay away from drugs and try to live your life.
I recommend getting a full psychiatric assessment involving a long discussion with a psychiatrist and not just a questionnaire.
Appreciate all the responses. Not that I want to ignore this, with all the “talk to your doctor” responses, but I live with people who will drag me to my psyche doctor if anything gets concerning. As for that psyche exam, if nothing comes up between now and then, I think I’ll put it off for a couple years because of financial situation and the fact that I want to get tested when it’s most likely to be caught. I don’t want to take an exam now and be clear, and then in four years I start finding it difficult to live alone and can’t figure out why.
It helps to know that there’s a community for it. So thanks you guys 
It takes more than genetics to develop sz. You are just anxious about developing sz. You probably don’t have sz. But to be sure, visit a psychiatrist or psychologist.
All I can say is some days I truly wonder if I took enough omega 3’s every day if I’d actually still have this Illness. Take omega 3s they help with prevention. And obviously no drugs sadly
Avoid drugs and stress and hope for the best. Sz is very hard, it is hard to be on medications. It is hard to live life with this disease. Get enough sleep always, sleep deprivation is a trigger. Maybe preemptively get on a low dose of an antipsychotic. You should have less side effects on a low dose.
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