yesterday i was diagnosed with schitzo affective disorder. with possible bipolar disorder. also i am diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder. i am happy to finally know whats wrong with me but i am also still very discouraged. i have small kids to care for and it puts alout of stress on me and my disorder. i struggle everyday with the voices and hallucinations. the paranoia and the depression. along with my anger and anxiety. i dont know how to cope.
Hi @bethanykeaten420 - Welcome to this site - First of all being diagnosed with SZ or SZA - bipolar is NOT a death sentence. Dont let the diagnosis scare you. Please know with a proper plan in place, the illness can be treated and managed. Finding the right doctor - psychiatrist is vital. He or she will be prescribing you medications that can help manage the disorder. The right combo of meds may take some time - but you will get there with some patience.
Therapy - support and educating yourself can help as well. Living a healthy lifestyle through good eating habits also plays an important role. Good sleep habits and some exercise can help as well.
Things might be a bit intimidating at first - you may even be feeling a bit overwhelmed. This is quite natural,but know that if you take things one step at a time - stability and contentment can be achieved! Good luck with everything 
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You are at the right place and this site can be a useful resource in coping up with your illness. I can tell you that you are not alone. You will find many who will come forward to comfort you in your time of distress. So please feel free to share what you think about other things. Any advice you want or even if you just want to share what you are going through, you are more than welcome to talk about.
The big thing is that you accepted the truth. Now you have the chance to be recovered. Keep your spirits high, take your medicines regularly and don’t lose hope. For anger and anxiety, keep yourself away from the people who are depressing. Spend some portion of your time with your parents/siblings or friends with whom you are very close. The fellows who understand you. Go for walk, read good books, adopt a habit that interest you and just keep moving patiently. I hope you’ll find your coping-up mechanism soon. I wish you best of luck
I was recently diagnosed myself, so I don’t have any words of wisdom, except to say it’s not the end of the world. You’ll probably be searching for a lot of solutions to this problem — I did, anyway — and I hope you find one that works for you.
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You are at the very least able to feel happy for knowing what happen,when I was first diagnosed I couldn’t even feel happy,just take things slowly and listen to your heart and take medication
@bethanykeaten420 Hello! My name is Brittany. I have two little ones, one is 4, the other is 6 months. I was diagnosed about 4? Months back with schizoaffective bipolar type. I am doing fantastically on the medication the doctor prescribed to me, I really feel wonderful. Listen to a good doctor and kick this in the behind.
**Welcome Bethany!
All good advice—hopefully you have a support team too…family, doctors… **
thought i would say hi.
Wave is right, it is not the end of the world, know some one cares.
take care
Over time voices, paranoia, and hallucinations have lessened to the point they are no longer detrimental to me. I think medication is a good first step and so is therapy. I encourage trying meditation hypnosis and finding a mood stabilizer is recommended for bipolar/schizoaffective.
My new psychiatrist said schizoaffective is a way of saying you have bipolar with psychotic features. So it’s two disorders combined as one, but schizophrenia means psychotic disorder whereas bipolar means you have some mood stabilization and energy issues.
I hope you feel encouraged on this site to keep taking care of your mental health.
My psychiatrist for some reason said that schizoaffective disorder and bipolar are the same thing. I guess that sometimes the line between the 2 different disorders runs very thin at times
Look for support wherever you can find it. Are finances a problem? There might be government programs to help you. Your church, the local psyche facility, close friends - look around for the right kind of help. You found this site. That’s good.
hello…it is nice to meet you…i hope you find strength and encouragement on this site…