Title says it all, just asking a question
I think the vast majority of us who use this forum are high functioning. Some are more capable than others but I do not think that any of us are low functioning.
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sure I can function while highā¦
Oh you meanā¦itās kinda funny really, whatās always prevented me from functioning in life is my anxiety disorder rather than my schizophrenia. The anxiety is a pre-existing condition so itās distinct from my Sz. Whatās always kept me from living life to the fullest is social and general anxiety not hearing voices or being delusional. I was scary functional when psychotic as I was never entirely out of touch with reality hence no one could really tell I was psychotic. I was able to exist in a duality of both sanity and insanity simultaneously.
But as far as aspiring toward a career or anything, I have a pretty sweet deal with my social security as it is and look forward to working part time at something I enjoy doing and just taking it easy.
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I dont tell anyone about my illness, and they donāt see anything is wrong with me, i am considered smart among people i socialize, but i am lazy and i cant help with the side effect, but i live kind of normal life even i have my struggling mind.
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Bro,I consider myself more of average functioning,I work,I maintain my fitness well,I have some hobbies but I also had my share of problem,like getting very anxious or less common I get psychotic,so I say I am average function but I am inspired my people who are high functioning on this forum,I want to be like them
Iād agree with Malvokā¦though even among high functioning there are different levels.
I have seen people on these forums that are on the lower level of high functioning, meaning in and out of hospitals, having real problems in simple social situations, extreme paranoia, etc.
Idk if I can even answer this properly because I never actually had a strait SZ diagnosesā¦they always avoided that one and the worst one I got was SZA bipolar. Even that was dropped though, so it only stuck for a couple of yearsā¦ However had I told every single vision and experience I had to certain doctors they may have diagnosed me SZ. I have been lucky to have had a couple spiritually understanding counselors though, and even the strictly secular ones only gave me the SZA-B
I do not work and had problems with working for others yet am highly motivated to work on my own stuff - in other words i dont just sit aroundā¦
In society i am ok but I do avoid large crowds for extended periods of time, as well as cities. But have no problem communicating with most anyone.
Relationships, not a problem - the only real problem had been finding the right person who was on the same level of understanding and passion, which is extremely difficult but not impossibleā¦and I rely on Gods guidance and help with bringing such togetherā¦I donāt go for casual, temporary, love-less, partial, or just a sex partner type relationships so have had a bit of down time at times. The waiting is well well worth it though.
I also took 1 year of college and incorporated a lot of my experiences (that might be considered symptoms) into my work which got me some top grades, even if some students looked at me a bit oddly for itā¦
Iād say Iām fairly high-functioning. I work 40+ hour workweeks, and have minimal symptoms.
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I do work 40 hrs a week. Only I have no motivation to do anything else.
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I work 40 hour work weeks. I have many symptoms. And I often wonder how I manage to get anything done at work or home (often times I donāt get what I set out to accomplish finished or even started). It is a daily struggle.
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i feel fine, want to go back to work. but Iām waiting out the heat to make sure Iām ok, then I plan to go back.
i am going to change what I do, no on call work, no long hours, try to keep the stress level down. I tend to get hammered with alot of work because Iām good at what I do. but then getting calls at night and weekends stresses me out. Iāll have to give up my biking, I can see that 
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I do realize that everyone on this site is high functioning, some more than others. I do think that I am on the moderate side of high functioning - if this makes sense
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The title is āWho here considers themselves high-functioning? If so, how highly functioning?ā
I was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia about 7 years ago. I have worked for more than the last 5.5 years straight, with most of that time being covered with full time work, and about 6 months of it being very close to full-time work. In my first episode before the diagnosis, I was arrested and put in a holding cell, due to behavior caused by my admittedly severe psychosis at the time. The prosecutor plea-bargained for 2 years probation because she seemed to believe the truth that I was quite insane. Since then, I had one psychotic episode after my original psychiatrist weaned me off the medication entirely after my first two years (about) of full-time employment. I managed to stay employed and keep working full-time during that episode, although my manager was informed by people that I wasnāt doing my job well for a couple of weeks. I can function well on an extremely low dose of medication, but apparently I have trouble when Iām on no medication at all. I donāt believe that Iāve had any other episodes, other than those 2. Iām currently on 1 mg of Haldol daily,.
In my experience, when someone who was diagnosed with schizophrenia shows that they are āhighā functioning like this (for a schizophrenic), the psychiatrists start to back off of the original diagnosis and start saying it was a misdiagnosis: The person must have been something else (something less āsevere,ā I guess) like schizoaffective, or schizotypal, or something. Schizophrenics supposedly canāt function that well on low doses of medication, I guess. So, my psychiatrist now says she is sure I am not a schizophrenic, and I must be something less severe, like maybe schizoaffective or something, but Iām not sure that sheās made an official re-diagnosis.
Was it a problem with the initial diagnosis, or is there some problem with the term āschizophreniaā and the diagnostic methods or expectations altogether? Am I actually a partially recovered schizophrenic, when schizophrenics arenāt supposed to be able to recover that much? How should I know? Iām just a lowly schizo-whatever type of something.
HOW high-functioning am I? Iām not sure how one determines that objectively. Iāve managed to stay employed in U.S. civilization. Is that the type of functioning you are talking about? Or are there other accomplishments that are expected to be high-functioning? I havenāt won a genius grant like Dr. Saks, or a Nobel prize like Dr. Nash. I think even Dr. Saks has been told she couldnāt possibly be a schizophrenic because she is TOO āhigh-functioning,ā although she seems to disagree.
I do, however, have dreams of accomplishing something big some day; and, maybe it is a delusion, but I donāt see why it would be impossible at my current level of functioning. I also donāt see why I canāt improve my level of functioning with some recent advancements in popularly-available technology, to that end.
So, yeah, I consider myself to be a person who was diagnosed with schizophrenia who is āhighā functioning for that diagnosis. I have very little idea how to decide āhowā high-functioning I am, though.
Does that answer your question?
AberrantSalienc
P.S. Thanks to everyone for helping me past my relationship dilemma a few days ago, and thanks to Chris for his great post on becoming a contract programmer. Iāve tried to give back to the community for a few days, and based on the likes that Iāve received, I guess Iāve done that a little bit. Iām going to try to wean myself back off of posting for a while though, because posting on these types of forums can become a little addictive for me. Iāll probably be back when I want to trade insights for a while, though. Thanks again!
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I too am a programmer. Nice to meet you.
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That is probably true. I have functioned on no medication. yet I have seen people with SZ diagnoses stop meds and still function - maybe not super high functioning, but enough to get by in society , usually without working though.
Although I have not worked for an employer in 8 years, I have done some self employment, and prior to me stopping work I knew it was getting to the end of the line as far as working for others. Iāll be honest - I am a ādo the job my wayā person and often that has led to being let go because they wonāt tolerate someone thinking or working outside the box, even if some of my work antics increased business or lowered production time.
Then my back started hurting and I would have to take breaks on my time, though I could come back and catch up on the work fairly easily.
I did however make sure I worked my butt off for 5 years and saved to get my own property so I reached and passed that goal by age 43
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In the context of this thread what are we classifying as high functioning? Certainly no one here is probably that low functioning. However never having worked , not having any friends, and having residual chronic problems, i am not sure i would go as far as to say i am high functioning. Moderate functioning, maybe.
Thank you, Malvok, for enhancing our ability to answer the question posed by this thread.
All right, I looked over the inventory, and I think I do well in every category besides āforms and maintains friendships.ā I have formed many friendships, but my maintenance has been sort of inadequate, as compared to some others on this board, who have telephone conversations with their friends once per week and such.
i thought i was high functioning and then i see people on here say they work 40hr shifts and iām like wtf lol, i guess i must be medium functioning as i have not much symptoms and can socialize quite well.
I would not be working the 40 hour shifts if I didnāt have to. I just have no other choice in my situation. It is not easy that is for sure.
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If i was assessed on that. 1-5= 5 , 6 and 7= 5, 8=4,9=5 , 10=4 , 11=5 ,12=3, 13=3, 14=2,
15=4, 16 and 17=3, 18=1, 19=3, 20=4, 21=5, 22 and 23=5, 24=2, 25=5, 26=4, 27=3, 28=4, 29 and 30=5, 31=3, 32=4, 33 and 34=5, 35=3 (based on track record with oral meds) , 36 and 37=5.
As never worked had to guess the rest . 38 and 39=3 ,40=2, 41=5, 42=4, 43=3