How many has jobs with Sz?
If you dont what holds you back positives? Negatives? Cognitives? Or side effects
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ive never had a job, right now the negatives prob hold me back the most, then the positives, cognitve doesnt matter to me much i think i could stock shelves or somethin
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I have a job interview this upcoming Thursday. It involves a role play exercise for half an hour.
I have no idea if I’ll get it but Id like to.
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Age 19 to 28 when on stelazine I worked full time although I wasn’t 100%
When started new medication I haven’t been able to work . Tried several times in early thirties to work but breakthrough symptoms meant I would walk out of temp jobs. I hoped I would improve and eventually be able to work but now I’m 51 .
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I’m held back by a back issue from physical jobs and anxiety related depression but it’s getting better so there’s that.
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I’ve been at my current janitor job for 12 years.
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Is that full time
Part time, 3 days a week, 6 hours a day.
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I lasted over ten years in the occupation I went to college for. I often don’t give myself enough credit for this. The SZ got worse over time and I had to quit.
I’m not working right now. Maybe I can work next year, if therapy goes well, and if I decide to try Invega and if this helps. The voices are a big distraction. I probably still see things that aren’t there. I often misread stuff. I get breakthrough symptoms even on 20 mg of Abilify. Anxiety makes things worse. My concentration and short term memory are poor. I worry that the bus system will be a unreliable if I do find work.
I’ve got great written communication skills, but I’m not so good at talking and the social stuff. Eye contact is hard for me. It’s easy for me to make a lot of mistakes if I get overwhelmed. In the last job, coworkers resented my presence. It would take me a while to list all the examples that demonstrate this…(or maybe it was the SZ distorting my thinking…I get gas lit all the time because of my illness. Example: “People aren’t that mean. You must be imagining it.”).
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What do you mean by breakthrough symptoms
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Before meds, I heard full paragraphs of talking. Some of it was scary, some of it just gibberish, and some of it was so interesting, I’d listen and listen.
In 2007 or 2008, I was at risk of losing my job, the voices got so bad. I was seeing stuff that wasn’t there, too. I went on Risperdal first, and this helped with noise sensitivity, voices, visuals, delusions and paranoia.
I’ve been on Abilify since 2010, which took the edge off the voices and other symptoms. I started off with 2 or 5 mg and it was eventually increased to 20 mg. For a while, I heard mostly random words, mixed with short sentences.
More and more voices have been getting through recently. Recently, I thought someone was following me, but I analyzed the situation using logic and realized it was a paranoid delusion. I’ve been put on 25 mg but this made me into a total zombie.
Voices and paranoia episodes that last up to a couple of hours every few days
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I’m too burnt out to work. I have only a slight grasp on my sanity and work distracts me.
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I sometimes feel that way. All my energy is diverted into just coping, I often feel I have nothing left over.
I’ve been broken for a very, very long time but I’ve managed to be employed most of the last 40 years.
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Are you affected by all symptoms of the illness
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I’m a professional Artist on Bandcamp & all the streaming services but i haven’t made much money, I’d have to tour to do that & fill up venues but I’m not at that stage yet 
I also do loads for my mental health charity & Radio Station
I study part time, it’ll take me upto 9 years to complete this integrated masters (BSc+MSc)
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I’ve never heard voices. When I’m working, I’m concentrating so much on the task I’m doing that the schizophrenia kinda fades into the background. I’m thinking so much about my surroundings and what I’m working on that I forget about my symptoms. They’re always there but for the most part, they’re lurking in the background.
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Negative symptoms definitely hold me back.