Schizoaffective Disorder

LegacyUser

Regular poster, unreggie for now!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizoaffective

I have been diagnosed with the above. I have to say it's not the most fun you can have on a Saturday night.

I guess my PI is really does anyone have experience of this, does any suffer this? Just wondering, beyond the wonderful world of doctors etc what you do that you find helps? I'm trying to be more healthy but this thing can really drag you down, and down some weird tangents too!

I, obviously, find drink, funny ciggies etc a bit of a bad idea, but am drawn to them all the time so I have to sort that out.

You can't really tell anyone in work as I KNOW in my place the stigma etc will stand against me.

Sorry such a terse message, I'm in work and just thinking aloud!

Thanks
Me!

thebaldsoprano

Hey, firstly I'd never even heard of this, let a alone have it, but I took the liberty of doing some digging/asking around since noone else seems to be, and here's some stuff that might be useful:

http://www.schizophrenia.com

This has boards on it that might help address health issues related to your condition and meet other people aswell.

Also:

http://www.grow.ie

These guys have meetings and people go with everything from mild depression/anxiety up to full schizophrenia.

It might be a good place to meet new people and talk about what's on your mind. I've heard the meetings are quite formal though, not sure how true this is, but hey - there's always coffee afterwards

Also, there is light a the end of the tunnel, for some people anyway. A mate of mine (about 20 years older than me) had pretty bad paranoid schizophrenia and more than a few very hard years. He's now been stable for a long time, has loads of friends, a stable job and a nice enough gaff. Also excellent company with a bit of a different outlook on things to put it mildly, which I really like...

LegacyUser

Also regular, also unreg-ededed.

Family member of mine is having a psychotic episode from the last 2 months. Her mother died a month ago and we gather that from the stress of it all has sent her into a nervous breakdown - shes had a history of them over the years, very rare though.

Among other things she's convinced she is being advised by her dead father and has done all manner of crazy ****. I was on the phone with her the other day and she was rambling on about how this isn't reality. Its a Seinfeld Episode. Its the Wizard of Oz. It is reality, but it's Fantasy. The next day she tried driving her car, nearly got into an accident before the police stopped her and tried to run into traffic presumably to kill herself. The problem being she's been hospitalised 3 (now 4) times in the last month for this but because of laws and regulations they cant keep her after she stabilises - which she does in hospital.

The big problem is she refuses to take medicine because she doesnt think that she needs it. For the love of god OP, accept help on this. If you are given medication, please take it. Before things get out of hand and you become a danger to yourself or to others.

Overheal

well before it gets out of control you need to admit you have a problem, admit you need help, and accept that help. When your perception on whats real and whats fake begins to get stirred up you may not know what or who to believe later, so its important you act on this while you still have some semblance of control.

LegacyUser

Overheal wrote: »

well before it gets out of control you need to admit you have a problem, admit you need help, and accept that help. When your perception on whats real and whats fake begins to get stirred up you may not know what or who to believe later, so its important you act on this while you still have some semblance of control.

Hi, Thanks a million for the replies. Just in relation to the above, I am getting this looked after profesionally, not trying to find weird solutions here or medical advice. Guess I'm just curious who else has or has encountered this really. And what can be done outside of what the pros are doing!

I work a steady, respectable job. I have a long term GF and hobbies that I find a little hard to persue, so I'm doing well in those regards...

anyways thanks again.
Me!

thebaldsoprano

Well, you seem to be doing a lot better than some people with no mental health issues, best of luck!

PS, I'm sure you've heard this a million times before, but go easy on the wacky backy, it's not exactly renowned for helping with this kind of thing

Flamed Diving

thebaldsoprano wrote: »

Well, you seem to be doing a lot better than some people with no mental health issues, best of luck!

PS, I'm sure you've heard this a million times before, but go easy on the wacky backy, it's not exactly renowned for helping with this kind of thing

Agreed, avoid recreational drugs like the plague. I would give the booze a break for a while.

Overheal

yea, probably best to leave the brain to run in neutral for a while without the feelgood chems

LegacyUser

Overheal wrote: »

yea, probably best to leave the brain to run in neutral for a while without the feelgood chems

Absolutely, and believe me I have been doing that, and it often works. I suffer a lot with physical pain from surgeries years ago and have vowed not go get on prescription meds for pain... again.

I used to buy some of the funny stuff and keep it for nights where I just couldn't cope, and I hate to say it but it often did work. But you're dealing with something illegal, from people you don't know and can't vouch for quality. It's a pity but that's the way.

Ah well, I'll keep motoring on, thanks again guys!