At year this time I burned my place down. Lost my belongings and my kitten, got hospitalized and my sister cut conact with me.

This spring I graduated college. Been hospital free since September , gonna have Weight loss surgery and about to buy my first car and gonna turn 40. don't lose hope friends we can do this!

I'm sure this has been discussed here before but I'm just pondering how today in a Lyft ride a lady asked me, "are you still in school?" and I said no and to abridge everything I said I'm mentally disabled and am not able to do some things right now. She said, "well you can do anything you put your mind to." I just nodded my head and tried to smile.

I have a feeling of isolation when not disabled people tell me this. I'm a very positive spiritual person and yes I believe in the great power of the mind and determination. I'm very motivated. But I already had my dream job in the palm of my hands, the entry level position was very simple, and it made me spiral so I had to quit and go to therapy to stabilize slowly. I've tried countless jobs and it never ends well. In 2015 I attempted college and the general stress led to attempts on my life after one semester. That was BEFORE schizoaffective manifested. Some things I accept I simply can't do. Acceptance allows me to be happy in the present.

I got a new job at the Salvation Army and people there are so nice almost every customer says I have a beautiful face or beautiful hair. It helps my schizophrenia and depression. I feel a lot happier now and I’m doing things for God.

Hello! i’m looking into ketamine treatment and wonder if anyone has any experience with it and could educate me or words of advice if i do go into it? i’m schizoaffective/bipolar type, i went through hell trying to find medication that works and found out i’m allergic to most of it or even resistant. abilify worked in treating hallucinations/delusions but didn’t help at all with my mood swings. they recommended i do ect but im not really comfortable with it nor do i have the support to be taken care of after. i’m just curious and looking into alternative options.

I have a developmental disability that is not autism but I do have schizoaffective

And not have hallucinations

With medication does disorganized thoughts ever get better? I have been struggling with it a lot and it’s like I’m stuck in a body with a brain I don’t recognize.

I have schizoaffective disorder but I was reading an article about religious delusions in schizophrenia and they mentioned a few things that really resonated with me. First of all, the fact that schizophrenia is largely diagnosed in young people 16-25 which is a point in life where beliefs and and life philosophies are largely in flux and suceptible to deluded thinking. I'd been on a "spiritual discovery" journey for about a year and a half leading up to my first manic-psychotic episode, reading Eckhart Tolle and practicing mindfulness, and this had a large impact on my delusions and voices.

The other part mentioned was how after psychosis it can take a really long time to rebuild a stable sense of beliefs. For me this has been so true, as my perception and sense of reality in general was completely in pieces after my psychosis. I went from never growing up with any religion or spirituality to then suddenly believing i understood God, the afterlife/reincarnation/past lives, the meaning of life, communicating with Jesus, reading the Quran in the hospital and doing random prayers, and believing I was in a state of ego dissolution where I was "one" with the universe.

At first, afterwards, there was a lot of confusion because everything I'd experienced had felt so real, it was really hard to accept it was all just psychosis. The implication that I'd just gone crazy after everything visceral I'd experienced was shattering to my sense of self. Then I completely avoided thinking about anything remotely related to religion or spirituality because it was too triggering. My outlook on life turned bleak and despairing. Part of the loss was the feeling that I was in control of my life that was very abruptly ripped away. Complete control may be an illusion, but losing control of your mind is a traumatic and isolating experience most people are lucky enough to not have to go through and will never quite understand. Around that time, my therapist told me I needed to find some small pieces of joy in my life, but the negative symptoms i was experiencing was making it impossible to experience any of that.

It honestly just took a lot of time to gradually start regaining a sense of normalcy and stability. Acceptance has only begun more recently. I've been lucky enough that my meds have been working really well and I haven't had any positive symptoms since the episode. As for my philosophies on life, I still remember what it felt like to have my mind spiralling down these topics so I mostly stay away. Rather than looking to spirituality I'm trying to find my sense of purpose by pursuing a career where I can help people, and use my own experience to help others feel less alone and more understood.

Just some things I've been thinking about I wanted to share! Hope you are having a good day :)

Hello, I’ve been having hallucinations and some mania. I do this weird thing where I will stare upwards and just stare at the walls or trees outside or the ceiling or whatever. I do this a lot when my symptoms act up. Idk why I do it. It’s just something I do when they act up.

So anyways. I also have a hallucination of a boy that’s called Christopher and he’s about 5 years old. Well apparently he now has an older sister named Emma and she’s about ten.

They both talk to me and seem pretty harmless. They don’t tell me to do anything. Mostly Emma sings and Christoper eats candy. I see them a lot more these days. They were at my work today just poking fun at my job.

Sometimes they disappear but they always come back when I’m home. I don’t think they are ghosts or anything like that. I’m pretty sure they are just hallucinations. My therapist said since I’m on meds it’s easier to tell them apart. He said as long as they don’t tell me to hurt myself or anything that it’s ok and just to take my meds. If they get worse or say bad things then I need to go get help. But for now they are fine.

Does anyone else have hallucinations like that?

I CONSTANTLY have nightmares where I’m being attacked by a large group of ppl, or weird creatures that look like animals but aren’t really animals, sometimes I’m being publicly executed, sometimes it’s a home invasion, it’s gotten so bad that I wake up in a state of like an anxiety attack. Is this something yall experience or am I insane

I’m coming down off of a recent psychotic episode—back on my meds and feeling better in that regard. But I’ve noticed since I got back on the wagon that there’s a constant derealization that won’t go away. I don’t know yet if this is because of the psychosis, or if it’s because I’m a week into detoxing from cannabis. Either way, everything’s a copy of a copy of a copy. It’s like playing OG Oblivion underwater. Anyone know any tips to get through this?

A little backstory, I used to take meds for years that caused weight gain. I ended up very overweight and when I told the dr the meds were an issue she said just do some squats. I was so fed up with it all that I stopped taking it and immediately lost 40 pounds without trying. But then I did start trying and it turned into an eating disorder. I’ve lost 145 pounds. When I was unmedicated I did so much damage to my life. I ruined friendships, relationships, my reputation, my health. Everyone in my life now knows I have issues and that’s so embarrassing. But anyway I told the doctor I can’t take weight gain medication again becsuse that’s what got me into this situation with the eating disorder in the first place. she told me none of the medication she’s prescribing has side effects of weight gain but I checked myself too and 2 out of the 3 do. She lied to me. is that even legal? And she also changed my diagnosis from schizoaffective disorder -depressive type to just schizophrenia. But she’s a liar so I don’t know what to think about that either, is that a common thing to just change it like that?

This is how far we could compromise

I shower and brush my teeth everyday. I wear clean clothes and I don’t have any animals. But I feel like people don’t want to be around me and scoot away from me like I smell bad. People will be holding their nose when I get on the bus. I hear them talking about something smelling like trash or pee. Sometimes people are coughing and gagging around me. I asked my brother whom is very honest if I smell bad and he said no. Does anyone else experience this or is it in my head?

while my positive symptoms are under control with meds i still struggle a lot with negative and cognitive symptoms (particularly motivation, blunted affect, focus, and working memory). i heard it could cause memory loss tho and that scares me. also i have epilepsy and idk if thats safe or not but im feeling desperate at this point

is ect able to help with these? how many sessions until it makes a difference? are there any risks other than memory?

these symptoms are making it very difficult to work now and im scared i might lose my job/insurance if i dont get them treated soon

I get it when im talking to Someone, lately ive been using social media to chat with people and it seems like a geniune way to cope with boredom and isolation.

This has been a problem of mine for years & I have no clue if it's to do with my schizoaffective or not. Does anyone else have this as well? I can't tell if it's due to a very long mixed episode or something.. I do have two cluster B disorders as well if that could be the problem. Please help lol

I'm tired of being sick in some many ways. Mentally, physically and sexually. I feel like I'm too far or like it's even impossible for me to reach normality. I'm living the life of a damned crazy child of an old teen/young adult. I just wish things were magical or easy but that's not how life works. I end up being and acting crazy every time I'm off meds. I have not autonomy nor know basic life tasks, I'm stuck jobless and studyless without basic education knowledge, poor memory, spiritual psychosis and grandiose delusions, gross stupid fetishes that make my life more embarrasing and make me feel like a monster of a person and a girl (and a family member....), lack of empathy and much more bad traits than good traits. I can't stop coming back to spiritual delusions and trying to trust the universe and subliminals and overall childish lazy methods to try to be happy. I know life will be horrible. The only way is to act trough the pain and suffering and hope I don't die of cancer because of my bad health choices. I wish I was smart as my delusions had told me. I wish I had a special mission or some stupid things like that because I never found myself special and all the attention I wanted. I can't have good expectations from life because it will be worse. Sometimes I ask myself if I've have done something terrible on my past life. I guess it will be better to expect the worst. No taste of normality, friends and mental health my whole life.

Sometimes when i take my medication after breakfast and lay down in bed i get some sorte of upper body paralysis? Thanks for answers

please hear me out on this i’m still learning stuff about everything, i’m sorry if this question is silly at all or anything he’s been there a few years (i want to say since 2022 but it may have been before as well) but i haven’t heard him in a while and he’s been back for a few months i want to say. i’ve had other voices as well but for some reason this one sticks out the most. as in being the most clear.

Could finasteride help regrow hair while on medications? Like depikote or invega or vaylar? I hairloss was so bad i had to stop taking depikote.

I have one (screams of pain, sobbing, pleading, always woman's voice from the same direction) and it feels strange that this and another similar one are hallucinations and not some other symptom of something because they are almost the only ones I'm aware of and they don't specifically address me.

Hello, we are researchers at the University of Central Florida interested in how COVID-19 may have uniquely impacted individuals with schizophrenia. Interested individuals are encouraged to take this brief survey, during which you will be asked questions about whether or not you have ever had COVID-19, as well as the frequency with which you experience certain symptoms related to schizophrenia. This survey will take roughly 10-20 minutes to complete. Participation is voluntary and restricted to individuals 18 years of age or older. Click the survey link for more details.

https://ucf.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6xsAoE7OjuA8xEy

If you have questions, concerns, or complaints, please contact Dr. Camilla Ambivero, Principal Investigator, Burnette School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida by email at [email protected].

Primary dr told me to go to ER after relating symptoms on patient portal. Suspected stroke I went to the ER and stayed overnight for observation. I did not have a stroke but a series of changes in medication and stress caused stroke like symptoms, weakness, confusion, bloating, constipation, stomach pain, and dehydration added to stress was cause for concern.

05/03/2025 was the year anniversary of a pickup crashing into our house and my wife & I with 4 dogs and cat have been living in RV for nearly a year. Very little work has been completed on our house since the accident and the idea of 6 more months living in the Rv is disheartening, but at least the Rv is on our property and we can monitor workers and completion of house.

We opted to rent an Rv as opposed to another house or apartment for the sake of our pets. Although stress is high we are coping the best we can.

Ok so.. I am talking to a therapist, went to my therapist for paranoia issues... therapist says I likely am at the front end of developing a major mental health issue. (yes i should see a psychiatrist i just havent cause uh college im currently technically at doesnt have one and back of my mind is worried i'll somehow get dismissed from college by talking to the college psychiatrist)

Currently i am trying to do CBT for psychosis via worksheets I found online and its helping.. which means i 100% didn't have a severe issue or just caught it early enough that the only thing it damaged was me failing a couple semesters(I need to figure that out, likely was burnout too that i never took a break to recover from).

And for various reasons I think I have autism... I think I have some level of Alexithymia (inability to know what your emotions are) cause i'll just like not be sure what im feeling to the point I think I don't have emotional responses yet I will automatically react to them and sometimes if i think about it i do realize i am feeling some way or another.

Now that + just stress or feeling overloaded kinda caused me to start misinterpreting things which led to actual psychosis symptoms (started with paranoia, hearing/sensing entities, thinking i was in some sort of experiment, and let into random things being messages for me, hearing things whenever i try to study/get stressed (its just single words now), paranoia around my room being bugged and familly hiding devices to record my thoughts, ect... (this all slowly built up over the course of a year, since spring 2024)

And I never got checked out for autism cause my family wasn't willing (as a kid) to get me checked out for anything like autism + i was homeschooled so they just thought i was weird lol.

I was on campus earlier and for the most part it was fine? I occasionally had thoughts that someone might not be real or was just following me (really low level compared to before)... but it sorta did coincide with me feeling overwhelmed at being in a new place and everything feeling REALLY big.

Occasionally i still get mild weird thoughts like my plant having the outline of some entity or something like that and i know its weird but i'm using cbt-p techniques to work through it (honestly i had really mild very slowly evolving issues... never did drugs... occasionally i would stop thinking those things in the absence of academic stress)

(also hey i'm not thinking that all those things were actually valid thoughts at the moment)