Schizophrenia

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Here’s a free collection of resources about schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder- Schizophrenia blogs, videos, support groups, first-hand experiences and advice from people who have schizophrenia, etc.

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Schizophrenia Blogs

Here’s a list of schizophrenia blogs- blogs written by people with schizophrenia, or about schizophrenia.

****Email alexbalinski@gmail.com to submit your blog to this list.***

NIMH Resources	nimh.nih.gov/health..schizophrenia	2017
Schizophrenia Resources	schizophrenia.com	2017
Mind.org Resources	mind.org.uk..schizophrenia	2017
SARDAA Resources	sardaa.org	2017
The Schizophrenia Blog	theschizophreniablog.com	2017
A Journey With You	ajourneywithyou.com	2017
Overcoming Schizophrenia	overcomingschizophrenia.blogspot.com	2017
My Personal Recovery	mypersonalrecoveryfromschizophrenia.wordpress.com	2017
Schizophrenia Subreddit	reddit.com/r/schizophrenia	2017
Pretty Sane Blog	prettysane.com	2017
Schizo Tiger	schizotiger.tumblr.com	2017
Web MD Resources	webmd.com/schizophrenia	2017
Schiz Life	schizlife.com	2016
Schizophrenia At The Schoolgate	schizophreniaattheschoolgate.blogspot.com	2016
Schizophrenia Blog	schizophreniasucks.blogspot.com	2014
The Wife Of A Schizophrenic	the-wife-of-a-schizophrenic.blogspot.com	2012
World Fellowship For Schizophrenia	world-schizophrenia.org	2011

Schizophrenia Support Groups

Schizophrenia Support Groups On Facebook

Other Schizophrenia Support Groups And Forums

Schizophrenia Survey

We’re surveying people about their experiences with schizophrenia. Here will be a collection of their responses.

*This information is not meant to replace medical advice, and the information gathered via surveys may or may not be correct. Hopefully it will be helpful to you!

*Response format = Answer (Name, Age)

**Click here to share your experience with schizophrenia**

Schizophrenia Symptoms

What symptoms have you experienced?

Auditory, visual, kinesthetic hallucinations. Delusions. Flat effect. Lack of concentration. Fits/tantrums. (Ebony, 15 years old)
Suicidal and hearing voices plus depression and add/add as well as anger issues. (17 years old)
Dissociation, hallucinations (auditory + touch + some visual, but very little of that), delusions (including prolonged delusions), disorganized thoughts, difficulty with boundaries and how my actions affect others. There’s more, but I’m tired and my memory is bad and I’m bad at lists. (Vic, 17 years old)
Auditory, visual, olfactory, and tactile hallucinations and delusions. (Chrissy, 19 years old)
Delusions since a young age, voices, periods of complete loss of reality, some disorganized thought and speech, lots and lots of negative symptoms. (Anonymous, 20 years old)
Delusions, some hallucinations, paranoia, hard time organizing thoughts, can’t concentrate very well, can’t socialize, hard to leave house, lose time, dissociation pretty much constantly, etc. (Kieren, 22 years old)
I have experienced audible and visual hallucinations, along with catatonic hyper activity. (Waylon, 22 years old)
Hallucinations and paranoia, obsessive thoughts. (Seyf, 23 years old)
Delusions, confusion, voices, psychoses. (James, 24 years old)
Hallucinations. (Felice, 25 years old)
All types of hallucinations, delusions, obsessions, disorganized speech and thoughts, that’s what I can think of at the moment. (Jessica, 26 years old)
Depression, suicidal thoughts, aggression, homicidal thoughts, auditory hallucination, visual hallucination, disorganized thoughts, irrational thinking. (Quinn, 26 years old)
Voices, paranoid. (Crystal, 28 years old)
Visual, audio and tactical hallucinations, paranoia, mood swings. (Tesa, 28 years old)
Seeing and hearing shadows. Lights. Sounds. Music. Various random noises. (Sean, 31 years old)
Hallucinations, delusions, voices. (Anonymous, 31 years old)
Auditory hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, flat affect, cognitive symptoms. (Anonymous, 31 years old)
Hearing things, delusions and find it hard too keep a schedule. (Kyle, 32 years old)
Delusions, hallucinations, paranoia. (Sydney, 32 years old)
Paranoia, visual, auditory, sensory hallucinations, suicidal, homicidal ideation, dissociation, depersonalization, self harm, uncontrollable rage, mood disorder, anxiety, severe irritability, delusions, eratic thoughts. (Lesley, 33 years old)
Audio/visual hallucinations, internal psychosis, hyper mania, suicidal thoughts. (Alex, 34 years old)
Delusions. Hallucinations. Anger. Depression. (Michael, 34 years old)
Voices, paranoia. (Sara, 34 years old)
Auditory hallucinations, anxiety, ADHD, depression. Short term memory. (Tracy, 36 years old)
Hallucinations, paranoia, mania, psychosis, loss of reality. (Michele, 39 years old)
Paranoia, thoughts of suicide, feeling that others can read my mind, negative vibes, I feel that others judge me. I feel out of it. 80 pounds gained weight. Numbers mean something. Panic attacks where I feel like I’m going to die or pass out. (Leigh, 41 years old)
Paranoia, delusions, hallucinations. (Brandey, 42 years old)
Mild voice in head (meds are doing it job). (Loretta, 48 years old)
Auditory and visual hallucinations. A sense of superiority. A sense of having a deep secret knowledge. (Tina, 49 years old)
It’s my daughter who is suffering. (Val, 57 years old)
Voices mostly. (Karl, 66 years old)

Schizophrenia Causes

Is there anything you believe contributed to your schizophrenia?

Bullying/environmental triggers. (Ebony, 15 years old)
Yes my ptsd. (Juan, 17 years old)
Childhood emotional neglect and emotional abuse. (Vic, 17 years old)
Genetics, infection at birth, and/or toxoplasmosis. (Chrissy, 19 years old)
Genetics, stress, abuse. (Anonymous, 20 years old)
Unfortunately I don’t have many memories of growing up so I don’t know. (Kieren, 22 years old)
Early childhood trauma. (Waylon, 22 years old)
Childhood traumas. (Seyf, 23 years old)
Possible tainted marijuana. (James, 24 years old)
Stress and drugs. (Felice, 25 years old)
My PTSD going untreated. (Jessica, 26 years old)
Wheat and sugar, https://healthvialife.wordpress.com/2017/03/08/tear-gas-analogy-health/. (Quinn, 26 years old)
My bipolar. (Crystal, 28 years old)
My first suicide attempt at 13, overdosed and had symptoms after that. (Tesa, 28 years old)
Seeing and hearing Shadows. Lights. Sounds. Music. Various random noises. (Sean, 31 years old)
Traumatic life experiences. (Anonymous, 31 years old)
Stressful home environment. (Anonymous, 31 years old)
Not sure, maybe from my father. (Kyle, 32 years old)
Trauma. (Sydney, 32 years old)
Genetics and trauma. (Lesley, 33 years old)
Stress, victimization, depression. (Alex, 34 years old)
Childhood victim of bullying. Parents divorce. Drugs. Life. (Michael, 34 years old)
Genetics. (Sara, 34 years old)
Post traumatic stress and a drugging. (Tracy, 36 years old)
No. (Michele, 39 years old)
Drugs. Inherited (I am MUCH worse). (Leigh, 41 years old)
I don’t know. (Brandey, 42 years old)
When I am alone in panic and hear things. (Loretta, 48 years old)
Being raped. (Val, 57 years old)
ADHD, dyslexia, religious people, lack of knowledge of mental hygiene as a child, confusion over what is normal in adolescence. (Karl, 66 years old)

Schizophrenia Facts

What are some interesting facts about schizophrenia?

Schizophrenics tend to be the victims of crime rather than the perpetrator. (Ebony, 15 years old)
Hearing voices, depression, anger issues. (Juan, 17 years old)
There is no cure. Every case is different. (Chrissy, 19 years old)
Apparently there has never been a case of schizophrenia documented in someone blind from birth. (Anonymous, 20 years old)
I don’t really think it’s interesting, it’s just hard to live with. (Kieren, 22 years old)
98% of Schizophrenics smoke. (Waylon, 22 years old)
The fact that people don’t know how scary it is, and hard to deal with. (Seyf, 23 years old)
People keep their basic personality. (James, 24 years old)
You feel like your not on earth anymore. (Felice, 25 years old)
People don’t fit the stigma. People literally don’t believe me when I tell them I have schizophrenia. (Jessica, 26 years old)
Meds are not the only form of treatment, and are often not effective, https://healthvialife.wordpress.com (Quinn, 26 years old)
No day is the same. (Crystal, 28 years old)
We’re not all the same. We’re not all dangerous. We want to be treated like everyone else. (Sean, 31 years old)
Everyone is different. (Anonymous, 31 years old)
It can strike anyone anytime. (Kyle, 32 years old)
It’s manageable with the right medications. It’s not “multiple personalities” like most people think. (Sydney, 32 years old)
We don’t all hurt people. We’re not psychopaths. A lot of us have high IQ’s. We can be very artistic in many different forms. (Lesley, 33 years old)
It’s a chemical imbalance. (Michael, 34 years old)
It is mostly based on stress. (Michele, 39 years old)
Believing that thoughts are real. (Leigh, 41 years old)
Many schizophrenics are geniuses. (Tina, 49 years old)
Living in more than one reality, which is something most people can’t conceive. (Karl, 66 years old)

Schizophrenia Difficulties

What are the hardest aspects of living with schizophrenia?

The stigma surrounding it. (Ebony, 15 years old)
Your family support. Like your aunt and Grandma not believing this a medical condition. (Juan, 17 years old)
Not being able to tell most people because they’ll just get freaked out. (Vic, 17 years old)
I have about five hallucinations a minute, and they can by physically tiring to my brain and then just plain annoying. In my case, I am treatment resistant, so I find it stressful at times that there is sometimes no stability. Gaining weight because of the meds is another hard one. (Chrissy, 19 years old)
Negative symptoms, stigma. (Anonymous, 20 years old)
Getting through the day, functioning like a normal human, not knowing what to believe and people using that to their advantage. (Kieren, 22 years old)
Feeling like a burden, finding a job, because a lot like the military, are impossible to do with schizophrenia. (Waylon, 22 years old)
I can’t trust anyone, so I can’t get intimate with anyone, thus, loneliness. (Seyf, 23 years old)
The voices yelling at me. (James, 24 years old)
Judgement and constant worry. (Felice, 25 years old)
The stigma. (Jessica, 26 years old)
Strain on marriage, developing communication despite complications of schizophrenia. (Quinn, 26 years old)
You are lucky if you make it another day. (Crystal, 28 years old)
Not being able to trust your own brain. (Tesa, 28 years old)
It sucks because you constantly live like you’re never alone. You take a bunch of meds which cannot cure schizophrenia, they just help to manage it. Who’s really real and what’s only real to you. I always have my mind to keep me company. (Sean, 31 years old)
Voices and symptoms of schizophrenia. (Anonymous, 31 years old)
Dealing with people. I feel I come off as standoffish, when I’m actually very careful in what and how I say (it). Because I have a monotone, and I don’t understand jokes and sarcasm most of the time. I also am very wary around strangers, because I feel they are making judgments based on how I present myself. (Anonymous, 31 years old)
Daily tasks, mood and delusions, taking meds. (Kyle, 32 years old)
Sometimes you question what’s real and what’s not. It’s hard to function at times. (Sydney, 32 years old)
Between paranoia delusions and stigma, it’s a horrible world to live in. (Lesley, 33 years old)
Not having it recognized as a disability. Medication only does so much. (Michael, 34 years old)
Day to day functioning. (Sara, 34 years old)
Listening to others while my others speak to me, the diagnosis seems outdated and not applicable to my life, but I do hear voices. (Tracy, 36 years old)
Trying to maintain level of sanity. (Michelle, 39 years old)
Paranoia of going anywhere…..especially when going in a large store, like Wal-Mart. (Leigh, 41 years old)
The symptoms get so intense. (Brandey, 42 years old)
Being alone. (Loretta, 48 years old)
The hardest aspect of living with schizophrenia is to get through the day without scaring my family. (Tina, 49 years old)
Losing my children, she says. (Val, 57 years old)
Hardest thing I experiences was when I was living out of sync with time. Depression sometimes is very hard. Fear of telling others what is going on in my head. (Karl, 66 years old)

Schizophrenia Advice

What encouragement/advice can you give others who have schizophrenia?

Hang in there, and take your meds. They may make you feel bad at first, but I guarantee it will help. (Ebony, 15 years old)
See a therapist. Or psychiatrist and medicine. (Juan, 17 years old)
Take your meds. Even if you think they don’t help as well as you’d like. Hang in there/keep taking your meds, and talk to your doctor about switching them. Use grounding skills and coping skills. Always try to fight any impulses. Always try to fight the hallucinations away, because you don’t want a pattern set in your brain so you keep hallucinating. Seek help and know you’re NOT alone. (Chrissy, 19 years old)
Don’t listen to ableist douchebags. The stigma is garbage and you are great. (Anonymous, 20 years old)
I wish I had some advice or encouragement to offer. I’m still figuring it all myself. Perhaps that it’s not your fault. (Kieren, 22 years old)
Keep fighting, and taking your medicine. Don’t ever give up. (Waylon, 22 years old)
Take the meds- it’s really working, at least for me. (Seyf, 23 years old)
Stay strong. (Felice, 25 years old)
Just keep fighting, and try to be positive. Do what’s best for you. (Jessica, 26 years old)
Check out what I do, I am certain it can help: https://healthvialife.wordpress.com (Quinn, 26 years old)
Try your best and take your meds. (Crystal, 28 years old)
Take your meds. (Tesa, 28 years old)
Be patient with yourself and your loved ones. Love you for you. Don’t ever give up. Find something you’re good at- a hobby, a game- anything. Most important. Write everything down. Seriously, write everything down- whether it’s good or bad. It will help. (Sean, 31 years old)
Fight the fight. (Anonymous, 31 years old)
If you’re in a rough spot now, find someone you can trust. Let them help you. Take your meds regularly. This is a lifetime condition, so better come to terms with taking meds for the rest of your life. (Anonymous, 31 years old)
Take the meds even if you feel better. (Kyle, 32 years old)
Talk to your doctor about finding the right meds. Symptoms can be managed. (Sydney, 32 years old)
Fight hard. Do your very best to keep on medication. Always tell your psychiatrist if you notice a decline, even the slightest. It can make a difference. (Lesley, 33 years old)
Music and art. Nature and spiritually. (Alex, 34 years old)
Take each day One moment at a time. Acceptance is better than tolerance. (Michael, 34 years old)
Just keep moving forward, seek help. (Sara, 34 years old)
If you’re going to be a schizophrenic, be a happy one. (Tracy, 36 years old)
Stay grounded. (Michelle, 39 years old)
Things do get easier. (Leigh, 41 years old)
Don’t give up. (Brandey, 42 years old)
Take med like are written out and sleep like a full night sleep. (Loretta, 48 years old)
Develop your own coping strategies rather than trying to research others! (Tina, 49 years old)
Don’t give up. If meds don’t work for you, be honest about it. Don’t isolate, as it makes everything worse. You are not defective. Yes you will have a more difficult time doing normal things other people do, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be successful. Alcohol and drug use will make everything worse. (Karl, 66 years old)

Schizophrenia Diet and Exercise

What’s been your experience with diet and exercise?

It helps improve my mood. (Ebony, 15 years old)
Up and down. (Juan, 17 years old)
I don’t diet because I’m under weight, and I don’t exercise because I have no energy. (Vic, 17 years old)
I had no motivation to exercise and stick to a diet in the first three years of my illness. I’m on a new med called Vraylar, and it has helped immensely. I now exercise at least 1-5x a week and have lost 45 pounds of the 125+ that I gained from meds. When I exercise, I feel the serotonin kick in because of this med. I’m also able to stick to a diet of 1500 cals a day. (Chrissy, 19 years old)
Doesn’t really do much for me. (Anonymous, 20 years old)
I try but I always forget after a day or two. (Kieren, 22 years old)
I don’t diet and exercise. (Waylon, 22 years old)
I cycle professionally, normal diet. (Seyf, 23 years old)
I am vegan now. (James, 24 years old)
Not the best but exercise is a key to health. (Felice, 25 years old)
I’m not good at that. (Jessica, 26 years old)
Exercise is very good, diet is the most important part: https://healthvialife.wordpress.com/2017/03/21/fueling-your-bodys-own-recovery/. (Quinn, 26 years old)
Did not try it. (Crystal, 28 years old)
I don’t stick to anything very long. My depression stops me from getting off the couch most of the time. I eat a lot of fast food because I’m too tired to cook and clean. (Tesa, 28 years old)
Some days are better than others. (Sean, 31 years old)
I do not really exercise, but should. (Anonymous, 31 years old)
I gained a lot of weight on risperidone, and I was on it for years before I actually noticed I’d gained weight (I wasn’t paying attention, because I was busy being a patient, haha). So I try hard to exercise and have more fruits and vegetables in my diet. But it’s hard to prepare food (and the thinking ahead it entails) when I do not even have motivation to get off the bed, or I’m rushing to go to my volunteer work. Though I can cook more now. And I have more exercise. (Anonymous, 31 years old)
Can’t keep a routine, meds madw.me.gain weight and higher cholesterol. (Kyle, 32 years old)
It doesn’t affect me much. (Sydney, 32 years old)
Exercise is a great distraction and helps with mood. Diet however- a lot of medications increase appetite, which is unfortunate. (Lesley, 33 years old)
Too much or not enough. (Alex, 34 years old)
Hard to find motivation. (Michael, 34 years old)
Sometimes helpful. (Sara, 34 years old)
Not much. (Tracy, 36 years old)
Hard to make my self get around. (Loretta, 48 years old)
Good diet and exercise help, but it isn’t always possible to include both. I do try my best to do both. (Tina, 49 years old)
It is hard to stick with a diet or exercise as it can be self-defeating if I put too much emphasis on probably not succeeding. (Karl, 66 years old)

Schizophrenia Treatments

What’s been your experience with treatments (medication, therapy, etc.)?

I haven’t found the right medications yet. As for therapy, it definitely makes a difference. (Ebony, 15 years old)
Risperidone and psychiatrist. (Juan, 17 years old)
Nothing has worked, because my parents lead all of it. (Vic, 17 years old)
I have treatment resistant schizophrenia/schizoaffective, so finding a med to work has been the struggle the past three or so years. Vraylar has been the only med that has kept me stable for eight months so far. I’m currently working on CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy) with my amazing therapist. I struggle with keeping the hallucinations away, because I get overwhelmed with how many I have, so I sometimes give up and let them roll through. (Chrissy, 19 years old)
I’m finally on a cocktail of meds that work wonders for me. Therapy has been somewhat helpful. (Anonymous, 20 years old)
been on a lot of medication, done some group therapy, dbt, cbt, regular therapy, had some various brain scans. (Kieren, 22 years old)
Medication and therapy have made a world of difference to the good in my case. (Waylon, 22 years old)
Medication works for me, but changes a lot of things that I don’t want to change. (Seyf, 23 years old)
I have not yet tried medication. “They” don’t want me to. (James, 24 years old)
Medication Lurada has brought me back to reality. (Felice, 25 years old)
I’m allergic to a lot of meds, so I don’t take them. (Jessica, 26 years old)
Medication eventually fails, therapy can help if you are healthy enough to apply the principles. (Quinn, 26 years old)
It helps. (Crystal, 28 years old)
Most meds make me too tired to function. I just stay on anti depressants and anti anxiety meds. (Tesa, 28 years old)
Meds are hit and miss. It takes a while to get them right and sometimes doctors are ok, but don’t let that overwhelm you. Always, always, always do any and every type of therapy you can. (Sean, 31 years old)
Therapy, respirdone. (Anonymous, 31 years old)
I think I’m lucky that I was prescribed the right medication by the right doctor, and that the side effects were something I’m able to handle. My doctor also introduced me to CBT and books that can help. (Anonymous, 31 years old)
First time being medically compliant for almost a year. Before court order, hospitalizations. (Kyle, 32 years old)
It helps me manage my symptoms. (Sydney, 32 years old)
Some medication was a big fail. Thankfully I have a good mix. It depends on everybody. We’re all different and complex. What works for one won’t work for another. Trial and error unfortunately. (Lesley, 33 years old)
Many different meds over years. Five different therapists. (Alex, 34 years old)
Medication: different types. A lot of weight gain. Side effects. Therapy: helpful. (Michael, 34 years old)
Not very helpful …therapy is good. (Sara, 34 years old)
I do not take medication. (Tracy, 36 years old)
Makes me feel better about myself. (Michelle, 39 years old)
On and off. (Leigh, 41 years old)
It does not affect my symptoms. (Brandey, 42 years old)
Very well. (Loretta, 48 years old)
My experience of meds and therapies were really good for the first 10 years or so after diagnosis (while I was also researching and learning as much as possible about schizophrenia). After 15 years on meds I decided I had learned enough about my condition that I could probably live well enough without meds. I stopped meds for five years and went slowly but surely downhill…five years on and I am now back on meds, and have started feeling in control again. (Tina, 49 years old)
She hates having her injection. (Val, 57 years old)
Meds don’t work for me; I end up with the same problems, with side effects from the meds, and end up not being able to function. Working with a psychologist is good if I am honest about what is going on. There is generally a lack of support groups. I know very few people with schizophrenia, though I know there are a lot of people with it. It is very difficult to talk with another person with schizophrenia if they are unwilling to try. I can’t work with people who tell me what I experience isn’t real or delusional; what I experience is very real for me. (Karl, 66 years old)

Schizophrenia Recommendations

Anything you’d recommend for someone with schizophrenia?

Activities you like that can improve your social interactions. (Ebony, 15 years old)
Medicine and a therapist. (Juan, 17 years old)
Find something that comforts you. (Vic, 17 years old)
The medicine Vraylar. (Chrissy, 19 years old)
Community and medication. (Anonymous, 20 years old)
Don’t know. (Kieren, 22 years old)
I recommend keeping your mind occupied. (Waylon, 22 years old)
Seek help- from anyone or anything- pray even if you don’t believe. (Seyf, 23 years old)
Your not alone. (Felice, 25 years old)
I triple check everything, I can see and smell it, but can I feel it? (Jessica, 26 years old)
Check out my story, do what I do: https://healthvialife.wordpress.com. (Quinn, 26 years old)
Talk when you feel like no one is listening. (Crystal, 28 years old)
Find a doctor you trust. Its okay to see many doctors before you find one you can open up to. (Tesa, 28 years old)
Don’t give up and don’t get mad at yourself for something you cannot control. (Sean, 31 years old)
Take your medication daily, do not skip a dose. (Anonymous, 31 years old)
If you have someone who can take care of it with you, get a dog. Or some other pet. It helps, because there’s someone who will love you no matter how paranoid you get. (Anonymous, 31 years old)
Know your triggers, try to tell what’s real and what’s not. Take a shower even though you don’t want to…a hot shower can make you feel better. (Kyle, 32 years old)
Meds. (Sydney, 32 years old)
Be truthful with your doctors. Don’t hide anything. Learn to confide in someone you trust. (Lesley, 33 years old)
Take your medication and reach out for help. Join a group of like minded people. Try Faith in God. (Michael, 34 years old)
Peer support. (Sara, 34 years old)
It does not affect my symptoms. (Michelle, 39 years old)
Clozaril works best. (Leigh, 41 years old)
Meds help some. (Brandey, 42 years old)
Take meds all the time not when you feel like it. (Loretta, 48 years old)
Look at things you do right in life. Find something to do to keep you around other people. Isolation is very bad. (Karl, 66 years old)

Schizophrenia Resources

What specific resources have you found most helpful?

Medications. (Ebony, 15 years old)
Medicine. (Juan, 17 years old)
Resource online and friends. (Vic, 17 years old)
Psychiatrictimes.com. (Chrissy, 19 years old)
Community by far. Groups on facebook, blogs on tumblr, irl support groups, etc. having friends who support and love you is the most important imo. (Anonymous, 20 years old)
Haven’t really found any yet. (Kieren, 22 years old)
A good prayer life. (Waylon, 22 years old)
Anything about philosophy, pharmacology, chemistry and biology. (Seyf, 23 years old)
Not much at all. (Felice, 25 years old)
Therapy. (Jessica, 26 years old)
https://healthvialife.wordpress.com. (Quinn, 26 years old)
Family. (Crystal, 28 years old)
None. I’m on my own. (Sean, 31 years old)
Hearing Voices Network. (Anonymous, 31 years old)
The book Surviving Schizophrenia by E. Fuller Torrey. crazymeds.us too and psychologytools.com. Also, Mike Hendrick’s articles and The Mighty. (Anonymous, 31 years old)
Cognitive therapy and doctor partial hospitalization program. (Kyle, 32 years old)
Therapy, medication. (Sydney, 32 years old)
Distraction techniques, like listening to music, going to the gym, swimming, watching a movie, taking a nap, doing what we can to push through to the best of our abilities. (Lesley, 33 years old)
Meditation. (Alex, 34 years old)
Psychology. (Michael, 34 years old)
Talk therapy. (Sara, 34 years old)
None yet. (Tracy, 36 years old)
DBT. (Leigh, 41 years old)
Counseling. (Loretta, 48 years old)
The internet and social media have given me more access to limited discussions, and where I might go from here. (Karl, 66 years old)

Schizophrenia Stories

Share your schizophrenia story.

I’ve always had some sort of hallucination. I always thought it was normal, but then people started distancing themselves from me. I finally decided to look into it, and went to the doctor. At first they diagnosed me with psychotic depression, but later rediagnosed me with schizophrenia. I’ve been trying to hang in there ever since. (Ebony, 15 years old)
Yes. (Juan, 17 years old)
I was diagnosed when I was 15. I was misdiagnosed with ADD and was prescribed Adderall. Once I took it, it sent me into psychosis. And since I’ve been diagnosed with schizophrenia/schizoaffective. (Chrissy, 19 years old)
I’ve had symptoms since I was like 8, wasn’t diagnosed until college. Had several big mental breakdowns with severely exacerbated symptoms/psychotic Episodes. Finally got on some meds that work. (Anonymous, 20 years old)
Started noticeably developing schizophrenia symptoms when I was around 17. It might’ve started earlier but it wasn’t noticeable until then. Went through a lot of testing to make sure it wasn’t a brain tumor or lymes disease or something else, all those results came back negative but I still think that maybe there is something in my brain or that its being eaten or something and it wasn’t caught on the medical devices or that the people kept it a secret from me. I ended up dropping out of college 2 times and failed a bunch of other classes. Am currently enrolled in more courses right now but they’re all online. Went in and out of hospital, have done group therapies about 4 times in 4 years, also did inpatient but that was an extremely bad experience that made my symptoms worse. Been thrown around to a bunch of different therapists… my first therapist told me she couldn’t help me anymore and told me to go find someone else. One of my other old therapists told me that I just had a sixth sense but I never actually told her about any of my symptoms because I never felt comfortable around her. I’ve never really been able to talk about my symptoms. I get really bad delusions sometimes and when it gets really bad I start hallucinating (usually visual). I usually see dead things. Once I saw a dead dog in my room, but it was walking around. I’ve also seen severed heads. I also hear this high-pitched squealing sound sometimes, like a kind of signal. I haven’t been hearing it lately but I also haven’t really been out in public, which is where I tend to hear it more. I don’t really hallucinate that much though, its usually delusions. Sometimes I can recognize that something might be a delusion but usually I don’t notice until I’ve calmed down a few days/weeks/months later or until someone tells me. To me it’s still real. I don’t know how to explain that. I kind of feel like I’m onto something and people just don’t want me to know so they say I am being delusional. Sometimes the television or radio talks to me so I don’t watch things very often unless it’s animated. I also developed a hand-tremor which I think has to do with my medication, sometimes it spreads to my whole right side instead of just my right arm, and sometimes to my left side too. its really really hard because I live in a rather abusive household and I cannot leave because I don’t have an income and have trouble holding a job and don’t have any friends. The people I live with don’t actually believe I have anything and are constantly telling me to pray to God and that it’ll all go away and I won’t have any problems anymore. I used to get these notifications when people were digging into my brain and stealing/implanting thoughts but I actually haven’t noticed that lately. But, again, I haven’t been out in public places often and it tends to happen more in public places. It’s really hard. I don’t really have a support system and I don’t feel comfortable talking about my symptoms to other people. My grandmother told me I was possessed by a demon when she found out I had depression. I don”t even want to know how she’d react if she knew I have schizophrenia. It’s very isolating and alienating. I hope this made sense and wasn’t confusing to read. I left out a lot because I wasn’t sure how to write it out/I’m having trouble remembering it all. A lot has happened the past 5-6 years to my mental health. I was officially diagnosed with schizoaffective (bipolar type) along with a few other mental disorders about 2 or 3 years ago, I don’t quite remember the exact time. There was a lot of figuring things out and I don’t think they wanted to give me a diagnosis until they could better pinpoint what I was dealing with. I went through a lot of different professionals. (Kieren, 22 years old)
I’ve had schizophrenia since I was a child, I would hear these voices and I thought they themselves where only thoughts. Then I got saved later in life after episodes of drug abuse, (I was self medicating and didn’t know it) My therapist called it “religiosity” I became very religious, I thought the voices were God speaking to me, and I would follow their commands and do rue missions they gave me to do, because they would threaten me and say “I’ll fill you with sorrow if you don’t.” Finally it all boiled over, and I was walking around with my hand out because “it was full of the voice of the Lord” and he would speak to me from my hand. I later learned the voices were just hallucinations and I thank the true God for that, after I learned that I can ignore the hallucinations. (Waylon, 22 years old)
Diagnosed with OCD 4 years ago, after that SCH, 3 years ago got into an institution. It didn’t help. Medicine got me fat, exercised to burn that fat, met a girl, fell in love with her, she destroyed my life, SCH got worse, now just treatment, and trust in myself and my doctor. It’s bad, but I can manage. I don’t want to go into details, unless I’m asked. (Seyf, 23 years old)
Too much to share. (Felice, 25 years old)
I was diagnosed at 24 in January of 2016, nearly lost my job due to missing days from allergic reactions to meds, stopped taking meds, managed to keep my job with only a week suspension. I have my good days and my bad days, but I’m making it. (Jessica, 26 years old)
https://healthvialife.wordpress.com. (Quinn, 26 years old)
As a child I suffered several severe head traumas and was treated by my doctor who gave me improper med dosages and it affected my growth and development. I was also abused by family members, and left on my own at a young age. (Sean, 31 years old)
I was diagnosed at age 29. I struggle with symptoms of schizophrenia, but have had great success with medication and now my symptoms have subsided. Success is possible with this illness. Dedication, strength and persistence with proper treatment, is key. (Anonymous, 31 years old)
I’d like to say that being an activist helps to keep me grounded. Though I still struggle with schizophrenia (and of course, the unjust system), I’d like to think that I am in a better place, because I am an activist. Being an activist provided me with tools to better analyze situations. Also, activism provided me with a strong support system, much more than my own flesh and blood. In fact, more comrades know of my condition and progress than those I used to live with. Though I still have internal stigma because of the stigma I’ve experienced. I haven’t gone public with my diagnosis; I just tell people I’m comfortable with, and those I’d like to encourage to see a doctor. It’s still a struggle, and I know it will always be. But there are days that make the struggle worth it. (Anonymous, 31 years old)
I deal with paranoid thoughts. I think people can hear my thoughts. I hear and see things sometimes. I have very little motivation and sometimes don’t shower for days. I also have episodes of detachment. (Sydney, 32 years old)
I grew up with a loving family. Mental illness runs in our family but it was hidden from us as kids. I experienced trauma in a few different forms and at 14 experienced my first hallucination. It wasn’t until I was 17 I had a complete psychotic breakdown. That’s when family and doctors realized something was very wrong. I was completely delusional, extremely paranoid and had erratic moods. I was sectioned and in the hospital, and that’s where I found out a lot of our family had different forms of mental illness. I started to self harm, to cope with many different symptoms. I’ve been sections a few times when I don’t take my medication, but I do my level best to keep going. (Lesley, 33 years old)
Had an imaginary friend and he didn’t go away for a long time. Eight times in hospital and several different types of medication. Hallucinations, delusions and psychosis. Anger. Loss of many jobs. Misunderstood. Recently my faith in God has proven effective. I hear no more voices and I am able to control my delusions by handing it over to Higher Power. I still take Medication and I am working with Anger. (Michael, 34 years old)
Diagnosed at age 17, gotten worse from there to date, voices are obnoxious and come through fans and my music. (Sara, 34 years old)
I was diagnosed and I had no idea, but after receiving my medical records I live daily. (Tracy, 36 years old)
I am 39. I have constant delusions since I was a child. My paranoia is high but it is sometimes controllable. (Michelle, 39 years old)
Well thought everyone out to get me. Heard voice that told me to get dressed because people/ a man was coming to get me and that my daughter’s boy friend was taping things. (Loretta, 48 years old)
Very long and complicated. (Karl, 66 years old)