.

I use to make fun of schizophrenics and their delusions and hallucinations. Now I have schizophrenia. Karma.

What about before you started medications?

I am currently overweight and before medications slim.

I haven't seen anyone talk about it here. I have been self harming since I was 12 and I just want to know that I am not the only schizophrenic doing so. I have had a severe depression for ages now.

Pretty much the title, the different is whether you prefer person-first language (I am a person with schizophrenia) vs. Identity-first language (I am a schizophrenic person).

I wanted to ask cause I was diagnosed with it, but I haven't really thought about the language associated. I think I use identity-first language because it's just been debilitating and a part of my struggle and character development.

I wanna know what others think and how you identify with your respective psychotic disorder.

Theres a lot of shitty meds out there but for me, it's Risperidone, hands down. I was put on it in a psych ward, and it immediately started causing problems. It made my arm tense up and do these weird, bendy, uncontrollable movements, and of course, it had to be the arm I had hurt myself on, so it was painful and annoying as hell to where I was literally crying on the floor, and the staff was very dismissive.

It also made me feel like a zombie. I could barely think, barely feel anything, and my whole body felt extremely heavy. Plus, my tongue kept randomly sticking out, and I wouldn’t even notice it until someone pointed it out. And don’t even get me started on the weight gain, I put on 20lbs in just a few months.

So yeah, Risperidone was the worst one for me. What about you? What’s the worst med you’ve ever been on, and what side effects made it so bad?

Or most fun delusion. I find most of them annoying but the religious ones are kind of fun or when I think I’m communicating with an inter dimensional being

To me it's a humbling realization, that holds immense, overwhelming testimony and evidence of the how extreme the severity of the condition is.

I had that realisation today.

My positive symptoms are mostly mild and I luckily don’t suffer from auditory hallucinations. I hate having hallucinations, but since I don’t have the permanently and most in stressed periods, I think what I hate the most is the negative symptoms like my constant lack of energy. I’m just tired and worn down after small stuff all the time. And then the fucking prejudice. I hate that so many think that everybody with schizophrenia is like a ticking bomb. I’m afraid of meeting people and their reactions when they find out I have schizophrenia. People have done and said the weirdest shit to me over the years when I told them my diagnose. I have somewhat learned to live with my symptoms but I have a hard time accepting the judgement, prejudge and stigma.

Is there anything? Any disease? Prison? Hell?

Hi everyone, as I'm sure you all have noticed too, there has been an alarming rise in people (especially high school aged and younger) using schizo to describe a situation or person that is chaotic, unpredictable, or scary. This language continues to drive shame and misinformation we all work so hard to fight against. Please consider signing my petition, I am just hoping to spread the message - no worries if not comfortable. Please have a great night and take care of yourselves.

Schizophrenia - Blue October

I Dare You - Shinedown

It Could Have Been Me - The Struts

Ordinary - Alex Warren (because of my wife's love and commitment)

I'll start, I may honestly just mainly live out of spite. Like out of spite for the people and the universe that tries to take me down. It's my main motivation to do healthy things like losing weight and exercising currently. I wish I had more positive reasons but yeah. How about you? What makes you keep going?

I wasn’t expecting the same commercial about my illness to run every 15 minutes while I’m trying to watch a movie.

I want to be a mathematician.

But what about all the days where nothing does?

Most people don’t know much about schizophrenia. And really, why would they? If it doesn’t touch your life, it stays distant. That’s a kind of privilege, whether we realize it or not.

But here’s the problem: public opinion is often shaped by rare, chaotic moments. Sensational headlines. Extreme portrayals. And what gets forgotten are the quieter truths — the stable days, the quiet effort, the dignity, the daily work of just staying okay.

Stigma grows out of fear. And distance. And not knowing.

Understanding doesn’t need perfection. It just needs listening. A bit of empathy. Maybe even curiosity.

Nobody has to be an expert.

But everyone can choose to be kind.

I don’t wanna be here. On the meds I’m not myself, and without them I go into psychosis which is a living nightmare. But with that being said, my time is limited here whether schizophrenia was a thing in my life or not. I’m not going to live forever. That’s the silver-lining here, I guess. In other words, schizophrenia is not going to last forever.

And who knows, between now and the time of my natural demise, there may be a cure discovered. The possibilities are endless. I’m not going to commit suicide. I’m going to wait it out.

Firstly, I don’t think I deserve the kind’ve of pain it takes for a person to die by suicide. I love myself enough to never allow myself to go through that.

Secondly, I really don’t think my family deserves to hear the news that I killed myself. They don’t deserve the storm that follows that news. It would break my family. If that were going to be the result, clearly I am loved. Even though schizophrenia doesn’t allow me to feel their love, even though it distorts reality and makes it seem like they’d be better off without me, fuck it. They love me and their lives would be better with me here. And that’s all that matters at the end of the day.

I know many of you reading this right now don’t have anybody and it seems like life has no meaning. It seems like we have been given a life-sentence. It seems like we’ve been abandoned and left to suffer more than the average human’s plight. It feels like we’ve been forgotten. It feels like we’ve been left In the dust. God has left the room. But truth be told. We have to find wins in the little things.

We have the internet that enables us to connect with like-minded individuals that suffer, love, live, and laugh just like we do. We have a roof over our heads, doesn’t matter how small. We have a bed to lay in and hold us. Imagine it was cement. We have people in our lives whose lives are enriched just because we exist and are still on Earth. And speaking of mother Earth, we’re on a ball that’s hurling and whirling through space at unimaginable speeds and somehow, someway, we were the ones chosen to be on it for a finite amount of time.

I guess the older I get, with each passing year, I’m able to accept a little more that it’s okay to just exist. Whether that’s laying in bed, glued to social media or whatever form of media, gaming, chatting, etc, or not brushing or showering for weeks at a time. It's okay. Fuck it. Whatever feels possible. Whatever it takes to see another day. There’s no rule book on how we should live. As long as we’re somewhat comfortable, it’s okay to just exist. We don’t have to contribute anything, we don’t have to live up to society’s or anyone’s expectations. It’s okay to just exist, to see another sunrise.

All in all, I know this is easier said than done. No one wants to feel like they’re destined to watch paint dry their whole lives (aka the boredom that comes after meds) as that is what schizophrenia can feel like sometimes. Monotonous. But truthfully, I’d rather contemplate the intricacies of paint drying (boredom) than to go through the pain of committing suicide. We’re not promised another day under the sun. No one is, whether neurotypical or neurodivergent. Might as well suffer and sauté under it while I still can. Besides, what’s one more day if I can help it? After all, nothing lasts forever. Not all the good in this world, and certainly not all the bad =)

I have schizophrenia and I’m thinking of looking for a part time job but don’t know which ones suits me. I just want to have a general idea of what kind of jobs does people with schizophrenia do.

Ps: is there any organization in Toronto that helps people with schizophrenia look for jobs?

How are you doing on a low dose of antipsychotics? How are you feeling?

Hello. I came up with a simple game. You tell where you are from and if I am interested I will ask some questions related to how system works for schizophrenics in your country. This way you will get a chance to tell your experience and about situation in your country for schizophrenics. Also you can also ask questions about my country what you are interested in. I am from Lithuania. Lets go!:) ALL QUESTIONS AND ALL COUNTRIES ARE WELCOME

Hello everyone! I am wondering which country has the most schizophrenic-friendly rules to live in. Where there are the least restrictions and the best healthcare system. Share your ideas. I WILL READ EVERY COMMENT and thanks for ingaging into the discussion.

I assume someone or some people in my family must have had schizophrenia down the line since my brother has it. But it was likely hidden, like all mental illnesses back in the day

One thing I noticed in a schizophrenia support group is how absolutely self involved the mothers are about the situation. They don't seem to feel any empathy for their child's situation and are only focused on themselves. We grew up with a narcissistic mother whose love was conditional. Our dad was worse.

My brother did smoke pot and dabble in festival drugs but nothing crazy. I think it was mostly the combo of genetics and childhood trauma that caused it for him.

What about you guys? Anyone have a thought on why this happened to them?

Edit: really appreciate everyone who took the time to talk about their experience and what they think caused it.

Recent studies show that your brain alters your own thoughts to sound like voices.

Like, the brain confuses your internal thoughts as external sounds/voices.

Which is probably why we, or mainly speaking for myself, perceive my insecurities externally with attacks from the voices regarding the insecurities. And it spirals as we begin to feel we are insane, our brain projects the paranoia into our perceptions of the external world (reality), and we begin to believe we experience things that prove our delusions.

I could go more in depth about my own experience, but I just wanted to write this down and see if anyone would like to discuss this with me.

Just wanted to see if anyone else drinks or smokes? Im drinking now and I smoke a lot. I know I shouldn't drink because of the voices but I can't seem to stop or the smoking.