The following blog article was written by Scott Bernard... Thank you, Scott for sharing the information. This type of support will undoubtedly help countless individuals. As individuals with schizophrenia can relate, different people can express very different transitions between psychosis and their baseline state. Some individuals experience the transition as an on-off switch. Initially they may have near perfect insight into the cause of their hallucinations, and the flawed logic behind their delusional thoughts. Then suddenly, they may lose nearly all insight into their condition, and whole wholeheartedly believing in their delusional thoughts, or having trouble differentiating their hallucinations from reality. Then there is another group of individuals who possess a level of insight which tends to fluctuate up or down more gradually. Rather than going from a complete understanding of the cause of symptoms, to a complete lack of insight into the driver of their symptoms, this group...
It's not the medicine that reminds me I have a diagnosis; it's ongoing self-monitoring. Every day I follow my self-care regimen. It helps me; rejuvenates me and enhances my functioning. I embrace it. Frequently, I take steps back to redirect and regroup in order to move forward. Lately, I've been working diligently on projects and striving to uphold that beast mode to get positive results. However, I must force myself to slow down to control stress. Even if it's created by good stressors. Even if I'm determined to finish something and pull an all-nighter, I stop myself and go to bed at a decent hour. I don't want to activate mania and it to worsen into my schizophrenia symptoms. When I'm working hard on tasks, I must increase my self-care rituals. That means making time to practice more stress reduction techniques to boost my energy and uphold that drive. Sometimes, I take a brisk walk around my neighborhood. Other times I stop to listen to nature sounds t...