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Guest Blogger: Living With Voices: A Life, Not a Diagnosis

Overcoming Schizophrenia Guest Blogger: Author, Charles Porter — His work opens up conversations around: Living meaningfully with voices How identity exists beyond diagnosis What people often misunderstand about these experiences There’s a moment that comes early for a lot of people who hear voices. It’s not always dramatic. No thunderclap, no clear dividing line. It’s quieter than that. It’s the moment you realize you’re going to have to live a life with this. Not cure it. Not outrun it. Not wait for it to disappear one day like a bad season. Just live with it. And from there, everything changes. The way people talk about hearing voices tends to flatten the experience. It gets reduced to a label, then a prognosis, then a set of expectations about what a life will look like. Most of those expectations are narrow. Many are wrong. Because what often gets missed is that people who hear voices don’t stop being people. They build lives. They work. They fall in love. They develop routines, p...
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Maintenance

Today I’m in a good space. My symptoms are at bay and I’m not stressed. I continue to monitor my medication regimen on my cell phone. Also, uphold my daily routine and self-care practices. Self-Management What’s helping me maintain is staying connected with my doctor and therapist. I keep my appointments and share any concerns.  Participating in weekly support groups and staying busy helps me manage my stress. I keep my support system close by checking in with friends and family regularly.  Developing Skills I stay productive by working on projects through my new book coaching business, In Her Own Ink. Continuing my research and strategies to get new clients. Every day I strive to develop my marketing skills. For example, practicing my elevator pitch and learning habits to build the business. These activities are empowering. Constantly, recycling my coping tools while managing my business. Entrepreneurship is ideal for peers in recovery because we can control our time, and in...

Guest Blogger - Real Tools for a Noisy Mind: Building Resilience That Works

The following article was written by a long-time contributor, Adam C. He offers unique perspectives along with references for better insight... Thank you, Adam for your ongoing encouragement and articles to enlighten and further my mission that is to offer hope and reinforce the fact that recovery is possible! Anxiety isn’t always a sudden panic attack. It can feel like fog — a vague unease you can’t shake, the tension that makes your jaw ache, the racing mind that won’t shut up. No matter how it shows up, anxiety demands tools, not just tolerance. And mental resilience isn’t some abstract trait — it’s built through small, specific practices. The goal isn’t perfect calm but steadiness that holds under pressure. These seven grounded strategies are designed for that: helping you reset your system, manage internal noise, and build real strength for when life goes sideways. Start with breath you can control You can’t always reason your way out of anxiety, but you can breathe differently. ...

CBS News - Atlanta Mental Health Awareness Special: Woman Manages Schizophrenia with Treatment and Hope

Hi Overcoming Schizophrenia Blog Family, today my story was featured on the local news in Atlanta.  Sharing my story reminds me of those dark moments that created chaos for me and my family. However, through hope, loved ones and treatment and therapy, I'm able to experience better days.  First Recovery Speech; Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia (2010)   When I was diagnosed back in 2007, there were not a lot of people openly sharing their testimonies of recovery. Even the pharmaceutical companies didn't promote treatment for peers living with schizophrenia! I couldn't identify with any public figures who had schizophrenia. I remember a television special with Diana Ross; Out of the Darkness. Her character's story of recovery and schizophrenia reminds me of my own. That movie reiterated what recovery can look like. Here we are in 2025, there are a lot of individuals living with schizophrenia who articulate their recovery publicly. And, a lot of treatment options are pr...