Overcoming Schizophrenia

My friend, Christina Bruni , is a peer in recovery with schizophrenia. Christina writes about her recovery and supports peers on their journey. She published her second book, Working Assets: A Career Guide for Peers Finding and Succeeding at a Job Living with a Mental Illness , which is a must read because it is a great resource for going to work.  Working Assets meets the reader where they are in the job search with respect to recovery. As a peer in recovery, I gained insight from the stories and resources, which educated me about personal common mistakes and how to move forward in the workplace. This guide is thorough, Christina covers a wide range of scenarios, topics, and concerns to empower peers. Thank you for writing this book, Christina. I've applied some of your tips to maintain work and it will help many of our peers. Congrats on publishing Working Assets. My name is Christina Bruni. It’s an honor to be a guest blogger on Overcoming Schizophrenia. As an advocate for peer

It is important to know who is for you. Moreover, it is vital that you recognize your assets and what you bring to any relationship. The stigma of having a diagnosis is bad. The labels, false beliefs, discrimination, and myths are harmful, but self-stigma is worse. While we all have limits, self-discouragement and internal doubt affects everybody in at least one area of life. The relationships advertised on television don’t show the process of the highs and lows in dating. In the real world, single-parenting, poor credit, weight gain, job choice, ex-lovers, sexual orientation, and health issues, hold weight. These issues do not go away on their own.   Romantic relationships are complicated, and having a diagnosis makes it more challenging. Still, the focus is not strictly about the issue, but rather how you talk about it. Open communication is essential to overcome concerns. The good news is a lot of relationships overcome their baggage and unique challenges. Yes, having a diagnos