Overcoming Schizophrenia

Over the years, I’ve gained insight on living with schizoaffective disorder. Identifying my triggers, warning signs and needs. Living with a diagnosis is challenging. The greatest trigger - excessive stress.  How can we maintain balance when life is stressful? Can an individual ever classify themselves in a “safe zone?” Your Support Network is Crucial Since my diagnosis in 2007, and periodic medical setbacks, I’ve recognized how I'm susceptible to highly intense situations that can upset my balance. In the past, I didn’t consider myself fragile. I thought I could control my illness and for 11 years I did. Yet, I couldn’t outrun, deny, nor overlook the breath of chaos that eventually came back to consume my mind and create havoc for me and my family. I’ve had three hospitalizations and two arrests.  Based on my experience, the greatest antidote to controlling breakdowns is having a strong support system, but what does that mean? Mobilizing your support network and being prepare...

          I had a terrific interview with Sam an individual living with autism who is also a postdoctoral researcher. Frequently, he interviews people who are living with autism and other mental health conditions.       I enjoyed our interview because he allowed me the opportunity to discuss a lot of different aspects of living in recovery. Our interview focuses on a wide range of topics including schizophrenia symptoms, parenting with a diagnosis, advocacy, romantic relationships, caregivers - my recovery experience.       Do watch this video and learn more about my story and how an individual could cope with a diagnosis such as mine; schizoaffective disorder (bipolar disorder, depression and schizophrenia). I encourage you to review his other interviews as well and to subscribe to his YouTube channel, All Neurotypes Office; www.youtube.com/@allneurotypesoffice7037 and check out his website: www.allneurotypes.com ...

These last few months have shown me how my mental health symptoms comes to the surface in cycles. That's my bipolar element of the schizoaffective disorder. Living with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder can be rough therefore I appreciate my good days when I can get more work done and boost my self-confidence through completing different tasks.     For a while I was waking up tired. Mentally drained without reason. I felt exhausted and unmotivated. Sometimes, I slept my days away.      I'm grateful for my good days. Lately, I've had better days. Now I can get out of bed more easily and concentrate on the tasks at hand to complete assignments. I'm proud of myself for doing the small tasks like house chores and other responsibilities such as work.     I found a way to work smarter and not harder. I'm thankful for what I can achieve. Whenever I pray I give thanks to my higher power for my sanity. I don't take these things for granted.     I've ...

This is a guest post from a fellow blogger who is also in recovery with schizoaffective disorder. I believe Victoria's story will provide reassurance and hope that recovery is possible. The following is Victoria's self-care routine, how she manages, and a link to her blog... Thank you, Victoria for sharing your recovery with us on the Overcoming Schizophrenia blog. There are many ways to recover from Schizophrenia I have found out this last year away from pharmacological treatment. Antipsychotic meds helped to stabilize me but fell short and the side effects have been terrible. Now that I am taking kratom as an antipsychotic I have been relieved of delusions. The only problem with kratom though is that I have to keep taking it to remain sane and still take antipsychotic medicine but at a lower dose. Some of the additional benefits are that I am more social, able to travel and have energy and motivation to do a lot. However recently I came across a cure for Schizoaffective Disor...

Have you ever tried to avoid an auto accident, but no matter how hard you tried you couldn’t stop the crash? Suffering with this season’s depression is like dodging a car only to accidentally hit another on the road. For over six months I’ve tried to manage depression by using my coping tools. Initially, my depression stemmed from a toxic workplace. Yet, due to the nature of my condition this stress aggressively activated low mood that progressed and continues to penetrate my mood even after removing myself from that environment. Stress worsens any medical condition which is no different for people living with mental illness. Medication helps lessen the symptoms, however, living with a brain disorder of any kind is challenging and requires more than pills. Even stress can penetrate the most effective treatment that generally controls the most severe symptoms.  Initially I was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, but over the years it’s evolved into schizoaffective disorder, bipol...