How Do You Celebrate A Birthday You Never Thought You’d Live To See?
Trigger Warning: Suicidal Ideation, Disordered Eating, Body Shaming, Self-Harm Mention
My birthday is this month, and it doesn’t feel real. I am turning 25; the number feels unnatural, an awkward-shaped candy rolling around in my mouth I keep feeling the urge to spit out. How do you accept the reality of an adulthood you never thought you’d see because of chronic childhood Trauma and early Suicidal Ideation? This is a concept I have wrestled with for several years, and every year brings up different emotions and perspectives. Perhaps this year it feels more pronounced because of the milestones of the past year: I have graduated with my Bachelor’s, I am restarting Graduate School in the Fall, and I have established my online presence. I have built the foundations for my adult life working for and with the Psychosis Community—a future I didn’t think I would have. As I have built and continue to build this future, I draw upon the many difficult experiences of younger years and work to heal the wounds of Child and Adolescent Self. Those iterations of my Self feel at the same time both intimately familiar and deeply alien; I know her and I don’t. Who was I, and who am I now?
Atypical Antipsychotics & Weight Gain: My Experience
Trigger Warning: Discussion of Weight, Eating Disorders, Suicidal/Self-Harm Ideation, and Abuse
“Whose body even is this?” I remember the horror dripping through me as I looked at the angry purple stretch marks lining my protruding stomach. My mother had referred to my arms as “ham-hocks” and I could no longer get comfortable easily from the way my skin folded.
I had gained weight— lot of it, and very quickly
What’s It Like To Have Schizophrenia: Reflections
Trigger Warning: Unreality
Schizophrenia is like walking through a funhouse mirror. Through. The world is twisted and bent, nothing looks the way it is “supposed” too. You have to guess as to what people mean and what they’re really saying, and often you have to guess if you are seeing what you’re really seeing. The distorted reality around you makes you question yourself, and there’s always some upset in the pit of your stomach as you don’t know if anything is really happening as you see it. But you live your life as best you can, because surely everyone lives like this, and you’re the only one who can’t handle it….
Schizophrenia, Family Estrangement, And The Holidays
It’s a dreadful time of year, for me at least. I’d had have to say the last time the holidays were really at all enjoyable I’d have to have been 9 years old, and I’m 24 now. As my family has fallen apart and I have had to distance myself from my “loved ones”, the season has lost its charm and become a time of grief and volatility. While the Holidays are not pleasant for many people, my Schizophrenia has played a specific role in my family’s disintegration, and that adds an extra layer of bitterness.
Reproductive Ethics And Antipsychotic Medication
Antipsychotics are the primary medications used to treat Psychotic conditions. These drugs are divided into two classes: Typical and Atypical; or First-Generation and Second-Generation. The primary mechanism of action for Antipsychotics is blocking D2 receptors, which signal Dopamine—
On The Philosophy of Delusions
Is a delusion a belief? It seems like a simple enough enough question to answer on face value; yes of course I believe my delusions, but is actually a quite hefty question. What constitutes a belief? Do delusions meet these standards, or do they represent some other cognitive process? How do we obtain beliefs, and do delusion follow this pattern? We will discuss these questions together promptly.