Community Discussion: Schizophrenic Overwhelm
Schizophrenia is a complex Neurodevelopmental Disorder. As the body of research on the condition grows, it appears no aspect of the Central Nervous System is unaffected by the condition, even the Neuroendocrine System (Yates, 2016). One under-appreciated trait of Schizophrenia is our propensity to experience Sensory Overload. Many people do not realize that Schizophrenics can experience Sensory Overload, or realize the severe breakdowns it can cause. In this essay, I present the concept of Schizophrenic Overwhelm (concept can also be modified to Psychotic or Bipolar overwhelm if necessary).
I Don’t Fight Schizophrenia; I Am Schizophrenic
Trigger Warning: Suicide, Eating Disorder, Abuse Mention
How do you “fight” Schizophrenia? You see this terminology used sometimes, mainly by non-profits and non-Psychotic loved ones of Schizophrenics, and it always rubs me the wrong way for a variety of reasons (British Columbia Schizophrenia Society--Example). How do you fight something so integral to your own Neurology, and not lose? I tried to fight my body for a long time, and lost. Let me take you back in a little, and show you why I don’t “fight” my Schizophrenia anymore…
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.
The Disorientation Of Growing Up Schizophrenic
To be Schizophrenic is to be inherently nonconformist. Schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disorder, and no area of the brain appears to be untouched by the condition, even the neuroendocrine system (Yates, 2016). Every aspect of how we think and operate in the world is somehow painted by our Schizophrenia. Since Schizophrenia is neurodevelopmental, parts of it are with us from early on. While most people do not develop full symptoms until late adolescence or young adulthood, myself and many people I have met in my work experienced Psychotic symptoms from early childhood.
Accepting The Traumatized Self
What do you do with emotions that challenge your sense of self, sentiments that feel alien but are nonetheless yours? As someone who has experienced Delusions for years, this is not a foreign sensation, but my current predicament is more disturbing than any Delusion has been in many years, as the origin of the emotions is not Psychotic.
Let me explain.
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—
Are People Who Hear Voices Really Dangerous?
In the public and often clinical eye, there is a profound wariness to the symptom of Voice-hearing, especially the symptom of Command Voices. For the uninitiated, Command Voices are when a person perceives a hallucinatory Voice or Voices that instruct them to commit some sort of act, stereotypically negative. The iconic Common Voices scenarios has a cowering and frightened Psychotic person (generally a young man) who feel overpowered by malevolent Voices who he feels control him. Seduced by these dark the figures, the Psychotic man then goes and commits some heinous act, going from mental patient to scourge of society. Is this image really accurate? Let’s take a look at what the research into Command Voices says, along with what actual Psychotic people report
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.
