Topic Tuesday // What it's really like to live with schizophrenia // Tues 22 May, 7pm AEDT

[Helen26]

Hi everybody, 

As a carer, or even someone who might be experiencing life with schizophrenia, how do you cope? There are medications that are taken, but what are some psycho-social ways to cope?

[HayleyC]

Hi @Former-Member,

Yes, it was difficult at the time especially when he was refusing treatment but there were many periods when he was trusting it just took a while to get there sometimes. We had been friends for a few years before his 'symptoms' started occcuring so I think having had an already trusting friendship really helped at the times when he was untrusting of others. 

[greenpea]

@Sandy1 it is something that surprises medicos when I tell them he still hears voices ... they always ask if he takes his medication which he does. I also have schizo but my meds control mine which is great but also I miss them ... do you miss some of your voices now that some have gone? It for me at least is like losing an old friend .

[Former-Member]

Hi @MelbourneWoman7,

It's great that you research into your diagnosis however if you feel confused by it, it is completely fine and encouraged to ask more questions of your doctor (or whomever diagnosed you). You can also choose to connect with a GP and ask questions to get better understanding of your own diagnosis. 

[Sandy1]

@Helen26

who knows, but i think if someone can find stability in their life with housing it can enable them to have access to GPs they know, to have a network that understands them and can offer suport. but this is difficult to do if the person doen't wnat to engage with.

[Sandy1]

@greenpea

yeah, I sometimes wonder how it would be if my voices went away. They have never really ever gone away. In a strange way they are so much a part of me that I can't imagine life without them. I have managed to form a tolerable relationship with them but I still hate what they do to me. I have named them tweedledum and tweedledee to mock them before they mock me. it's not nreally working but i try.

[MelbourneWoman7]

I find at times questions r not encoraged and that my doctors want me to just accept i have this illness without fully understanding it. This is why i and others may stop taking medication cause we dont understand diagnoses

[Former-Member]

So @Sandy1 listed some of her useful coping strategies:

So, I plug in my MP3 player and fill my head with music.

I also compose letters to the editor and do mental arithmetic to try and fill the space.

I have team Sandy which I use to keep me in the world intact.

Team Sandy is my friends, hockey team, orchestras I play in and the things I do to help me stay centred. I work hard on making sure my friends stay around me.

I wonder have others here found some good coping strategies that they have implemented with their loved ones, or for themselves while supporting their loved one?

[greenpea]

@Sandy1 Hahaha! 😄

[zandibrot]

It is the medical model that defines what is and what is not a delusion. Personally I dont agree with pathologising people