2 years ago
After each psychotic break I had, it was difficult to act naturally and be myself with others again. I did not think I could be considered “normal” again, and it could have become a self-fulfilling prophecy. While I did have cognitive healing to do, where I had medical reasons for having some social difficulty with …
2 years ago
I have been in remission from symptoms of serious mental illness (SMI) for 11 years; however, there was a period of my life that was extremely difficult when my symptoms were severe, involving multiple psychotic breaks. I was filled with heartache and despair, and recovery was uncertain. During the early days of my recovery, I …
2 years ago
In my history of mental illness, I have been rediagnosed five times regarding my serious mental illness. Being rediagnosed in mental health is not unusual, as there is no blood test to conclude what you have. Diagnoses are classified through symptom-based measures according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). I am …
2 years ago
When I was in my darkest hour, amid psychotic episodes, there was light pulling me forward. I just knew I had a future ahead of me where I would get married and become a mother. This desire and calling, at times, led me forward and gave me direction into my future. I have now been …
2 years ago
Recovery from psychosis typically requires medicinal and therapeutic intervention: medication to target cognitive recovery and therapy to help with emotional recovery. I believe that true emotional recovery is a gradual process and a personal journey that takes time and work beyond a written treatment plan. Your whole world鈥攁nd your understanding of it鈥攃an be turned upside …
2 years ago
I have been living in recovery from schizophrenia for 11 years. While I haven鈥檛 experienced any symptoms for over a decade, I do not feel like I am the same person I was before my mental illness. This has often bothered me; sometimes, it feels like the only way I can become who I am …
2 years ago
Taking an antipsychotic can be difficult due to the cultural stigma about serious mental illness, psychosis, and the actual drugs themselves. It was so complicated for me to accept using an antipsychotic, where the fear of taking a stigmatized medicine impacted my course of treatment and overall health outcome. I fell into powerful traps and …
2 years ago
Telling your partner about your mental health diagnosis can be a process met with anxiety, uncertainty, and fear. I know firsthand what it is like to disclose a diagnosis of schizophrenia, and tell the person I saw myself spending the rest of my life with that I will always take an antipsychotic. Here is what …
2 years ago
I have decided to take an antipsychotic for life. I am making this choice even though I have been in complete remission from any symptoms of schizophrenia for the last 11 years. My psychiatrist fully encourages and supports my continued use, seeing it necessary to guarantee a long-term positive health outcome. Making this personal decision …
2 years ago
I will never forget how I wept when I was diagnosed with schizophrenia. I thought it changed who I was and how others would see me. It felt like a visible mark on me as an individual鈥攕omething glaring that I had to hide from everyone around me. It was confirmed; I am not 鈥渘ormal,鈥� and …
2 years ago
I am often asked, as someone who has made a full recovery from schizophrenia, what the turning point was for me. In other words, at what point did I know I was turning a corner and getting better, where I was gaining momentum, confidence, and hope? There were actually many turning points of equal significance …
2 years ago
Anosognosia, the psychological term for a 鈥渓ack of insight,鈥� manifests in an inability to understand that you have symptoms of mental illness. Throughout my mental health journey, I have come to understand that the gift of insight is a powerful one 鈥� and it is an ability that many of us take for granted before …
