One of the topics I will cover on this website/blog is my own mental illness. A few days ago, I joined some Facebook groups for schizoaffective and schizophrenia. Browsing through those groups, I realize the severity of this illness varies from person to person. It’s also a larger problem than myself. The structure of our society leaves a lot of people untreated, in danger of homelessness and other hardships.
I’ve had four episodes of psychosis, and I am diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. There were in 1994, 1995, 1997, and in 2016. The last one was the most severe. I had mania and severe delusions.
A long time ago, my psychiatrist told me three factors keep those with mental illness healthy and productive. Those are:
- Responding to and taking medication.
- A strong family and friend network.
- Not abusing drugs.
For the first one, I’ve always taken my prescribed medication. In some instances, my weight ballooned because of it. Even to this day, I sleep more than I’d like to. To me, the side effects are worth it to have a logical mind. My meds have switched since my first episode, with guidelines from my psychiatrists. My episodes in 1995 and 1997 were a result of tapering my meds to a low and ineffective dose.
I’ll skip to the second factor for a moment and talk about the third guideline. My first episode in 1994 and my last one in 2016 were a result of too much marijuana, or a combination of marijuana and alcohol. Even though I enjoy the feeling of being high, I need to abstain from it. It’s possible if one is high every night to forget to take their medication. I don’t care if other people do it and think it should be legal on the federal level. But I can’t partake.
Many people never drink even though it’s legal to do so. Consuming too much alcohol is not suitable for schizophrenics and people on antipsychotics. The pandemic has been good for me in that regard. I’m drinking much less. Months ago, I bought a 12-pack of beer, and there are still quite a few of those bottles in my fridge. I’ve made a rule for myself to no longer go to bars by myself. When I’m with people in social settings, I’ll have a few, but I should not do so frequently.
Now, unto the second rule to live healthy with schizophrenia. My first three episodes I was lucky enough to be living with my parents. Most of my treatment was in the daytime, and I did have to stay in the hospital for many days. Within weeks of each one, I got better. My first one in the summer of 1994 I was able to go back to school for my senior year. In the spring of 1995, my second one happened, and I was able to graduate from high school. For my episode in 1997, I had to take one semester off from college, but it was not a significant disruption to my academic progress.
In 2016, I lived and worked in NYC as a librarian, but got treatment in Ohio, where my parents live. I was there from late August to late November. I stayed in a hospital for 12 days, and then another 9 days a month later. The rest of the time, I was able to stay with my parents. Both my sisters helped during that time. And my uncles were supportive. Some of my friends were encouraging as well. It was strange, but soon after the election that year, I recovered. I passed a ‘competency’ test and was able to go back to NYC and work by the 3-month leave of absence deadline.
Now, 6 years later, I realize I still have a good support network, but I can’t put that strain on my parents or family again. In a lot of ways, schizophrenia is more complex for the family than for the actual person because of the worry and stress involved. So, my goal is to stay healthy and never have an episode again.
Linked below is my article for the NAMI blog from January 2020. The pandemic put a halt to my goals. I still feel I need to focus on myself a little more, but eventually I’d like to help others. I’ll start by doing research and learning.
https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/January-2020/Coping-with-Schizoaffective-Disorder
Lastly here is a link to my senior paper from high school I posted on an older blog.
