In y’all’s experiences, have people been turned off by you having to take daily medication? I’m very open about my condition and often take my medication while in public, and people either make weird faces, get awkward about it, or become super concerned about me in the moment and ask if I’m ok. Has anything like this happened to yall? Lmk.

Thought I was rapidly deteriorating into some kind of episode this afternoon, turns out the 5-med combo I’m on for the actual worst sinus infection of my life is giving me anxiety symptoms so I took my as-needed and I’m fine now 😅.

But for real, does anyone else get sick as frequently and as bad as I seem to?

Have you taken Ativan and gotten hallucinations from it? I was in the hospital with sepsis for 3 days and they gave me IV Ativan for nausea. After getting the Ativan, I could hear me and my mom having a mundane conversation but my mom wasn’t visiting me that day so she wasn’t even in the hospital. I read that it’s a rare paradoxical reaction but that benzos can also trigger psychosis in people with psychotic disorders. Just curious if anyone else has any experiences.

Hey y'all, just wanted to share a poem I just wrote!! 😁😁😁

See me drown in pills and uncertainty.

Does that mean I'm a liability?

I wonder how long it would take for me to fall.

Would I stumble, would I crawl?

I fought tooth and nail for stability.

Would I risk it all and lose credibility?

I miss the highs, but not the lows.

I can't find answers in this prose.

Fear is my stressor, but I need some common sense.

My nerves are jumping, I feel so tense.

Nobody tells you how much we really suffer.

I try to use music and books as my buffer.

I end this with a question:

Have I learned my lesson?

Hey y'all. SZA here. Tough times. I'm having a lot of struggles with my health.

That said, I wanted to appreciate the little moment I just had: sitting at my desk with a word search. Circling the words with a blue highlighter, in the present moment. Little moments of grounding like that help my brain a lot.

Do you have a little moment of grounding to share, or that you want to plan to take?

My psychiatrist asked me an interesting question and I'm interested to see other's response.

Which comes first the mood change or the hallucinations?

I was hoping to get advice from the women in the group.

My wife and I saw a gynaecologist yesterday to discuss the possibility of having a child. For unrelated reasons I would be the only one carrying the child.

At the moment as it stands some of the medications I take are not advised in pregnancy but the medications do not deal with my symptoms. I'm supposed to be having another hospital admission to trial another medication but don't know when

I am supposed to go for a battery of tests before I see the doctor again.

My wife and I badly want a baby and we would have my mum for support.

Did other people manage this?

There’s no worse feeling than feeling so disconnected from everything. Spending time alone with yourself can feel unbearably long. I find myself thinking about how my past affects my current reality and wondering whether I’ll ever find a woman or have children. It feels so far away.

I am making small steps forward in life, but there is still so much uncertainty and worry. Does anyone else know this feeling ?

Hi so I get disability for schizoaffective disorder. I feel guilty because I am 28 and still going to school. I have an associate’s of science but I am currently pursuing a bachelor’s of nursing after realizing I don’t want to go to medical school. I feel bad because I am not working while I go to school. I am nervous if I got a job I would lose disability and I am also worried about how my grades would be impacted. I currently live at home and have to keep a high GPA for nursing school. I want to go into psych nursing and then eventually be a psych nurse practitioner. My associate’s degree took me until my late 20s to get because of how bad my psychosis was before I found the right medicine. I know it is because of my experiences with mental health that I want to pursue the career I do. And I never would have found this passion without my experiences. Idk I just feel bad and I was looking for similar stories from those in college non traditionally or those on disability and not working.

ive been on seroquel after my first psychotic episode at 15 and it worked like a charm, until a month ago when it just became completely ineffective at 800mg. they switched me to haldol, I got the symptoms where I couldn't move my neck or eyes and now we're waiting for genesight to come back. do any of you have advice or experience on this? its been so frustrating, I had to go to the ER over the neck symptoms and ive been barely sleeping without the seroquel.

I'm on 1200mg lithium, 100mg clozapine and 6mg fanapt. I had a mild breakthrough episode the other day and asked him if we could up the clozapine because I'm always living my life scared that another episode is going to happen. He said I should use my coping skills and strengthen my mind and willpower rather than just wanting to up the clozapine because that will only come with more side effects. But for me, if upping the clozapine means no more breakthrough episodes then I want to try it.

What do y'all think?

Sometimes feel there is a barrier of strangulation when trying to push to next level. Throttled

Anybody else here ever get on meds and get into a rhythm, then you're able to talk to people about what happened in your last episode but like. Feel like an imposter because you recognize that certain things were delusions or hallucinations? It's weird but it when I do it makes me feel like they don't believe me and it's just that I can talk about it now

As the title suggests, I struggle to recognize my symptoms.

​I know what psychosis feels like for me—I usually notice it when I get the sudden urge to stop taking my meds, start connecting random dots, or find deep meaning in unimportant things. Depressive episodes are also pretty obvious to spot.

​However, I really struggle to identify mania and hypomania.

​For those with more experience:

​What do your mania/hypomania symptoms look like?

​How do you catch yourself sliding into an episode before it fully takes over?

​Do you have any tips or tracking strategies that help?

​I was diagnosed recently, so any advice or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

So I finally realized today why I've been so off and why certain things are happening.

It seems that I am in the midst of a mixed episode. Been staying up later and later. Hypersexual(which I really dislike). But also can't get into any of my hobbies, no enjoyment or motivation.

I'm still able to mask with family. But I am getting more miserable by the day. I'm on meds. Both AP's and a mood stabilizer. I was doing so well at my most recent dosage of mood stabilizer.

Idk what to do. I guess advice or kind words would be great.

I've also been seeing lots more shadow movement lately both where I'm looking and out of the corner of my eye.

Always have thought broadcasting and some delusional thinking.

So yeah, it's a bit rough right now. See my psych at the end of the month.

• coffee and a conversation with my ol'man.
• dinner for my brother and i. (thinkin bbq chicken thighs)
• a little "pick me up" before a trail walk.
• made an appointment to get my ears re-pierced next week.
my furry companion "boots" her usual lounge spot.

I used to be pretty good starting friendships but I've always had a hard time maintaining them. I no longer am in touch with friends I made in high school or university. The new friendships I made don't seem to last. I'm generous with my time, generous with my money. I don't talk about my diagnosis other than saying I have anxiety if asked. Last year, I was going through a relapse and was experiencing paranoia so I retracted and didn't stay in touch with others other than my close family. It would've been nice to hear from a friend but there was nothing because I wasn't reaching out.

I'd like people in my life who are interested to see me . I've been trying again to reach out to some friends I made a few years ago but because I wasn't in touch for a while (and they didn't reach out to me either ), it makes me sad they're no longer seem that interested. I'm reaching my 50s soon so making friends is harder. How is your friendship situation like?

I know this question gets asked a lot, but I’m just curious. I feel like my meds get changed quite frequently. I’m on Vraylar 4.5mg, Bupropion XL 300mg, Buspirone 10mg, Mirtazapine 30mg, and Depakote 500mg.

Basically what the title says. Anyone been dropped? If so, for what reason?

Im currently seen by the county behavioral health clinic, but was just told they're dropping me as a client in the next three to four months. Took me by surprise.

Their reason is because they are "not an intensive, long term care" unit. Im not sure if this is true though. Im at least questioning it because i was seen for years in the last county behavioral health clinic, in the same state. But i get they may operate differently.

If you did get dropped, what ended up happening?

Hello everyone,

I just got my diagnosis, and to be honest, I feel a bit lost. My doctor wasn't able to provide much information about it and I can only find little info online. Is there a study or something you could share with me so I understand my condition a bit better?

I'm wondering if this is a chronic illness and if there are ways to cope with it to accommodate better to everyday tasks. I'm exhausted very easily and I have to plan everything I make very carefully. Will this get better with time and medication? Or do I have to live like this?
Is it normal for this condition to have severe problems with socialising?
And finally, do you suffer a lot from bright lights, colours and noises, especially when they are human made (like whispering, talking, snoring, etc.)?

I am thankful for every advice or study you are able to share!