Diagnosed Paranoid Schizophrenia

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It has support, hence the medications and the pathophysiology of it to inform people. What I am saying is the concentration, no working memory, paranoia, waxy, addiction shorter life span and the prodrome just to name a few. Memory is an important tool for life and so is a working memory and concentration. I think you might be less informed. Making 70,000 a year doing a job or making whatever dissability will pay is much better. 70,000 can do a lot with the right person.

Schizophrenia is a major cause of disability, with active psychosis ranked as the third-most-disabling condition after quadriplegia and dementia and ahead of paraplegia and blindness. (wikipedia) sorry i didn't say with active psychosis which I have also.

I think this would only apply to untreated (unmedicated) schizophrenia. The right neuroleptic medication should completely suppress the psychosis and also improve cognitive function. You are currently in the process of finding the best meds, so please hang in there and work with your psychiatrist to find something that has the desired effect.

In addition, you will likely need an antidepressant, which should help with the depression and might also improve cognitive function and memory. If treated like that, schizophrenia should be far less disabling than dementia, where cognitive improvements are not an option. Like I said, you would live a more or less normal life as long as you take your meds.

same here im socially anxious, bit depressed all the time and get panic attacks but im not on any antipsychotic medications............is it safe to be without medications or are there risk factors

namaste, do you have symptoms of Schizophrenia?

if this are the symptoms


Social withdrawal - yes i have withdrawn socially i dont get along with many people

Hostility or suspiciousness- yes sometimes

Deterioration of personal hygiene - not yet but not to careful about appearance also

Flat, expressionless gaze- yes

Inability to cry or express joy- yes

Inappropriate laughter or crying- yes

Depression - yes

Oversleeping or insomnia- hmm...insomnia

Odd or irrational statements- sometimes

Forgetful; unable to concentrate- sometimes

Extreme reaction to criticism- sometimes

Strange use of words or way of speaking- not sure

A lot of the things you said 'yes' to sound like signs of Asperger's as well, but if you're worried about not taking medication, maybe you should talk to a doctor about it.

doctors usually tell me that i should keep myself occupied by getting a job
but they dont seem to understand that getting, holding to a job is difficult for me
and sometimes working creates stress on me since it involves socialising
whatever but doctors are not able to diagnose properly neither they give me any medications
but im having serious PTSD though

Yeah, I find the way doctors talk about jobs really hypocritical as well, I bet they do get patients who hold a job but still have symptoms of something. People with problems or abnormalities come from all walks of life.

Hi Circle989898,

Have you read the posts at http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt154233.html

Two books with the questions/keys for the MMPI-2 also are:
"Development and Use of the MMPI-2 Content Scales" by Butcher, Graham, Williams, Ben-Porath (1990),
for the questions on paper, with more book info at: http://cyberper.cnc.net/MMPI2news.htm

The Scale Keys are included in the book: "Psychological Assessment with the MMPI-2" by Friedman, Lewak, Nichols, Webb (2001): google-search: "Meehl and Hathaway (1946; as cited"

When I was studying the MMPI at university (1970's-1980's), most everybody off the street would be labeled with "Paranoid Schizophrenia" and drugged up with Haloperidol, despite drug dangers and all other possible disorders. google-search: "Table 7.2" "largest brain area"
for the book "Distinguishing Psychological From Organic Disorders" by Robert L. Taylor (2000), for many examples on how careless and fickle psychiatrists can be, and what Rosenhan discovered still appears true:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosenhan_experiment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG4mOpQpmpw
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG4mOpQpmpw[/youtube]

Tadzio

Many thanks for the clarfication, I was skeptical because most of the time schizophrenia is in the "off" position and is arguably as disabling as aspergers

I don't see why I should have to pussyfoot around it, schizophrenia brings about psychosis, and psychosis is the proper term for what is colloquially known as insanity.

Yes, and that's exactly what you want to tell a person who has already posted "Then idk what. Suicide?"

As for colloquial language, I've often heard AS described in colloquial terms when people called me things like creep or weirdo. That's why colloquialisms aren't used by medical professionals, patients, friends and relatives, or anybody else who understands the condition and gives a damn.

Social anxiety and depression are very common in people with AS (and PTSD), so that alone is not a sign of schizophrenia. And like Bun said, many of the other symptoms you've listed are often seen in aspies as well. Other symptoms, such as forgetfulness and inability to concentrate, can be caused by depression.

The symptoms that distinguish schizophrenia from other conditions are psychotic episodes with hallucinations (such as hearing voices), paranoia, delusional beliefs such as conspiracy theories, and disorganized thought and speech (meaning that one has trouble following a train of thoughts or expressing oneself in coherent sentences). As long as you don't experience these symptoms, it is unlikely that you are suffering from schizophrenia.

Thanks, that is quite interesting. I got the same impression from the German psychiatric system in the 1990's. People with stress-induced breakdowns and burnouts, shut-ins with anxiety disorders, alcoholics and drug addicts who had become unable to take care of themselves -- it was all the same to them. Here you go, have some Haloperidol, now go back to your room. There was no real effort to diagnose or treat anything. A completely healthy person or a hypochondriac could have walked in there and would have had a hard time getting out again.

As a caveat, I certainly don't think that all psychiatrists are clueless or too quick with their diagnosis, but I would strongly recommend that anyone who seeks help for psychological problems sees a psychiatrist with a private practice rather than seeking treatment at a larger clinic. Psychiatric hospitals simply have a different financial incentive, they are looking to keep their beds filled. They have nothing to gain from a diagnosis that doesn't justify prolonged hospitalization.

I have a schizo spectrum disorder and I don't give a damn what anyone calls it, and I know I can't exactly prove it but I seem to understand the condition more then anyone I've met here.

"disability" can be viewed from a few angles. First there is the actual impairment to the brain; the medical condition. Secondly, how does the medical condition affect the activities of daily life. Thirdly, how does it affect your social role - to be a parent, an employee, a citizen etc. Not to be underestimated are the personal factors and the environmental factors - what attributes does the person have to manage the disability, and how supportive is the environment in coping with the disability.

That roughly sums up the World Health Organisation's model of disability.

Even though statistically speaking schizophrenia is quite disabling, it doesn't necessarily follow that in your individual case, things will be intolerable. Bipolar disorder is disabling too, though not statistically as high and yet most people would not know that I am ill, except that I talk about it a lot.

There is always hope.

E: don't want to talk about it.