psychotic symptoms

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Ive had mild psychotic symptoms on and off for years and I had a full psychotic episode in my teens.

I am interested if anyone else also has psychotic symptoms, what they think about them and how they deal with them.

I find when I get stressed I get them more often and have difficulty organising my thoughts which effects writing and being able to interact with people.

The psychotic symptoms I get most often are
ideas of reference
delusions of control
thought withdrawl
thought broadcasting
worry about being watched/listened to.
psychic experiences

here is a link to the schizotypal questionnairre
http://themachine1.110mb.com/spq.html
25 is a normal score. My score was 64.

I'm not aware that psychosis is congruent with asd's.

From what Ive read its not, but I was interested if anyone else got them or if it was just me.

I am ok at 17 points.

Thats a relief

I'm going to start off by saying I think the test could, but not always, be a bad one for an Aspie to take.

If you apply Aspie "direct honesty" to the test, as I did, It's more than likely, I think, to return high results, especially if you happen to have any kind of spiritual beliefs.

I'm not even going to share my score, because I don't need or want any "men in white coats" showing up at my door!

I really think that when it comes to tests like that that Aspies should take into account that we already have a "different" outlook on things. Not doing so can change the outcome of questionnaires like this. Many of the questions are similar in wording and thought consideration to the questions parents fill out for child ASD evaluations. This is the reason that for years, two of our own children went undiagnosed for ASD's. It took us a long time to consider that if we are also on the spectrum, it could be affecting our answers to most of the questions. Once we began to realize our own outlook was not typical, the next time we filled out the same forms, the results came out much differently.

I scored so high on this test it might have been scary. But I'm certain that if I took my Aspie outlook into account and took it a second time, the results would be far lower.

According to the first attempt, I'm nutty as a fruitcake!

But I know it's wrong.

Psychosis is not a part of the diagnostic criterion for ASD's and is usually not a component.

That being said, if you have a co-morbid condition (mine is bipolar) you can occasionally experience psychotic symptoms due to that, in additon to your ASD.

It is normal with bipolar, for instance, to have delusional thought process when manic. I've experienced that.

Mr. Xxx, I agree with you regarding aspie honesty and spiritual beliefs that can influence the score and yes, the score does come out kinda scary, but I'll share mine...

Total SPQ-A: 58 out of 74

meh. I was really going for a 100%, what a let down.

I was only kidding. I got a 55, and it only lowered by ten points when I did it again with my Aspieness accounted for. I have very high doubts as to the validity of the test anyway. No interpretation is given. No information available on the sight as to who constructed it, or why. Trying to open the home page just opens the same test page.

Also, there are NO demographic questions, which for some of the stuff being asked about could very well change the importance of certain answers. For example, I grew up in a medium sized city surrounded by many fairly large suburbs. I would have answered differently to many of the questions were I still living there. But I'm not. I now live in a town of about 12,000. A very high percentage of the people here are nosey, and gossip is rampant. You can't FART here and everyone in town know the exact time you farted, how long the fart lasted, and how strong it smelled on a scale of 1-10.

A large number of the questions get a resounding YES, simply because this town is full of back-stabbing, self centered gossipers who don't have a clue how to mind their own damned business, and don't have anything better to do than spread rumors about other people. It's sad but it's true. Pretty much every one of the following questions can be answered with a Yes, for that reason alone! There are a few that don't apply to the small town reasoning. I've placed the appropriate answers and reasons for them below them.


2. I sometimes avoid going to places where there will be many people because I will get anxious.

5. Other people see me as slightly eccentric (odd).

YES, because I won't tell them every stupid detail about myself because I don't want my private life discussed at the local convenience store.

6. I have little interest in getting to know other people.

8. People sometimes find me aloof and distant.

9. I am sure I am being talked about behind my back.

10. I am aware that people notice me when I go out for a meal or to see a film.

Yeah! Because they do!

11. I get very nervous when I have to make polite conversation.

Guess why...

14. People sometimes comment on my unusual mannerisms and habits.

Never to my face though, just with everyone else.

15. I prefer to keep to myself.

Again....

18. Do you often feel that other people have got it in for you ?

Yes, because there are people here that do have it in for me. It ain't paranoia if it's TRUE.

19. Do some people drop hints about you or say things with a double meaning ?

All the time. It's NOT my imagination.

20. Do you ever get nervous when someone is walking behind you ?

Only enough to watch my mouth. I don't want them hearing anything I would mind being the topic du' Jour.

24. I am mostly quiet when with other people.

27. Do you sometimes get concerned that friends or co-workers are not really loyal or trustworthy ?

29. I get anxious when meeting people for the first time.

Only in this town... but this is where I am most of the time.

30. I often hear a voice speaking my thoughts aloud.

Yes, but it's always me!

32. Some people think that I am a very bizarre person.

Yes, because I happen to value my privacy. In this stupid town that's an oddity, and causes THEM to be suspicious of ME.

33. I find it hard to be emotionally close to other people.

36. I feel I have to be on my guard even with friends.

Here again. I haven't been able to forge a friendship here for seventeen years, because the few times I tried, they couldn't be trusted to KEEP THEIR DAMN MOUTHS SHUT!

38. Do you often feel nervous when you are in a group of unfamiliar people ?

41. Do you feel that there is no-one you are really close to outside of your immediate family,or people you can confide in or talk to about personal problems ?

42. Some people find me a bit vague and elusive during a conversation.

43. I am poor at returning social courtesies and gestures.

44. Do you often pick up hidden threats or put-downs from what people say or do ?

45. When shopping do you get the feeling that other people are taking notice of you ?

46. I feel very uncomfortable in social situations involving unfamiliar people.

52. Have you found that it is best not to let other people know too much about you ?

53. When you see people talking to each other, do you often wonder if they are talking about you ?

NO. I don't wonder at all. They ARE talking about me.

57. I tend to keep in the background on social occasions.

59. I often feel that others have it in for me.

60. Do you sometimes feel that other people are watching you ?

No. I can SEE them watching me. These people stare, and don't think twice about it being rude.

62. I attach little importance to having close friends.

In this town? You bet I do.

63. Do you sometimes feel that people are talking about you ?

Yes, but it's not a feeling. I can HEAR them.

64. Are your thoughts sometimes so strong that you can almost hear them ?

Yup. I think out loud all the time.

65. Do you often have to keep an eye out to stop people from taking advantage of you ?

What do you think?

66. Do you feel that you are unable to get "close" to people ?

This could be a "No," because I'm not unable, just unwilling.

67. I am an odd, unusual person.

By the "standards" of people around here, yes. THANK GOD! I'd hate to be thought of as like them.

71. I feel very uneasy talking to people I do not know well.

73. I tend to keep my feelings to myself.

74. People sometimes stare at me because of my odd appearance.

Yes, but I don't give a ****

I left out all the questions about stuff that would be clearly Aspie traits.

Thing is, this test scored be as extremely suspicious and paranoid, but I am neither. I'm really am surrounded by untrustworthy idiots.

I have beliefs but I still came out ok.

If I was having a bad day, I might come out differently, I just happen to be thinking in a very down to earth way today.

Yes. Tests like this can be very subjective to current moods etc.

That's why I tend to think that test like this one, and online Aspger screening test usually produce more accurate results if taken several times over a long period. If I wasn't thinking about living in this town while taking this one, it probably would have come out differently. I took many online screening tests for AS, and didn't even become close to being convinced I had AS until I had taken several different ones many times, and kept getting consistently high results.

yes the test must be 'taken with a pinch of salt', I only put it there as it has good examples of mild delusional thoughts.

The test is for schizotypal personality disorder which has a very high cross over of symptoms with AS (infact lots of psychiatrists want to count those with it as haveing AS nowadays) so I would expect lots of people on an AS forums to score quite high on it anyway. I also score very highly on AS tests.

I think I probably have aspergers and mild schizophrenia, I definately seem to have more problems organising my thoughts than other aspies or makeing sence to other people than other aspies I know, most aspies are more sussinct and better understood through the written word but I suck at it. Im also more odd and unconventional than most aspies I know. But I do have special interests and lining up etc.

Its strange as there must be some cross overs with schizophrenia, (perhaps the parts of the brain effected) as lots of them stim and have echolalia too, and theory of mind problems and literal thinking and trouble with metaphores.

When Asperger first began his studies of Autism, it was thought that Autism and Schizophrenia were related. It was, in fact, thought that Autism was a form of Schizophrenia. Just since joining this forum, some of the users here have helped me to understand that Asperger and Kanner both eventually helped to prove that although they shared some similarities, they are not related at all. This is why, eventually Autism became a diagnosis of its own. The clearest difference between them is that Autism does not "develop." It's there to begin with, and it doesn't get worse. It just stays the same. Any apparent improvement is only from the individual learning coping and adaptation skills, which doesn't require the individual even knows they have Autism.

Schizophrenia often appears rapidly, and tends to deteriorate over time if not treated.

If you are found to have Autism, you have always had it. But you can NOT have schizophrenia (or at least show no signs of it) one year, and BE schizophrenic the next.

Total SPQ-A: 29 out of 74

That's pretty close to normal... and ironcially I'm diagnosed with a schiz-related disorder.

My eldest son has psychosis and AS as well as some other things, so it is possible to have both. He had a complete psychotic break at the age of 9. He tried different meds and ended up on Seroquel for a while. At 13 he started to have a lot more symptoms and we've switched to Geodon. He sees things that aren't there, and has very unrealistic thinking. He'll start tearing things apart and will believe he's building a supercomputer or something when in fact he's just destroying random objects. When he's more stable he can actually do a lot with electronics quite competently, but when he's delusional he's just destructive but thinks he's doing what he probably could do at another time. He'll also believe things are going really well when they are not. He also has bi-polar disorder and ADHD.

When he's stable he's the sweetest guy. He's very smart and hard working. He loves little kids and is very kind hearted. When his various mental illnesses take over he's a completely different person.

I scored 15 out of 74 on that quiz. I answered from the mindframe I'm in now, not the mindframe of when I've experienced psychosis. I don't feel watched or persecuted right now.

I also have experienced psychosis. I have bipolar disorder and have experienced psychosis when in either extreme, enough so that my actual diagnosis is "Bipolar I with psychotic features".

I had a full psychotic episode when I was 23 and in the hospital being diagnosed with bipolar, where I believed that I was radioactive and that coming in contact with me was hurting people, so I shut myself in my room for several days without coming out to eat or anything. It was a very unreal experience. No one could talk me out of it, though now I see how unreal it was.

I've also experienced "hearing things" and "seeing things" though those are usually brought on by bipolar and stress.

How I deal with it is basically medication and in the past few years I've been able to tell myself that it's not real and that helps a lot. Somehow I retain the part of me that knows it isn't real and can then work on ignoring/distracting myself.

I have a bipolar blog and my first entry was about psychosis.

my score


Ideas of reference: 1 out of 9 (unsure: 0)
Excessive social anxiety: 8 out of 8 (unsure: 0)
Odd beliefs or magical thinking: 1 out of 7 (unsure: 1)
Unusual perceptual experiences: 5 out of 9 (unsure: 1)
Odd or eccentric behavior: 5 out of 7 (unsure: 0)
No close friends: 1 out of 9 (unsure: 0)
Odd speech : 6.5 out of 9 (unsure: 0)
Constricted affect: 4.5 out of 8 (unsure: 0)
Suspiciousness: 0 out of 8 (unsure: 0)
Total SPQ-A: 32 out of 74