In the image, you will see a quotation from the Kindle version of my book “The Overlife, A Tale Of Schizophrenia” by Diana Dirkby. It describes the moment that the narrator character of the novel, Sarah, experienced her first psychotic break. Notice that it comes after she is mugged. A shock or stress can help … Read more

The words “psychosis” and “psychotic” feed into the stigma of mental illness, especially against schizophrenia. This stigma is due in no small part to popular media, be it books, TV thrillers, or suspense movies, where the “bad guy” is often someone described as a “psychotic schizophrenic.” The depiction of such people is under-researched and bears … Read more

Last time, I talked about psychosis and the stigma attached to the word “psychosis.” I explained the devastating effect on the mental health consumer experiencing psychosis of stigma from family members or friends once these people learn you have psychotic episodes as part of your mental illness or brain disorder. Today, I want to suggest … Read more

The symptoms of schizophrenia can bring with them an overload of the senses and an inability to filter that overload. They can bring hallucinations in that you hear and see things that aren’t there, or what is there is somehow distorted. You can have paranoia and the impression that thoughts are being inserted into your … Read more

If you are experiencing a psychotic episode due to paranoid schizophrenia, it is a busy time. The symptoms that cause you to lose touch with reality crowd in, all begging for your attention. You have to deal with perturbation of the senses, sensory overload, an inability to filter what your senses are sensing, the impression … Read more

This blog post introduces my forthcoming novel: “3 Kidnapped, 3 Siblings, 3 Furies,” to be published by amazon.com. I use the horror genre to tackle sibling abuse in this new novel, with the Three Furies from the Greek Myths forcing the abuse out into the open. The novel begins as follows: “It was the Fall … Read more

Living with schizophrenia isn’t a journey walked alone, and the schizophrenia podcast recorded by Bek La, Star Royal, and Monika Caesar for the Ikon Institute in Australia, “Schizophrenia and the Self: Living Beyond Diagnosis,” is a testament to that truth. You can find the podcast as an episode in my podcast series, “Schizophrenia As I … Read more

Living with a mental health condition like Paranoid Schizophrenia can feel like navigating through a relentless storm. Worry overload can be a schizophrenia stress trigger, meaning that schizophrenia and stress are bad bedfellows. In this blog, I give insight into my stress management for schizophrenia.  The waves of stress can be overwhelming, threatening to capsize … Read more

This Blog post accompanies my Podcast episode “A mental illness does not define you, a theme of my thriller horror novel,” of my Podcast “Schizophrenia As I Live It, Parts 1&2.” Exploring the intricate dance between myth and mind, my latest podcast episode, “A mental illness does not define you, a theme of my thriller … Read more