On December 16, 2024, I received an email informing me that I had won a 2024 International Impact Book Award for my book “The Overlife, A Tale Of Schizophrenia” by Diana Dirkby. You’ll recall that

Big News: My new book, “Three Kidnapped, Three Siblings, Three Furies,” by Diana Dirkby, is now published as a Kindle book. It’s a steal at $4.99 (and $0.00 with enough credits.) The paperback is also

Today, I wanted to discuss the solitude many people living with schizophrenia feel tempted by. I am one such person. These days, solitude means just me and my spouse. My love for my spouse and

Do you crave for a unique and mind-boggling narrative? Perhaps a book that will keep you glued till the very end? A story that will chill your blood? In that case, Diana Dirkby’s upcoming second

Because of its complex nature, only some books have targeted mental health issues like Schizophrenia!  “The Overlife: A Tale of Schizophrenia“ by Diana Dirkby, in this context, is no different. Presenting a raw and authentic

We all have goals for the day, week, or month ahead. Still, those with a brain disorder or a mental illness need to recognize that comparing themselves to others or an unrealistic version of themselves

I take medication to help control the symptoms of my schizophrenia, and it’s a suitable medication for me. However, it was a long road with a lot of support to reach where I am now.

When a mental health consumer is in crisis, sometimes others cannot understand that they can’t simply “snap out of it” and jump from their world into another. Typically, once your mental health crisis is evident

There are mental advocacy organizations that provide online and in-person support groups. For example, NAMI (National Alliance On Mental Illness) provides support groups across the USA that are moderated by trained individuals. These support groups

Most of you have probably been admonished for saying something politically incorrect without feeling it’s a big deal. There are so many ways to be labeled politically incorrect that the growing list of what we

Unfortunately, some family members and close friends can abandon the mental health consumer during a mental health crisis. Such people may offer nothing more than a request that the mental health consumer keeps away from

It’s often overlooked that the caregivers of mental health consumers also need support. They have to negotiate caring for someone who needs a lot of understanding, time spent with them, and the stigma against mental

Today is Mother’s Day! Like me, my mother lived with schizophrenia. She was a wonderful mother despite this brain disorder, especially until we were pre-teens when her schizophrenia worsened. Despite this disability, she could not

To quote from the website https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/schizophrenia/what-is-schizophrenia of the American Psychiatric Association, schizophrenia is a chronic brain disorder that affects less than one percent of the U.S. population. When schizophrenia is active, symptoms can include delusions,

I have found that a pet can be a tremendous support when I feel alone and stressed. Their love is unconditional; all they ask is love and reasonable care in return. You may be able

A trigger automatically upsets or traumatizes a mental health consumer due to past trauma or their current mental health symptoms. Rather than the word “trigger,” which evokes “guns,” I prefer to use the expression “lights

It’s often challenging to fight the symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia and find pleasure in engaging with others. That can drive you to remain in the confines of your home rather than venture outdoors. This gut

In an earlier post, I encouraged you to write about your experiences with mental illnesses and brain disorders, whether as a mental health consumer or someone who cares about one. A different project is to

Today, I uploaded the first Chapter of my Podcast: “Schizophrenia As I Live It.” You can find it in the Podcast section of this website https://overliveschizophrenia.com. In this Podcast, I will talk about my experiences

The stigma of mental illnesses or brain disorders can make mental health consumers hard on themselves as they seek to incorporate the prejudice exercised against them. Taking care of someone else’s ignorance is not your

On days when I struggle to free my mind from paranoid loops or obsessive thoughts going nowhere, I find that stopping to do a guided meditation session helps. I use a meditation app on my

As someone who has endured multiple psychotic breaks due to living with schizophrenia, I know that you cannot always “return to normal” if that means going back to where you were before a psychotic break.

May 24 is World Schizophrenia Day, also called World Schizophrenia Awareness Day. I display an image of a rhinoceros and her calf because animals are such a source of inspiration and tranquility to me when

I once confided in a friend about problems I was having with my family. They advised: “Think about a worse problem for a while, then return to your problem. You may find you aren’t quite

I live with paranoid schizophrenia, as did my mother. My mother’s condition worsened due to her inability to admit she had psychiatric problems and the failure of her doctors to handle her denial. She became

When describing schizophrenia, experts usually put “not knowing what is real” near the top of the significant symptoms. Undoubtedly, someone undergoing a relapse of schizophrenia often misinterprets what their senses tell them and can harbor

I am recording a Podcast entitled “Schizophrenia As I Live It” to accompany my forthcoming book “The Overlife, A Tale Of Schizophrenia.” So far, I have posted three chapters on the website for that book:

When living with a mental illness or brain disorder, you can be so relieved when you are doing better that you can forget, or prefer to ignore, that you may struggle with your mental health

Today’s blog gives tips on creating a schedule to suit your mental health. Everyone’s mental health needs are unique, so finding a program that prioritizes self-care and promotes positive mental health may require some work.

In my book “The Overlife, A Tale Of Schizophrenia,” I write about the substantial benefits of the correct antipsychotic medication from a competent psychiatrist. We often see phrases like “With the appropriate medication and therapy,

Here are some tips on choosing a suitable psychiatrist for paranoid schizophrenia. Most of these tips can apply to other mental illnesses: Here are some additional factors to consider when choosing a psychiatrist for paranoid

Here are some tips on how to find a good psychologist for paranoid schizophrenia. They apply equally well as tips for any mental health consumer: When you are interviewing potential psychologists, there are a few

Socializing when you are paranoid can be challenging, but it is possible. Here are some tips: Here are some additional tips that may be helpful: Remember, you are not alone. Many people, even if they

The image above is an excellent summary of psychiatry versus psychology and where they meet. In mathematics, such diagrams are common in set theory and are called Venn diagrams. The light aqua areas pertain to

Once someone knows you live with a mental illness or brain disorder, that person may put you permanently under their microscope. It happens too often. You may therefore behave in a most rigid and conformist

In real life, in movies, and TV shows, you often hear people say, “The situation is so schizophrenic. I have several choices, all of which seem good to me.” More darkly, you may hear, from

It can be challenging to motivate yourself to exercise when you struggle with your mental health. On paper, the best thing to do would be to join a group of people practicing some exercise you

Some well-known insightful movies have been made about someone living with a mental illness. Examples are: “The Three Faces Of Eve (1957),” “A Beautiful Mind (2001),” and “Silver Linings Playbook (2012).” However, these movies are

What is Anosognosia? It is a Greek term meaning “to not know a disease.” NAMI (National Alliance On Mental Illness) has some information on its website about Anosognosia: click here to see it. From that

A lot of the stigma surrounding mental illness, particularly paranoid schizophrenia, is founded on a reaction of fear when someone either learns you are a mental health consumer or sees you behaving abnormally when you

The use of “people first” language in the context of political correctness when speaking about mental health is not as widespread or even acknowledged as it needs to be. For example, “Rhys is schizophrenic” is

Several Blog posts ago, we talked about Anosognosia. Today, we’ll talk about the LEAP method and schizophrenia, a mainstream, proven approach to helping people overcome anosognosia and accept treatment for their mental illness or brain

In this blog post, we will compare the meaning of “Overlife” in my book “The Overlife, A Tale Of Schizophrenia” and the meaning of the same word among scholars of Ancient Egypt or Egyptologists. We

One of the often-quoted symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia is a loss of touch with reality. However, it is important to stress that the person living with schizophrenia and currently struggling with its symptoms still perceives

There are various ways that stigma against someone living with paranoid schizophrenia can arise. Many people are scared of the diagnosis itself. The words “paranoid schizophrenia” evoke fear in a person who often does not

A common symptom of schizophrenia is auditory hallucinations. Auditory hallucinations happen when you hear voices or noises that aren’t there. The sounds you hear may seem real, but they’re not. It’s essential to include noises

A common symptom of schizophrenia is visual hallucinations. Visual hallucinations happen when you see people or objects that aren’t there or when your visual perception of people and things that are real is distorted or

Ageism, or agism, is discrimination against individuals or groups based on age. The term was coined in 1969 by Robert Neil Butler to describe discrimination against seniors. Butler defined “ageism” as a combination of three

In the first post for this blog, I encouraged mental health consumers to write about their psychological and psychiatric experiences. One application of this habit is to help you to recognize the repetition of symptoms

I keep a mental health diary to help me navigate the symptoms of living with paranoid schizophrenia and as a tool to prevent me from repeating mistakes in my approach to periods of challenging mental

I am happy to announce that my book “The Overlife, A Tale Of Schizophrenia” is available on Kindle. To access it on amazon.com, search for it there by title or author name, or click here.

In this blog post, I will briefly discuss my approach to writing about schizophrenia and psychosis, mental health, and family and relationships that culminated in my novel “The Overlife, A Tale Of Schizophrenia.” As I

The image is a free download by geralt on Pixabay; see this link. Today, October 10, 2023, is World Mental Health Day. World Mental Health Day takes place every year on October 10. This year’s

If you are listening to my Podcast: “Schizophrenia As I Live It, Part 1,”  which accompanies my novel “The Overlife, A Tale Of Schizophrenia,” then I have some news for you! First of all, my

Next week, I will be interviewed on a Podcast called “The Ikonic Podcast” put out by The Ikon Institute Of Australia. I will let you know when this interview is live.  What is the Ikon

One of the powerful tools I have developed to help me live with paranoid schizophrenia is establishing a routine. I have a daily routine, a weekly routine, and a monthly routine. In addition, there are

When struggling with severe mental illnesses or brain disorders, such as schizophrenia, there are times when our symptoms may not be under control and thereby become evident to some of the people we come across

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,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This Blog Post accompanies the Episode: “Unveiling Unexpected Allies in the Fight Against Schizophrenia Stigma” of my Podcast “Schizophrenia As I Live It,” available on this website and most podcast platforms, like Apple Podcasts. The

This Blog post accompanies the Episode: “Harnessing Harmony: Prioritizing at a Stressful Time” of my Podcast “Schizophrenia As I Live It.” Managing stress is a universal struggle in a world that moves at breakneck speed.

This blog post accompanies the episode “A Voyage To Wellness” of my podcast, Schizophrenia As I Live It. The podcast is available on many platforms, like Apple Podcasts and on the podcast page of this

This Blog accompanies the episode “A Schizophrenic’s Guide To Rising Above The Blues” of my podcast “Schizophrenia As I Live It” by Dianan Dirkby.  Navigating the choppy waters of mental health, for example, when dealing

This Blog Post is associated with the Episode  “Navigating the Tightrope of Mental and Physical Health in Schizophrenia” of my podcast “Schizophrenia As I Live It.” Living with schizophrenia is often described as a balancing

Mental Health Awareness Month has been observed in May in the United States since 1949. It is celebrated through media, local events, and film screenings. Mental Health America started Mental Health Awareness Month in 1949.

The image is a free download by ha11ok and is featured on pixabay.com. The following blog post accompanies the episode “The Gray Area Of Stigma” of my Podcast series “Schizophrenia As I Live It.”  Navigating

Today, I will discuss how I struggle with coincidence due to my paranoid schizophrenia. Often, as part of a paranoid episode, a train of thought can start with an understandable and realistic reaction. However, it

The image is a free download by johnhain on pixabay.com Today, I wanted to write again about the two-way street of stigma. The stigma of mental illness, especially schizophrenia, is an undeniable destructive force in

The image is a free download by geralt on pixabay.com This Blog is about schizophrenia and identity, what could be called schizophrenia identity disorder. However, one should contrast schizophrenia with a dissociative identity disorder as

The image is courtesy of amazon.com This week, my fiction novel The Overlife, A Tale Of Schizophrenia, achieved Best Seller status on Amazon.com. To celebrate the event, Amazon.com sent me several photos, and I chose

I am a fiction writer living with paranoid schizophrenia. There is a lack of written material, fiction and non-fiction, by mental health consumers and their caregivers, about their experiences, goals, and loves. If you are

You are not alone as a mental health consumer living with schizophrenia! In the USA alone, about 2.8 million adults aged 18 or older live with this brain disorder. In Australia, 64,000 people aged 18-64