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, hallucinations, disorganized speech, trouble with thinking, and lack of motivation. However, with treatment, most symptoms of schizophrenia will greatly improve, … Read more

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 to get your pet registered as an emotional support animal, which has some advantages, for example, when you travel. If … Read more

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 a match,” which I mean, of course, in a negative way. A match lights for many reasons, not all originating … Read more

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 reaction to stay inside can be overwhelming at times. My spouse helps me fight this problem by driving me to … Read more

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 keep a daily diary about other aspects of your life. If you are a mental health consumer, you are not … Read more

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 as a mental health consumer with the brain disorder paranoid schizophrenia, and I will discuss issues raised in my forthcoming … Read more

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 concern. If people cannot be kind to you, compensate by being kind to yourself. The sentiment of the image, which … Read more

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 iPhone for convenience and because I want to choose when I meditate. The app I use is “Calm” by Tamara … Read more

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. Even upon returning to good stable mental health, some of the trauma of the psychotic break remains. I seek therapy … Read more

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 struggle with the symptoms of schizophrenia. Many Mental Health Advocacy Groups are doing brilliant work today to bring the … Read more