tschizofw

[tschizofw]

Delusion Masterpost

Delusions can be categorized in various ways. The following are not mutually exclusive categories; for example, a delusion may be both bizarre and systematized.

Bizarre delusions-are absurd and factually not possible. They may involve newly discovered gods or supernatural/space creatures.

feelings that one is dying, is already dead or does not exist (cotard delusion)

 feelings of different people being a single person (fregoli delusion)

 feeling like one’s reflection in a mirror is some other person (mirrored-self delusion)

feeling that family, partners, friends and / or pets have been replaced by identical fakes (capgras delusion)

feeling like the world only exists inside one’s head (solipsism delusion)

feeling that one is living in a reality TV show (Truman show delusion)

 feeling like one has an identical doppelgänger with a different (usually malicious) personality and life (subjective doubles delusion)

feeling like other people swap identities with each other without changing appearance (intermetamorphosis delusion)

 feeling like doesn’t belong to one’s body or doesn’t own parts of one’s body (somatoparaphrenia delusion)

feeling like a person, place, object, or body part has been duplicated or transported somewhere else (reduplicative paramnesia delusion)

Grandiose delusions-are beliefs that the individual has exceptional beauty, intelligence or influence.

feeling that one is a god or deity

feeling that one has magical powers i.e. mind reading, control over the weather etc

feeling that one is indestructible or unimaginably strong

feeling that another person or other people (usually celebrities) are in love with oneself

Persecutory (or paranoid) delusions- include that the individual is being harassed, threatened, watched or bugged. They often involve spies, bikies, God, Satan or neighbors.

feeling that one is constantly being followed / stalked

feeling that one is secretly being spied on by family, partners, friends, others, pets and / or inanimate objects

feelings of fear over being kidnapped. Usually by a stranger.

feeling that one is constantly being watched (by unknown entities or known entities)

feeling that one is being ridiculed by family, partners, friends and / or others

feeling that one is being spied on or monitored by the government, FBI etc.

feeling that family members, partners, friends, others, pets and / or inanimate objects are secretly conspiring to kill oneself

feeling like is being or will be poisoned by others

Delusions of reference- are the belief that the everyday actions of others are premeditated and made with special reference to the patient. Commonly patients complain about being talked about on television or the radio. Patients may believe that music played or words spoken on television have been specifically chosen to identify or annoy them. People crossing the street or coughing may be interpreted as making purposeful actions, performed to indicate something to, or about, the patient.

Delusions of control- involve the belief that others are controlling the patient’s thoughts, feelings or actions.

Nihilistic delusions-are the belief that part of the individual or the external world does not exist, or that the individual is dead (Cotard syndrome). Financially comfortable individuals may believe they are destitute, in spite of bank statements to the contrary. Patients who believe they have no head or are dead, are unable to explain how that could be possible, but still hold the belief.

Somatic delusions- are false beliefs about the body. These may be bizarre or non-bizarre. A bizarre example is when the individual believes his nose is made of gold. A nonbizarre example is when the individual believes he has cancer of the rectum, in spite of negative reports from a competent doctor who has examined the rectum.

Delusions of infestation/parasitosis- are not uncommon in dermatological clinics (Hylwa et al, 2011).

Delusions of guilt - that the individual is guilty of purposefully or non-purposefully damaging themselves, other individuals or important property. Individuals may believe they are guilty of causing the cancer of the lady who lives next door, or a drought in Central Africa.

Delusions of jealousy - the belief that the partner is being unfaithful, and may involve checking the partner’s underclothes for stains or foreign pubic hairs.

Erotic delusions (erotomania) - the belief of the patient that another person is in love with him/her (de Clerambault syndrome). This (among others) may be a motivation for stalking, and lead to contact with the unwelcoming central figure of the delusion.

Systematized delusions- are united by a single theme. They are often highly detailed and may remain unchanged for years.

Non-systematized delusions- may change in content and level of concern, from day to day or even from minute to minute.

[tschizofw]

Mental health recovery server!

A server for all neurodivergent people who want to focus on self care and positivity. 

Don’t join if: 

- you’re racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, etc

- you’re going to talk about discourse a lot

- you’re anti self dx 

We currently have invites open to everyone! 

Invite link: https://discord.gg/7A5kJWJ

[tschizofw]

that szpd "feel" when your friend thinks that sending you heart emojis and "i love you" messeges when you blatantly ignore them will not make you ignore them even more

[tschizofw]

tschizofw there are rats in the room. I don’t see them, but I Know They’re There

[tschizofw]

someone: mentally ill people are just like everyone else they dont have super powers or anything!

every schizo in the room:

[tschizofw]

Hi my brother was officially diagnosed this month, which has been a battle for us. I saw your post about the categories and was wondering if it is significant that he used to only show positive symptoms but has started showing more of just negative? This is all new to us and I just want to understand more of whats going on. Help is really slow here... :/

any and all symptoms of like any disorder can fluctuate in a certain situation or just in general. for example recently my positive symptoms have died down whereas my cognitive symptoms have boomed. nothing is stagnant. its normal so i wouldnt worry about it too much. you can just ask him what he needs/wants help with, if anything, bc doing basic day to day things that seem simple can be really hard for someone with strong negative symptoms

[tschizofw]

*attempts to read a book*

*Gets through three pages and has no idea I was even reading*

“What are words?”

[tschizofw]

Is this blog also for people w Schizoid Personality Disorder (szpd)?

yup!

[tschizofw]

hi everyone, i’m D and i’m a new blog focused on mental health, specifically with schizo-spec PoC in mind (though anyone can follow!) 

i just started the blog so follow me for more schizophrenia-related/self love/self care content! 

i’m also looking for schizophrenia/schizo-spec blogs run by schizophrenics/schizo-spec people so like this and i’ll check your blog out!

[tschizofw]

sometimes i swear my intrusive thoughts are just people airdropping shit like my brains a goddamn iphone

[tschizofw]

Schizophrenia Awareness Month Official prompt list 2018

1. Introduction 2. Delusions 3. Hallucinations 4. Disorganized behavior/speech 5. Negative symptoms 6. Cognitive symptoms 7. Stigma 8. Correct a misconception/myth 9. Representation in media 10. Comorbid diagnoses 11. Discrimination 12. Coping methods 13. Dealing with schizophrenia in work/school 14. Tips on how to best help and support a person with schizophrenia 15. How you’re finding joy and hope in life with schizophrenia 16. Do you take anti psychotics/go to therapy? Why/why not? 17. Community and interactions with other schizophrenics 18. Schizophrenia and abuse/free space 19. Schizophrenia and relationships/friendships 20. How people react to knowing you have schizophrenia/how to react? 21. How do your symptoms affect you in your everyday life? 22. When/how did you realize you had schizophrenia/get diagnosed? 23. Schizophrenia and creativity 24. This is what schizophrenia looks like 25. Do you have any advice for newly diagnosed schizophrenics? 26. What not to say to a person with schizophrenia 27. Music/art/books that you relate to your experience with schizophrenia 28. Paranoia 29. Schizophrenia and loss 30. Schizophrenia and dreams/future plans 31. Free space/something schizophrenia related that you want people to know

Use the tags #schizospeaking #psychotictalk #notathreat

Who can participate? • Everyone on the schizo spectrum and the psychosis spectrum can participate, including people who have yet to get an official diagnosis. If you relate to the prompts, you’re welcome to join. Feel free to reword/rewrite certain prompts so that they fit your experience better.

How to participate? • Every day of May has a prompt/topic that you can use as inspiration for a post. How to twist it and what angle to write from is entirely up to you. Don’t worry if you can’t write something for all the prompts or if you skip a couple days. Any level of participation is encouraged!

Please consider reblogging this post to spread the word and make more people aware of this campaign! Love, sweetschizo ❤️

[tschizofw]

For schizophrenia awareness month I want every LGBTQ+ person on the schizophrenia spectrum to know that you’re perfect.

Schizo bi, pan, ace, aro, ply, lesbian, gay, abro, omni and queer people are brilliant!! Just like every schizo wlw, mlm, nblnb, nblw, nblm, wlnb and mlnb out there!

Oh and schizo trans women, trans men, androgynes, enbies, juxeras, proxvirs, demigirls, demiboys, maveriques and nonbinary, genderqueer, genderfluid, agender, genderflux people and schizo people with any other gender identity that doesn’t always completely match their AGAB? Awesome, incredible!! You’re flawless!

LGBTQ+ people anywhere on the SZ-spectrum are lovely! This includes schizophrenics, schizoaffective ppl, schizotypals, schizoids and a lot more! Self-diagnosed and professionally diagnosed!

Your gender identity and orientation are not a delusion. You’re not only valid, but also extraordinary!!

[tschizofw]

Hey if you’re schizophrenic/psychotic I just want you to know that you’re a wonderful person and that you deserve so much better than the demonization, marginalization and stigmatization you face in this society.

[tschizofw]

Schizophrenia and Psychosis Discord

Making a new post for this because I can’t find the old one!

https://discord.gg/eqV2MVt

[tschizofw]

What is schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is a complicated mental illness which affects roughly 1% of the population. Schizophrenia symptoms are categorized in three groups - positive, negative and cognitive.

Positive symptoms:

Delusions. A delusion is a fixed belief that doesn’t fit into societal and cultural norms that doesn’t change when confronted with a contradicting reality. Delusions can take many different forms and can be everything from “people can read my mind” to “I’m being stalked by the government” to “I’m being possessed by demons” to “I’m the next Jesus.”

Hallucinations. Hallucinations means experiencing sensory input that isn’t actually there. They can be both tactile (feeling touches that aren’t there - example: feeling that bugs are crawling on you when there isn’t any bugs), auditory (hearing voices or other sounds that aren’t there), visual (seeing things that aren’t there), olfactory (smelling things that aren’t there) and gustatory (to do with taste - example: having food taste rotten when it’s fine.)

Disorganized thinking/behavior as in a lack of ability to organize ones thoughts and a resulting lack of ability to speak, act and express yourself normally. One may say things that doesn’t make sense to other people, start on an explanation and never get to the point, use words that doesn’t exist, etc.

Negative symptoms:

Apathy. Apathy is the loss of interest in things that used to interest a person. This includes both jobs, hobbies, relationships and personal hygiene. (A person may go from being passionate about their job to lying in bed all day.)

Inappropriate or lacking emotional responses. (A person may not react emotionally to things that a normal person would react emotionally to or may have an inappropriate emotional response - an example could be laughing at a family members funeral or smiling at bad news.)

Lack of speech. (A person may go from speaking normally to giving one word answers or not speaking at all.)

Social withdrawal. (A person may lose all interest in socializing and stop seeing/isolating themselves from their friends and family members.)

Anhedonia. Anhedonia is the lack of ability to feel pleasure as in no longer getting positive emotional responses from anything and feeling empty and grey when doing things that used to make one happy.

Sexual problems. (A person may lose their interest in sex partly or completely.)

Lethargy. Lethargy means lack of energy. (A person may go from being able to go to school every day to not being able to get out of bed.)

Impaired attention. (A person may struggle to follow conversations and focus on reading, etc).

Cognitive symptoms:

Loss of long and short term memory.

Loss of working memory.

Loss of ability to concentrate/focus.

Loss of executive functioning. (The ability to plan and act out different tasks.)

Learning difficulties.

[tschizofw]

Busting Schizophrenia Myths!

“Aren’t schizophrenic people dangerous-” No. Violence towards other people isn’t a symptom of schizophrenia, nor is it common in schizophrenic people. That’s not to say that no one with schizophrenia has ever been violent because of their psychosis, but it isn’t a symptom of or in the diagnostic criteria for the illness, and schizophrenic people in general are no more likely to be violent than anyone else.

“Isn’t that when you have multiple personalities-” No. Schizophrenia isn’t about having multiple personalities - that’s called Dissociative Identity Disorder and is a completely different mental illness. Schizophrenic people might hear one or more voices in their heads and may feel like their actions or thoughts are being controlled by other people/outside forces, but this isn’t the same as having several personalities as it’s always the schizophrenic persons own personality which reacts to these distressing experiences.

“Isn’t schizophrenia when you’re psychotic like when you hear voices and stuff-” Yes, but schizophrenia isn’t “just” about experiencing psychosis (hallucinations, disorganized thinking/speech/behavior and delusions), it also consists of what’s called negative symptoms (lack of energy, lack of motivation, social isolation, lacking or inappropriate emotional responses, lack of ability to feel pleasure) and cognitive symptoms (impaired memory, impaired concentration, learning difficulties, executive dysfunction and impaired working memory). Schizophrenia is a complex mental illness and psychosis is only 1/3 of what schizophrenic people struggle with.

“You can’t recover from schizophrenia, right-” Not true. 25% of the people diagnosed with schizophrenia are symptom free within 5-10 years of being diagnosed with the illness and up to 80% improve with ongoing treatment and support. Schizophrenia isn’t necessarily a life sentence, and while you can’t EXPECT to recover from schizophrenia and while there’s no known cure, recovery is possible for many people with the right treatment.

“Shouldn’t schizophrenic people be locked up-” No. Schizophrenic people are people just like everyone else, and we have the right to the same human rights and the same freedom as other people. We might need to be hospitalized for our own safety sometimes, but we have as much of a right to be a part of and interact with society as everyone else.

“Real schizophrenic people don’t know they’re sick, right-” Some don’t, but at least 45% of schizophrenics are aware that they’re suffering from schizophrenia, so a person being aware that they’re schizophrenic and having insight into their illness/knowing that what they’re experiencing isn’t real or normal isn’t a sign that they aren’t really sick.

“What if schizophrenic people just have special powers-” I’m not going to deny you your right to your spiritual beliefs, but I’m going to insist that you don’t force them onto me or any other schizophrenic person. Just like I’m not gonna show up at a Christians door saying that God isn’t real just because I’m an atheist, you don’t get to tell a schizophrenic person that they can see into other dimensions or talk to spirits. You risk triggering or worsening our illness by sharing your spiritual or religious speculations, so don’t bring them up. Ever.

“Aren’t schizophrenic people dangerous if they don’t take their meds-” No. Anti psychotic meds are heavy medication that impacts your life in many ways, and taking them should always be a free choice. Some people would rather live with their psychosis than take anti psychotic medication, and this doesn’t automatically make them a danger to anyone.

[tschizofw]

Bored? Learn about schizophrenia!

If you’re just scrolling around looking for the next funny meme, consider spending some time doing me and all other schizophrenic people a giant favor by reading a little about schizophrenia - a very stigmatized and misunderstood mental illness. I’ve collected a bunch of resources for you - all you have to do is click a link or three!

What is schizophrenia?

Symptoms of schizophrenia

Myths about schizophrenia

Statistics related to schizophrenia

Different types of hallucinations

Different types of delusions

Different types of disorganized speech

The negative symptoms of schizophrenia

What to do when your schizophrenic friend talks about delusions or hallucinations

Helping someone with psychosis

If you checked out any of these links, thank you so much - and even if you didn’t, please consider reblogging this post so that someone else might. Living with schizophrenia means facing a giant stigma, and we need to end that stigma little by little by educating people on what being schizophrenic actually means.