Can somebody explain what schizophrenia is like for the person suffering with it.?

Question

Basically My Boyfriend told me he is diagnosed with it and takes medication but I know nothing about it and he finds it hard to talk about and I want to know more so I can be there and say the right things and that

Answer 1

My boyfriend is the same, he has been on all sorts of different meds and now its sort of working.
My boyfriend gets "voices" which we put on a quiet - loud scale e.g - 1 = no voices, 10 = really loud and cant cope (proberly need to go hospital).
You will gradually get to know when your boyf is having a shitty day and it is hard to cope with at first but, if you love each other you'll get through it.
Just remember if YOU think you cant cope then try being in your boyfriends shoes - its hard for him too.
Hope everything goes well for u both
xxxx

Answer 2

loads of these answers claim that schizophrenics hear voices in their heads which is not strictly true, there was a question once before asking about the symptoms of schizophrenia i answered it and got best answer if you wanna look it up it may be of some help. (Not to be arrogant but someone else found the information useful maybe it will help you)

The reason i don't re-list the symptoms is because you don't seem to be asking that, you appear to seek information about the experience of suffering from the condition for schizophrenics. The only people who can answer that fully would be someone who suffers from it and you must bear in mind that there are varying degrees of symptoms for each sufferer so not all will have the same experiences.

The ones i have spoken to (once on medication as they would never share this without being in a more stable frame of mind), have described feelings of fear, being trapped and lonliness. Imagine thinking that the whole world was out to get you and on occasion that your family members are imposters. One guy described a feeling of his head holding too much information, like it was going to explode but i'm not sure how generalised this is.

Even when the condition is stabilised with medication most are never really fully accepted by those who do not fully understand the condition as people believe that there is no way to stabilise a schizophrenic.

In general, the experience of this seems to depend on those around them, if understood properly a schizophrenic can lead a trouble free life and does not always suffer as a schizophrenic forever. It sounds like you wanna be supportive which is a step in the right direction.

One last thing, schizophrenia is not a multiple personality disorder even though it is often confused with it.

Answer 3

I did some research a couple of years back on schizophrenia. Last year I had a friend that was a paranoid schizophrenic. Schizophrenia is not just the usual "voices in the head" disease that people make it out to be. HOWEVER some extreme cases can be characterized by this behavior. Some syptoms of schizophrenia can be: lack of hygiene, loss of appetite, delusions, hallucinations, social withdrawl, and the thought or feelings of being controlled by outside forces that are not actually present. Symptoms seem to vary from person to person. For example, my friend did not take his medication, and he was a paranoid schizophrenic, therefore he pretty much thought that everyone was out to get him. Also my friend had multiple "personalities". Do not be confused, split personality disorder and schizophrenia are two different things, but some extreme cases of schizophrenia think that they are two or more people living in the same body. (i.e delusions).

I would say that the best thing for you to do would to let your boyfriend come to you in his own time. Do not push him for answers, even though it will be hard for you to understand at first. Be there for him, and show him that you can be trusted, and that you arent "out to get him" so to speak. In time once he knows that you are truly only concerned for his health and well being he will open up to you and share his thoughts and feelings with you.

Also remember that this is a hard time for him as well. He's dealing with thoughts and feelings that he may not know how to control, and he may have feelings of helplessness. Just encourage him to stay on his medz, because without them his symptoms could (and will) get worse.

I hope I was able to help a little at least.

Answer 4

I suffered from this for 30 years and have only just started coming out of about 5 years ago. The main thing is a pit of horror deep inside that drives one to behave very oddly. There is depersonalisation (not having an identity) seeing how oddly you are behaving in real time but not being able to control it. There is also thinking that people can read ones thoughts, strange anxious feeling and being very jumpy at emotions and things that are said to you by helpful people. (One tends to think that the helpful ones are the worst)
Your man does need medicating, but that is not the whole story. There might be some sheltered workshops in your area, doing art and drama therapy, also there is the National Schizophrenia Fellowship which runs drop-ins for the mentally ill, Mind have some as well. I wish you and your man all the luck in the world.

Answer 5

Schizophrenia (from the Greek word σχιζοφρένεια, "split mind") is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a mental disorder characterized by impairments in the perception or expression of reality and by significant social or occupational dysfunction. A person experiencing schizophrenia is typically characterized as demonstrating disorganized thinking, and as experiencing delusions or auditory hallucinations.

Although the disorder is primarily thought to affect cognition, it can also contribute to chronic problems with behavior and emotion. Due to the many possible combinations of symptoms, heated debate is ongoing about whether the diagnosis necessarily or adequately describes a disorder, or alternatively whether it might represent a number of disorders. For this reason, Eugen Bleuler deliberately called the disease "the schizophrenias" plural, when he coined the present name.

Diagnosis is based on the self-reported experiences of the patient, in combination with secondary signs observed by a psychiatrist, clinical psychologist or other clinician. No medical test for schizophrenia exists. Studies suggest that genetics, early environment, neurobiology and psychological and social processes are important contributory factors. Current psychiatric research into the development of the disorder often focuses on the role of neurobiology, although a reliable and identifiable organic cause has not been found. In the absence of a confirmed specific pathology underlying the diagnosis, some question the legitimacy of schizophrenia's status as a disease. Furthermore, some propose that the perceptions and feelings involved are meaningful and do not necessarily involve impairment.

The term schizophrenia translates roughly as "splitting of the mind", and comes from the Greek σχίζω (schizo, "to split" or "to divide") and φρήν (phrēn, "mind"). Despite its etymology, schizophrenia is not synonymous with dissociative identity disorder, also known as multiple personality disorder or "split personality"; in popular culture the two are often confused. People with schizophrenia are generally not more violent or dangerous than other members of the population.

Patients diagnosed with schizophrenia are highly likely to be diagnosed with other disorders. The lifetime prevalence of substance abuse is typically around 40%. Comorbidity is also high with clinical depression, anxiety disorders, and social problems, and a generally decreased life expectancy is also present. Patients diagnosed with schizophrenia typically live 10-12 years less than their healthy counterparts, owing to increased physical health problems and a high suicide rate. Unemployment and poverty are common.

Answer 6

You mean you have schizophrenia or in general? Everybody suffers different symptoms and there are different categorizations of it. Some just can't get their thoughts in order and can't concentrate on one task without constantly going off on tangents in their mind. For others it can be much more scary, hearing voices and commands, paranoid schizophrenics are convinced that they see messages on tv that are meant for them alone or that people are following them. It is far harder to explain to a person that these delusions of reference are not meant for them and if they hear voices it is impossible to control those without medication. They can lose touch with reality pretty quickly so even if they suffer from only a few symptoms, the rest of their mind can quickly follow into chaos to keep track of all the things happening in their head.

Find out exactly what type he has been diagnosed with so that you can do a specific search on the net. It is important to understand it but don't fall into the trap of putting every silly or strange thing down to the illness. Treat him the same and love him. It is very rare for a schizophrenic to be wildly crazy and violent, contrary to popular belief, so you probably aren't in any danger.

Answer 7

schizophrenia is a form of psychosis. this means that when the person is unwell they have no insight into their illness. the word psychosis may conjour up images of of knife weilding maniacs but that is what the word actually means. people with this illness suffer from both positive and negative symptoms; positive symptoms being ones you can see, negative ones you can't. people with schizophrenia can suffer from delusional thoughts, thought disorder and a variety of hallucinations. they do not exclusively hear voices they also have visual and tactile hallucinations (where they feel something touching them), and also can have delusions of funny tastes. there are also different types. also, people with this illness are more prone to harming themselves than others, contrary to media perceptions. most people with this illness manage to live a 'normal' life. ask your boyfriend how it feels for him, and remember it may have took a lot of courage for him to tell you about it. try scmh.org.uk a very good website. hope this helps

Answer 8

when u have schizophrenia u have hallucinations, excessive body pain, your joints lock up and you are very vulnerable. The person knows nothing and can feel their speech retarding or the symptoms of
Delusions, false personal beliefs held with conviction in spite of reason or evidence to the contrary, not explained by that person's cultural context


Hallucinations, perceptions (can be sound, sight, touch, smell, or taste) that occur in the absence of an actual external stimulus (Auditory hallucinations, those of voice or other sounds, are the most common type of hallucinations in schizophrenia.)


Disorganized thoughts and behaviors


Disorganized speech


Catatonic behavior, in which the affected person's body may be rigid and the person may be unresponsive

Answer 9

Schizophrenia can change the way a person hears, sees, tastes, thinks and feels.

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“Positive” Symptoms (presence of symptoms not normally noted in the general population)

Delusions: false ideas that a person has about him or herself or surroundings (such as receiving special messages from the TV or radio, having unusual powers that no one else has, or being singled out for persecution)

Hallucinations: sensations that are heard, seen, smelled, or felt that a person experiences while others do not. The most common hallucination is auditory – hearing voices talking negatively about the person or sometimes giving commands for dangerous behavior; however, not everyone with schizophrenia hears voices

Disrupted thoughts and behavior: trouble concentrating and maintaining a train of thought (conversation might not make sense-may respond to queries with a seemingly completely unrelated answer; or sentences that start with one topic and end somewhere completely different); unpredictable or erratic behavior, including pacing or rocking, depersonalization, or behavior inappropriate to the situation

Grossly disorganized behavior: inability to perform goal-directed tasks often resulting in daily living challenges; unpredictable agitation or silliness; behaviors that appear bizarre and lack purpose; social disinhibition, or the inability to suppress impulsive behaviors and emotions

“Negative” Symptoms (absence of what is normally noted in the general population)

Flattened or blunted affect: reduction of, or lack of emotional expression, including flat voice, lack of eye contact, and restricted facial expression

Avolition: lack of interest or enthusiasm for previously enjoyable activities, difficulty in creating goal-directed behavior, social withdrawal

Catatonic behavior: apparent unawareness of the environment, decreased motion or excess and aimless motions, bizarre postures, lack of self-care

Alogia: difficulties with speech, inability to carry a conversation, short and sometimes disconnected replies to questions, lessening of fluency
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/schizophrenia_symptom.htm

Answer 10

The literally hear voices in their head....can you imagine that? What gets me is that if someone heard angels or god talking to them, was psychic or such that they could also be told they were schizophrenic...people with brain tumors without headaches are often sent to psychiatrists before the tumors are diagnosed too. Kind of sad.