What it's like Living with Schizophrenia
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- Опубликовано: 7 ноя 2022
- In this video, I share my experience living with schizoaffective disorder. Everyone will have a little bit of a different experience, but this is what it's like for me living with schizophrenia.
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Lauren,
Your online presence is a priceless GIFT to so many people. Your voice is clear, vulnerable, and authentic. My mom lived with schizoaffective disorder for most of her life and as her only child, I witnessed her suffering throughout my life. My mom died in 2017 but your videos feel like a way for me to reconnect with and understand her better and also to heal so much of my own trauma. I so wish that she could’ve had somebody like you to help her feel less isolated and stigmatized and LONELY. I weep grateful tears when I think of all the people you’re helping with your openness and education. Thank you!!
Absolutely agree. I admire anybody who lives through this, it sound so frightening. Anyone experiencing these kind of symptoms deserves praise and the ut out support. Thank you for your honesty, it's quite wonderful.
Molly that's beautiful that you are being helped in your grief with reflecting and learning about what your mum lived through x
Hey, my name is Kevin and I have been living with Schizoaffective disorder. Even on my medication I still am very disorganized and occasionally I have Paranoid thoughts in that I think people are out to get me. I love this channel. I feel like this combined with therapy has helped me overcome my differences, but I do have more to learn about myself.
Check out Jerry Marzinsky on RUclips. You might get more insights about your illness.
you describe everything so good, its hard for people that dont have this mental illness, people think we are dangerous or just faking or whatever
Agreed, the discrimination can be intense
@@Hughes17 its always good to inform people on mental illness
Been dealing with schizophrenia for 3 years and its starting to hit me this year. That my life is gonna be harder because of it.
I have bipolar 2 disorder. I carry so much shame and embarrassment from suffering 😭 Thank you for sharing and being brave❤️Love from 🇰🇪
I know your comment is super old but I can’t tell you how heartbreaking I found it. I wish I could make you feel better. Please try your hardest to not feel shame or embarrassment. It’s not your fault and you didn’t do anything wrong. You deserve to feel confident and proud for getting through everyday in spite if your illness. Biggest hugs and you aren’t alone❤❤❤❤
@@Teenywing awwww thank you so much for your kind words ❤️
Thank you for sharing awareness on our illness. ❤I’ve been diagnosed with schizophrenia for the last 12 years. I don’t take medications but I see a counselor every month.. Sometimes it’s hard to explain things, thank you for putting it into words. You’re amazing! 🤗
Whoa! Do you find you can function on a constant basis? How do you deal with hallucinations and delusions! Did your counselor help you develop skills to deal with the difficulties of anxiety and fear? How do you not take meds? Is your situation not overwhelming, or at least manageable on a day to day basis! Have you honestly progressed on your path so far to the point that you are able to notice and distinguish the difference between reality and the distortion of it! I‘m sorry if I am skeptical about your ability to not take medication for schizophrenia on an ongoing basis! I am dumbfounded! Again, I am very sorry for being skeptical, because I have been dealing with schizoaffective for 27 years and I still need medication.
@@markreamer5113 bro.....your like me, dont cherry pick and rant on the internet to make yourself feel better, i know its hard but your going to be ok
@@jassmeep23 Okay, I wasn’t trying to make myself feel better, but I do feel the need to express my skepticism when it arises! Of course I don’t know you, but regardless if you have found honest and workable methods to deal your schizophrenia and improve the quality of your then that’s great!
Is it possible to live without medicine and only councelling?
Pl reply
How long were you on medication
@@dilshadandharia6833 im doing it and while its a tough journey its well worth it (i understand im not Living well with scizophrenria but i thought the add support would help)
Hi Lauren, I discovered your channel a little over a year ago when I first started treatment for my schizoeffective disorder. Hearing you talk about it has really helped me process my own experience, and I just wanted to thank you (and Rob too!). It has been so great to send your videos to my support system!
i hear voices and kind see almost like shadows that others can not see, also when i have a bad day sometimes i think everyone is watching and talking about me, i think one the worst part of the disorder is not being able to think, i mean by being able to make decisions, even trying to read a book can be very difficult i cant work because of my condition
What you’re saying makes sense. Scientists actually used to think schizophrenia was primarily based on cognitive difficulties like the ones you describe, and hallucinations and delusions were secondary issues. Pop culture thinks of schizophrenia only in terms of positive symptoms, but that is inaccurate as pop culture often is.
My wife is having a hard time taking medications cuz you can't find the right one.. She just got off the medications You've been actually doing good but I'm always afraid that it could hit her again. The last time she had an episode it lasted almost 2 months and I didn't think she would actually come back. You know as a man I cried because what she was going through I really didn't understand it. So I've been looking into videos and I actually like your videos So I definitely subbed. And I send you videos to her too. She just started looking into it what schizophrenia is All these years she didn't want to look into it because she didn't want to face it. But also the men she was with were very abusive and it is true and they say schizophrenia are very vulnerable people. I'm glad you found me and I found her because I would never hurt that woman at all if anything I'll be there for her. After 5 years I married her because I know she's the one I want to be with She doesn't lie to me she's honest she's faithful. I would never trade her up for anyone!
My mother in law has schizophrenia, and she's ageing now. She is at a point where the medication has taken a toll on her body. A doctor said 8 years ago that he would be surprised if she lived more than 5 years. She's exceeded that, but she's been the target of scum bags who target vulnerable people. It can be enormously difficult to support her.
This is a really valuable video for me to understand her better. Thank you
I believe it's been talked about by her doctors - we are in Australia, unsure if there are country differences. It isn't right for it to be disregarded by doctors though, so I am sorry if that's been your experience 😔
And as blunt and horrible as this is, it was either medication or she would have unalived herself long before now.
Peace be with you. My wish for you is that you always have inner peace. You are loved and needed. You are needed by your family, friends and the virtual world.
I have schizoaffective bipolar also. Thank you for your videos! On meds, most of my symptoms are mild depression. When I was psychotic, ideas of reference were one of my predominant symptoms.
i also have szhizophrenia and I suffer from reading and understanding subjects. Is there a solution to this?
A friend's son has schizophrenia and I want to learn more about it to understand what her son (and she and her husband) goes through. I have bipolar II and it makes it easier for me to empathize with some of the symptoms of schizophrenia. Thank you for this channel and these videos! You're so brave!
you are so brave for coming out like this about your illness, I truly admire your strenght
Shes a fake by pharma....crisis actor robby parker etc.....
It sounds like demon possessed.
I hope more people will accept that schizophrenia is not just "hearing voices" as so many people, even some psychologists, seem to think. I find schizophrenia fascinating as it provides insight into how the brain works and highlights the complexities of how each person can experience life so differently, which is always worth keeping in mind.
Hi Lauren,
It's 20 weeks from a severe episode of relapse with hospitalisation for me after a 17 year period of recovery. And so there wasn't this RUclips channel or the general information out there for me then. But today your videos have and are making a massive difference for my recovery and self acceptance of how schizophrenia affects my life experiences. And has done from my teenage years. This video really helped me in identifying with and understanding the subtle and gentle nuanced ways I experience schizophrenia in recovery. I just wanted to thank you for the work your doing.
I have thankful for your channel. I was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar. You bring awareness about what happens to someone with the illness.
I have a Masters degree in Psychology and I never heard of smell being associated with hallucinations. Thank you for doing these informative videos.
It is also sensory. Sometimes its like the very needed senses are swapped with something else. Sometimes i hear glass breaking. Sometimes I see shadows. Sometimes i smell blood or my food becomes inedible cuz it transformed in my mind into slugs. Its just outlines sometimes. Not full visuals. At least that is much as i can explain on my end. Smell is awful sometimes
@@WolfTalkings Thank you for sharing your experience
Often in Psychiatry referred to as an olfactory delusion
You're extremely lucky to be supported by others. Even my family doesn't feed me and didn't care if I was homeless.
I haven't had a well day in 20 years
I’m so sorry to hear, I will pray for you, may Mama Mary be with you 💛
Yes, that probably multiplies problems a lot and makes the struggle even harder...
@@a.mie.533 Yeah the inward voices in hear are similar to an emotional self hatred, forever condemning and judging me in a third person perspective, I wouldn't be surprised if it's now really my anger
Sorry to hear :( I will also pray. Keep fighting.
@@tonybeak11 nowadays it's not so much hearing voices or believing in things,
It's that my mind has been mentally shattered
Thank you for these videos. As someone with Schizoaffective bipolar these videos help me know I’m not alone. Been subscribed for a while now.
Thank you for sharing! Schizophrenia nearly killed me multiple times and I can now say I am in a state of some well being like you call it. I worked pretty damn hard and it is always a balancing act of adjusting my medication right. I'm am now dealing with some horrible side effects of the meds which make me absolutely depressed (which I already was) so sometimes I really think 'what's the point?'. But I just want to say to everyone, don't give up! It can get better! 'Better' is an ongoing process and it takes a lot of time, dedication, work, luck and support but it is possible. Take care everyone
I dont have Schizophrenia but i am so impressed with your channel. The work you are doing in informing and destigmatizing is truly amazing. Ive always been compassionate when it comes to mental illness but id simply never found a resource like yours to learn more in such a real and practical way. Keep up the good work, i think you have a very clear purpose with the struggles you are going through to be a positive force and advocate to supporting others with your same illness. And just bg livinv your life, having a partner and kids you are already an example in showing that its possible to live a productive and happy life even if it comes with its periodic difficulties.
This is a huge eye opener for me. For years, I’ve experienced feelings of those tactile hallucinations, like I feel a spider crawling up me even though there’s nothing there, or bugs in my hair even though I definitely do not have that either. The smell too, I’m constantly carrying a bottle of body mist or room spray because I smell things that are gross to me but no one else can smell. I thought these were all just normal things people experience a few times a week, but apparently not? Even then I experience those two types near daily but always thought it was normal.
But visual hallucinations are something I’ve almost never experienced, maybe 3-4 times in 20 years of life. Audio hallucinations I can’t tell…sometimes it feels like just my thoughts but sometimes I feel like it’s something close to my natural voice telling me to do bad things (jumping out of a window is a common one) or even just straight up laughing at me. But I always just blamed that on my depression that I’m not really well medicated on.
I tried explaining all this to my boyfriend who started getting concerned about my mental health and even he’s a bit creeped out by some of the things I’ve experienced. I already experience Paranoia as confirmed by a psychiatrist but was never diagnosed with anything else except Autism and Depression. Perhaps this is a sign to look into things once more.
Time to go seek out a better psychiatrist, I think. It took my third psychiatrist to actually diagnose me properly and to get on the proper medications. I hope you can find better help.
its a every day struggle and it can seem like a nightmare.
Thank you Lauren & friends (that includes you, too, Robb!) You two evoke empathy from me, & are inspirational. I hide my schizophrenia diagnosis from others. I hope to be as brave as Lauren & have a partner as supportive as Robb. Ya'll Canadians sure do export some high quality content to your southern border neighbors. 🖖
Excellent… thank you!
You are a source of hope! Thank you for starting this channel! Who knows how many lives you have changed/saved/touched. God Bless you.
Thank you!!
Thank u for sharing
So soothing to listen to. Thanks for sharing Lauren. I'm one of your fans. :).
What a wonderful comprehensive video!
Thank you for sharing your experience ❤
Feels very real ! I can relate so much!
Thanks Lauren ❤
Thanks!
You are amazing!!
Thank you 🙏🏻
Thank you thank you thank you Lauren. Great work.🧡🧡🧡🧡
Thank you. ☺
Thanks Lauren!
Thank you Lauren , Bless you ❤
My daughter is 19 and in a state hospital in Pennsylvania 😢She claims to have 4 children and they charge ages and names and she called 911 the other night from the hospital saying that they were raping her babies, my daughter has no children 😢It is so heartbreaking 💔
Prayers...I know how utterly devastating it can be for a mother. I have faith and keep hope.
Sorry, I need to be committed I'm homeless in few days in a motel,
My mom abandoned me she isn't perfect
Sorry. Prayers
Being hospitalised was a very good thing for me- they put me on medication that really helped me. I hope that your daughter gets better.
I love your channel. Thank you for sharing. Once I was afraid of people knowing I have schizoaffective disorder but now I open more about it to educate people.
Thank you so much for sharing ❤️
sending love to you
You are very brave and strong! I really couldn't image how it is hard to distinguish yourself from this illness. My mom couldn't. Unfortunately she gave in to that voice in her head. Unfortunately, she could not separate herself from the disease, so she perceived the disease as her identity. Your big plus is that you separate the disease from yourself. I think it helps a lot. Thank you a lot for this video. I wish you be strong despite all❤
You are so brave. Thank you for sharing with us who do not have schizophrenia.
Thank you so much for sharing….
Thank you
My son is the mental facility today… thank you Lauren..
My goodness… your video about a difficult episode came up in my feed a few days ago, and then this one popped up. I do not have mental illness myself, but I think your willingness to explain and even show your own vulnerability here is very educational and helpful to those who would want to understand what you live with. I wish you the best.
Hi Lauren thanks for sharing. I hope you get an award or medal for all the great work and positivity you are bringing to demystifying this illness which can be crippling at times. Keep up all your good work and best of luck 👍
Thank You
I am so thankful for brave people like you who are willing to share so openly. My son is autistic and developing signs of schizophrenia, and your videos help me have hope and courage and strength to keep fighting for his treatment and his best life. Thank you and blessings to you.
thank you
It’s amazing how you are able to share and explain your experience with schizophrenia
Thanks for sharing and bring this out in the open. The more people understand the better. :-)
Thank you very much for your videos. This one has been particularly helpful for me in terms of giving me hope. My best friend has schizoafective disorder and sometimes he can be avoidant when it comes to talk about his emotions and symptoms. Hearing about you journey and how you get to talk so openly and sincerely about it helps a lot
Thanks for another wonderful video! You are really helping the community with your amazing sharing of your story! People really get inspired watching you share so bravely!
The content is really meaningful. Thanks for sharing your experience with others and persisting through the ups and downs. ❤️👍
Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us. We have a loved one with Schizoaffective disorder and you help us understand him. He doesn’t talk about it at all so your insights are incredibly valuable to us. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, this information helps us all.
This video was incredibly informative, I was actually going to reach out to you to ask about your schizophrenia, but this was more then enough. Thank you for helping me understand what is it like living with schizophrenia!
Lauren your amazing forgot about your channel but will watch what I have missed . Your a very calming person alot of the stuff you said hit home your a amazing person 🙏🙏🙏
You are such a beautiful and brave soul. Thank you for letting us learn more about this disorder. 🙏 People fear what they don't know or understand so you are helping us to know and understand. ❤
Thanks for sharing I experience some of those symptoms to
I realy admire how you manage your life and I think you're so strong.
You are such an intelligent person and you articulate so well. ♥️
Thank you for sharing
Thank you for your very informative talk. My brother has this illness and this helps me to understand the "Fog" he is in.
I don't have this illness but my grandma was diagnosed with schizophrenia at 73. Very very late onset. So not sure if it's a genetic thing in this case or environmental. But it helps to learn about the illness. Also just general awareness. Thankyou Lauren.
I am nearly in tears. This is describing my life. I've tried to ask my psych if I have schizophrenia, but she keeps saying it's just part of my PTSD diagnosis. But everywhere I look keeps saying it's unusual to happen with PTSD, especially since I've had these psychotic symptoms since I was young and I'm 35 now. My psych invalidates the hallucinations I've had ("They're just illusions and they aren't what you're telling me, because people with genuine hallucinations don't suspect they're hallucinating"). So I stopped talking about it, and I neglected to mention a lot of olfactory hallucinations because I've been invalidated for so long I thought it couldn't be anything. I also have auditory hallucinations that mostly take place in my head, and I never spoke about them because you always hear people say 'it's like people are in the room with me' but I took that literally, I had no idea what I was experiencing counted! Sometimes they'll just shout or mention the most random words, sometimes random names, and they're crystal clear and I'm like 'what in the hell? That didn't come from me.' I've had a problem as well of smelling bad smells that aren't there. I remember calling a friend over because I couldn't find the bad smell in my kitchen and it was so gross, but when she entered the kitchen, she said she smelled nothing. To me, it was overpowering and made me nauseous. I also get the weird touches, and like bugs crawling on me and hallucinating bugs. It sometimes makes me physically jump and start swatting.
I'm going to get a new doctor. This illness runs in my direct family and I've suspected I've had it for years, but I've experienced so much medical gaslighting I just have been confused and scared. I'm currently on meds for other diagnoses they'd give you for schizophrenia anyway, but a proper diagnosis would be better so I can have the proper treatment overall. Thank you so much for sharing your experience, you've really helped me.
It is a huge challenge everyday dealing with all the voices and noises. I am right there with you. Great video and informative. Thank you
Hi Lauren I have schizoaffective disorder, I'm going through a hard time with medications. I have heart failure so trying to find an antipsychotic and mood stabiliser that doesn't affect my heart is challenging. Thank you for your videos, they are really helpful.
As a nurse in training for my PMHNP degree. I appreciate you helping give us insight into your experience with schizophrenia.
Thank you very much! Your explanations educate me. I'm better able to cope. I enjoyed and benefited from learning about executive function. Yea, I start a lot of things and finish few.
I do not suffer from schizophrenia but I want to be a therapist when I’m older. I think it’s amazing that you are spreading awareness for this condition!
Thank you Lauren for supporting people with schizoaffective disorder I have had mental illness since age 19. Paranoia and schizoaffective disorder . So I know it’s not always easy . I like that your explaining these problems that can happen with it sometimes that can become problematic.❤ god bless best wishes.
Thanks for sharing. Real eye opener. I had no idea.
I have Exec Function issues too. So I know what that feels like and I didn't realize how different I really see things than others whose Exec Function is normal until very recently. Reality is hard to distinguish.
These are really great videos and very informative. I have a family member with schizoaffective disorder bipolar type so these videos hold a lot of value to me. I'd like to ask, could you possibly do a video on schizo-obsessive disorder (schizophrenia with co-morbid OCD diagnosis)? I have a very hard time finding resources about this topic but I know someone with this condition that I'd like to help out more...
U are so smart and talk with such grace...your brave and beautiful
You are so good at putting words on the topic. You are doing a great work and i feel soothed watching your content. I tired doing content myself but they don''t give the right picture of the struggle. My head is a mess, i forget thing, thoughts are taken away from me. And also disorginised thinking. In my videos i look like a normal person. But i've been though alot. And i don't remember all of it. like the ambulance ride to the hospital after a suicide attempt when i was first diagnosed. The severe depression and mood swings i had to be hospitalized for before the onset of Schizophrenia. I did not know what schizophrenia was. i had heard the word but did not understand. I thought it was the same as PSYCHO. A evil person. I did not know i was going mental beacouse the symptoms started slowly. I became alone and paranoid, i had delusions. i covered my windows, i heard voices. I tried self medicating with illegal drugs. They made me feel so good. But then it got worse. and Worse. I've been on so manyh medications. But i don't think about it. I get a lot of help here in sweden from the psychiatry. I just lost my job, and its hard to find a new one. My family believe in me so much. And its hard. I almost get to have a false identity when i talk to them. When im working i go into a role, which helps but is also stressfull.
My doctor listens to me. And he believe me. i hope. at least i get injections every month. Still have some symptoms though. I don't drink alchohol.But i did some weeks ago, a whole lote...and i felt so alive so i just drank more.....but i puked and was totaly disorginased and i don't remember anything almost at the end.
People don't get how wierd it is to be on antipsychotics. I don't feel alive. But i can manage the symptoms.
The most severe delusion (im not even sure it is a delusion) is that i have alzhiemers. I Have not tested myself for it. And it gives me so much anxiety
Thank you for this video, Lauren! I personally recently resumed my AP because of an increase in many of the symptoms you mentioned, to where my pdoc expressed concern. I've made a habit over the past year in how to manage the 'mild' hallucinations like people in the house that aren't there or (the most annoying) hearing my name called everywhere. I try my best to redirect my attention away from them but of course this has caused friction with others as I often miss things that were going on where my presence would likely have been wanted. I think it's better than hurriedly leaving my room to investigate every 30 minutes. It does get to a point though where I'm unable to tune the voices out and the unintelligible mumbles become radio broadcasts and such. That's when I hit the emergency button and go back on the AP and call my doc.
Im not convinced that those things you’re hearing aren’t there. Maybe you’re tapping into other realms that exist around us. Thats what i feel every time i hear a person with schizophrenia talk about their symptoms.
I love this video, because when I go thru my episodes it's so hard to tell the difference
Thanks
Your eloquence and candid explanations help me understand my own schizoaffective disorder (bipolar type) more than my psychiatrist even can. Thank you for your honesty and openness.
God bless you
Really good video
My daughter's dad died during a schizophrenic episode six months ago. These videos help me understand what he may have been goin through. I wish I had known how to help him.
When I'm struggling with my illness -- I'll get really withdrawn.
I feel like I NEED to hide from people and the outside world because I'm ashamed of being sick...and I don't want anyone to see me like that.
I was in love with a lady a long time ago that had un medicated schizophrenia and a really bad alcohol problem. I tried my best to “fix” her but unfortunately the kind of help she needed was far beyond anything I could do for her. I’d grown up with a couple of people that had schizophrenia so I understood it to a point. Anyway point is you totally have helped me understand a lot. Great information and has made sense of so many things she did that I couldn’t understand and why she could hurt me so. Greatly appreciated keep up the good work!
You are looking really good!
Great educational video as always, Lauren! Very random but I always forget you’re Canadian until I hear you say certain words. In this video it was “about” 😂
i was diagnosed in 2013 i was in my 30s when i was diagnosed so it was late for me, but it took 10 hospital stays to get on the right meds its been 6 years since ive been in a hospital
Congratulations on your 6 years. I recently reached 4 years without a hospitalization after nearly a decade of at least 1 hospitalization per year.
@@elblah9721 thats great news i understand how hard going in and out of hospitals and trying different meds can be
My 34 yr old son has what you have. He is currently in a crisis hospital. They won’t allow me contact or let him sign a consent for them to talk with me. I’m so frustrated. Thank you
If you are in the us, all he has to do is sign a release form.
@@melissabernys229 we are in the US and no they didn’t let him. Took over two weeks
Thanks for sharing I think it's what I'm going through the sickness and symptoms without visiting specialist it's hard and seems like it is unstoppable 24/7 it takes u peacefully if u can control or just ignore but sometimes I can't. I also got advice to do cleansing
Rise and get up.. i lift you up... i also destroy and turn upside all negativities against you....
❤thank you
good video lauren!
Thank you for sharing your experience. My eldest sister have not diagnosed with schizophrenia…she having it! She hear voices and her temperament so bad.