How to live a productive life with schizophrenia without medication!!

pooky

You are valuable
#1
Hi,

I have schizophrenia. My illness was diagnosed in 2005. It has been an intense journey after that. Now I have stopped taking medications for the past five or six months and its going fine. I am male,28 from India.

Here are some things that can help you to be healthy, happy and productive again.

1. Sleep - This is THE most important thing. You should sleep for seven-eight hours at night. This is easy for people without any mental illness but extremely difficult for people with the illness. (I have always struggled with this)

2. Exercise - This is also extremely important. You can do any exercise everyday that you enjoy.The key is doing around three to four times every day. (What helped me was walking for 1 hr for four days(1 hr every day) every week and it took me six months to get back in shape)

3. Diet - You must eat a balanced diet. (What helped me was staying away from outside food. I usually ate home cooked food. Eating fruits and vegetables will surely help. Also I ate in moderate amount.)

4. Having a hobby - Having a hobby is also crucial if one wants to survive in the world named schizophrenia or any mental illness(I write short stories, poems. I also draw. I am not good at these things but I do them because I enjoy doing that)

5. Being optimistic - If you believe that you will get better then you will definitely get better. It will just take time to heal.(I believed that often and I am on the right track)

Also taking care of your hygiene like brushing teeth, taking a shower etc. are also important.

There was a period, for a long time when I was unable to walk properly or even use my hands to hold food/pen/anything properly. I was also not able to distinguish the real world from my fantasy.I could not watch TV because I thought that all the things that were shown in the screen was related to me. It was intense. It was a real mess. I even ran away from my house and I was returned home after three days. I was without food, water, shoes, money,my spectacles and even clothes for three days in the public.It was intense to the maximum level. Of course, I have experienced delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, paranoia and everything else related to this illness and they were often intense.

Well, I have completed MBA with a good grade from one of the best colleges of my city. I have a few close friends.They are very active and are highly successful. I am also in a relationship for three yrs(My girl is an HR of a company. She is extremely beautiful and looks like a model). My dad is the most amazing and the most hard working person I have known. My mom passed away in 2008 due to liver cancer.
I had applied to do P.H.D in three different universities but I was rejected(There are no more institute for higher education in my city). Presently I have got a job offer in an ice cream company as a Marketing Manager and my joining is on Friday this week.(I had worked in January/February in another company as a creative writer for a month)

So, do not believe the myth that if you have schizophrenia or any other mental illness then you cannot be functional. Do not trust this notion which says that if you have this illness then you cannot have a social life or hold onto a job or be in a relationship. After all these sayings are bullshit.

I am the living example of experiencing full blown schizophrenia at its extreme and coming out of the world of schizophrenia. I am now healthy, have a job, have friends and also a girlfriend.I struggle with issues of sleep(always had this problem) but nothing major other than that. I am doing fine without any medication.

So if an average guy like me can lead a content life then you can also do the same and be much better at tackling mental illness.

Feel free to share your thought on this. Let us all heal together.:)
 

pooky

You are valuable
#2
Moderators please please please close this thread. I know I am a total embarrassment, an ignorant fool, a nobody,a sinner. I don't deserve anything. I will never write again. I promise.You people are so friendly and please listen to me and lock this thread.:)It's ok I am fine. Nobody hates me I know.:D
 

pooky

You are valuable
#3
The best thing is that noone else will read this thread. So it's all right to lock it because let's face it I am an embarrassment, a massive failure. I am fine and I know nobody hates me.:D
 
#4
I can't imagine it's easy doin this. Thanks for the tips alotta people can look at this and get some relief. I hope things are goin aight for ya today. If ya need to talk I got you. What's goin on?
 
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pooky

You are valuable
#5
Yes I am fine . Thank you for asking.It is easy NOW because I have seen the worst of schizophrenia (absolute worst) in the past.I can think much clearly now because it was often the exact opposite in the past.You people are so friendly.You all are great:D:)
 

pooky

You are valuable
#7
I wanted this thread locked because for five days there were no replies and hardly any views. So I thought that nobody was interested and I wanted it to be locked.I am not a special person just an average joe.I am not a good person because I have sinned more than most people I know .But I just don't pay attention to these things and I am just moving on...:DYou all are so friendly. you all are warrior.you all are amazing:D:)
 

afterlifepig

Well-Known Member
#10
i'm also diagnosed schizophrenic. if i went off my meds i would have higher energy and would sleep less and start to lose weight most likely. basically all good things but i'm court ordered to take them and they do blood tests.

i use my imagination so i am psychic ... i am in psynch with something outside myself. i see this as part of my spirituality. ... i have beliefs of reference as well, and a lot of them, but to me these are beliefs and not delusions. i'm not at all like someone with bipolar mania for example who has these sypmptoms - i am a steady and even tempered person for the most part. even if i weren't on meds i would sleep a lot.

just some of my thoughts about schizophrenia....
 

pooky

You are valuable
#11
Hi afterlifepig,
What do you mean by court ordered?Is it those traditional courts where lawyers and wrong doers are involved? Or something else?I had also my blood test taken multiple times on different parameters but most of the result was in the normal range. I had also my EEG done(both in the state of being awake and in the state of sleeping) when I was first diagnosed in 2005 but the test results were normal.I had several other tests done like IQ test etc and it was in the normal range according to them.

Yes, sleep has always been a problem for me. Now after I have stopped taking medications I do sleep much less during the night and instead sleep during the day ,whenever I get the day free, but it's nothing too different than the time I took medications.So I just manage it and go with the flow.

Stay positive and do share more of your thought afterlifepig. We will listen
 

Shannew

Well-Known Member
#12
Hi pooky!
(Don't worry too much about how many people see and react to your posts, they're great :))
I think this is a good starting point for a lot of mental health issues, I'm thinking specifically of depression.

Really love it thank you friend x
 

pooky

You are valuable
#14
Its just luck that my GF is very beautiful and looks like a model.And of course she knows everything about my illness(I had told her everything after a month when we met).She was crying a lot(sobbing like a baby) after she heard my story, for a long time.I have never seen her cry like that. It has been three years and even today she loves me like before and my illness does not play a part in our relationship.She is an amazing woman and I am too lucky to have her in my life.:D:p

I have developed a lot of patience while experiencing my disorder. :)I read a LOT about stuffs related to mental illness and maybe this has also helped me to deal with this illness in some way.:D:)
 

pooky

You are valuable
#15
Let me tell you one other important thing about our relationship. This relationship will not exist anymore after a few months because she will be married to someone else. Of course, she wants to marry me. She has many friends of both genders but she has never gone out with any of her male friends ever.She wants me to go everywhere with her and do everything with her.Many men wants her to go out with them but she has rejected them all by saying that she has someone in her life who is way better than all other men. She considers me a rare treasure.:DThis will all end after a few months. She will have to marry someone else of course against her will due to her parents who are the modern day Hitler(not exaggerating). I understand her situation and I need her to be the happiest and wildly successful woman after her marriage:D:DShe is too awesome, too kind, too caring, too helpful. She is the best:D:D

I am now focused on my career and be a successful person myself. So I do not have time to feel sorry for myself or play victim. I don't have time to feel bad. I am fine. I want happiness and success and I am on the right track.:)
 

pooky

You are valuable
#18
I asked God for a job and I have got a GOOD job - work at an ice cream company.The work is interesting and I always wanted an interesting job:D
I asked God for a good friend - they are too good and phones me frequently even though I sometimes am too busy with my career. They understand me a lot:D
I asked God for a gf and I hit the jackpot:D
My father is more like my best friend. he is always calm and chilled and listens to everything I say. He gives me everything I ask.:D
My mother always stood by my side. She sacrificed a lot and always took care of me when I was in deep trouble. She is an angel. She was the best mom.She did everything for me:D
 

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