So. Turns out I have schizophrenia

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#1
I was diagnosed with comorbid schizophrenia a short time ago. I went to a mental health clinic, and told them what was going on and they sent me to a professional psychologist. After a number of interviews over the span of a week or two, he told me that I was definitely schizophrenic, but he wasn’t sure if it was a symptom of something else. I don’t have paranoia or OCD. I was told that I have “comorbid schizophrenia” which apparently just means “schizophrenia with something else”. I’m either a rare case or a new case. Great. Just another shitty event in a string of shitty events called my life. I heard the words “psychotic depression” which I did not know could go together, when he was speaking with my dad. Oh well. Literally can’t get any worse, so I don’t really care what labels are attached anymore. Just waiting around for this all to end.
 

Angie

Safety & Support
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#2
Hello. I know getting a new diagnosis can be upsetting. But I'd like to share a little from my experience. I am currently 61 and my psychiatrist(s) have me as Bipolar Schizoaffective with PTSD and DID, my therapist says I am plain old Borderline Personality Disorder. I've been through so many medications over the years. But here is my conclusion: the diagnosis doesn't matter, what your mental health team do to address your symptoms is whats important.

Please don't let this diagnosis upset you in and of itself, its just a couple of words. Whats important is what your health team is doing about it. I'm guessing with the symptoms that come with that diagnosis you are on or are being put on an antipsychotic?

Let us know how you are doing. I assure you that you are not alone.

God bless
 

dandelion s

RAW, well done
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#5
I was diagnosed with comorbid schizophrenia a short time ago. I went to a mental health clinic, and told them what was going on and they sent me to a professional psychologist. After a number of interviews over the span of a week or two, he told me that I was definitely schizophrenic, but he wasn’t sure if it was a symptom of something else. I don’t have paranoia or OCD. I was told that I have “comorbid schizophrenia” which apparently just means “schizophrenia with something else”. I’m either a rare case or a new case. Great. Just another shitty event in a string of shitty events called my life. I heard the words “psychotic depression” which I did not know could go together, when he was speaking with my dad. Oh well. Literally can’t get any worse, so I don’t really care what labels are attached anymore. Just waiting around for this all to end.
hey CttC, hi!

i just saw this post and i don’t want to make you think i’m belittling the diagnosis, but i have many diagnoses and i’ve found that my diags seem to hover around what i really am and not really pinpointing the real me. i think i’ve noticed with the little i know about you, that you do have some similarities so i want to suggest keeping in mind that any professional does not really know what goes on inside the patient’s mind. they see “symptoms” and then give a diagnosis that contains those symptoms but many diags have the same symptoms. a psychologist once called me “a hard nut to crack” after 8+ hours of intensive psychological testing!

for myself, there have been so many times when i believed nothing would ever change and i’d never get “better” and wished it would all just end. in the past several months i’ve come to notice that i have taken my own steps toward a better situation.

you being so much younger than I, have so much more opportunity to make similar progress. by this i do not mean to suggest you are in a better position or even in a good position, but simply that you may eventually be pleasantly surprised if something good happens. there have been positive things that i’ve done that i never thought i could.

i also think it is a good idea to have in mind that your professional help is/are your employee(s) and you can ask them to address specific things you want addressed. this does not mean to fight with them, but that they do have to do what is right for you. i am always telling my psychologist/therapist and my psychiatrist when i think they are wrong about something and or if i think they are falling back on what i believe to be textbook ideas rather than my specific case. (i suppose it is a bit of a balancing act since you don’t want to drive them away), but i just think it is very important to stay aware that a diagnosis is not necessarily exactly who you really are. and as you evolve they might evolve too. hoping this might be helpful.
 

MisterBGone

ReaLemon
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#6
It is quite common for people to get diagnosed with multiple diagnoses... Where & when I worked, you'd see those with many, many, many more "labels," than that! ;) And it's important, or interesting to note, a number of things, in particular with this specific one (schizophrenia). It's not quite the dark ages anymore with this thing. Or back when they thought they'd had little, or lesser "hope!" From an optimistic outcome point of view, or perspective. Now, another thing is that somewhere around 4-5 years ago, whenever that latest edition of the DSM-IV (?) came out, I thought I'd read that they were now suddenly going to be getting rid of the 6 subsets of descriptive definitions (or 'labels,') to be associated with it, because they'd found no conclusive evidence that it helped. To be known as, or diagnosed with "paranoid," or "disorganized," etc., schizophrenia. So, that's what they all know. Everybody's right here - in that it's ultimately a management of one's symptoms; in particular, those that seem to be affecting you most, or interfering with your functioning in normal every day life, that's the most important thing. It doesn't define you. Where I was working, I could select five people with the same diagnosis, and put them to-gether & you'd never in a million years have guessed, or been able to tell that they were as such. Just based on differences in things like personality and whatnot, alone. Alternatively, I could pick five people with different psychiatric diagnoses and combine them in a shared space, who have more similar sensibilities about them (things in common about how they are, temperament wise, and whatnot) & you'd think that maybe they would share the same. So, it's not the be all, end all. It just gives them - the doctors & your other health care professionals - a better idea on how to go about treating you. In terms of meds, and everything else~ If & when they come back with a further verdict or rendering on the whole comorbid thing, that may or may not help you. It depends on how you think, and how interested in this stuff you all are. For me, I could derive some benefit from it. But that is because of my interest in the field, and things like psychology. Other more normal people could maybe perhaps give less than a care! ;) And they may be right, by the way. . . : ) Good Luck, and Best Regards!
 
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