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As a woman in her 50's, my SIL had a long journey and many issues before arriving at her present happy life. She could probably be a great parent to a child with schiz now, but during the years she was in the child-bearing stage, her own work of getting a handle on her illness wasn't complete and actually being a parent during that time may have hampered her ability to manage her life. She may or may not have been an effective parent during those years and she may or may not have been able to be the kind a resource a child needed. We'll never know. However she and my brother decided it wasn't fair to have bio children knowing there was an increased chance for their future children to be afflicted. They probably would have made the same decision for any heriditary health condition. That's how they feel about it.
What kind of resources would she not have been able to provide?
In my case, there is no genetic history of it in my family, so I don't know what caused it. I know a lot about my genealogy too.
What kind of resources would she not have been able to provide?
In my case, there is no genetic history of it in my family, so I don't know what caused it. I know a lot about my genealogy too.
Children need parents who are there for them, and are stable. They need parents who can respond appropriately to the child's needs.....financially and emotionally. During the years my SIL would have been parenting, she spent a lot of time in medical treatment. For a period of time she was in and out of a mental hospital for several weeks every few years. She was very shy in her 20's and 30's and did not communicate with strangers. All these things would have not been good for raising kids. Kids need parents who are their advocates. If she had been a mom then, she would have been too shy to even talk to teachers about her children's schooling and she would not have been able to attend or take her kids to any sports activities.
She had very low self-esteem. She is so much better now. And now she volunteers with special needs kids and finds it rewarding.
Please don't rule out the possibility of meds helping you if you start to have problems. I am bipolar and on antipsychotics for mood stabilizatio/insomnia. Right now I take Seroquel to help me sleep. There are many meds that can help you, and sometimes you just have to hit on the right one. Abilify and Geodon are other examples. It is much better to take meds if you need them than to not take meds due to fear of side effects. Good luck!
"Schizophrenia" doesn't exist as a literal illness. It's a catch-all psychiatric construct used to label people who are identified as different.
I've never heard voices OR had delusions - but guess what, I share the same "diagnosis" as you. Why? Introversion and idiosyncratic behavior taken out of context. The "diagnosis" is nothing more than a superficial value judgement projected onto socially undesirable persons/behaviors. It has no logical, let alone biophysical, basis but I'm sure you've already found comfort in accepting your unprovable "mental health" label and won't even consider questioning your pries...I mean "doctor" in all his/her wisdom and "expertise".
I also find it insane (pun intended) how people in this thread are suggesting you go on meds even though you're perfectly high-functional and not distressed by symptoms. Obviously these people have never heard of the tardive dyskinesia, brain damage, cardio-vascular disease and other iatrogenic (treatment-induced) injuries caused by the ridiculous poison known as "antipsychotic" medication.
Here's a clue for you sad brainwashed sheep - this "medication" literally shortens peoples lives by up to 25 years, here's proof: http://www.npc.nhs.uk/rapidreview/?p=423
Quote:
Originally Posted by farmerjohn1324
I recently became aware that I have schizophrenia. Until recently, I thought my issues were caused by hallucinogen abuse, but realized that merely aggravated a condition that probably existed any way.
I have never "heard voices" or had any hallucinations of any kind.
I do have delusions, but they are not bizarre. I have persecutory delusions that people are judging me even when they are not around. I have grandiosity that I am superior to others at times. I have erotomanic delusions that any time a girl talks to me for even 2 seconds that she is interested in me.
I am high functioning. I plan on investing in real estate. I am very intellectual and can socialize. I plan on investing in bonds in the near future.
Are there any other high-functioning schizophrenics out there?
Last edited by Pookie Jenkins; 10-30-2014 at 10:36 AM..
Actually, schizophrenia is a neurological difference related to dopamine receptors, and can be seen with a PET scan or MRI. It is a genetic condition in most cases.
I'm not shocked that you have friends that are functioning schizophrenics, I'm shocked that they have told you that they are schizophrenic. You must truly be someone they trust. Especially since paranoia is so common among being schizophrenic and or bi polar, it can come and go (the paranoia) depending on the episode etc, but I applaud you for that.
Anything mental is a stigma these days. We shouldn't fool ourselves into thinking that depression is so accepted, the reality of depression is that it was and always be a sign to people that they think they might be a little bit different. People with all sorts of diagnosed mental disorders experience depression, and as it's not only common and spoken of frequently from the live news to a tv show, it's one of the most common feelings and or symptoms to talk about to a doctor, friend or relative.
It is definitely something that is in the bad zone to a lot of people. They just won't admit that.
The stigma really is a shameful thing- it's shameful that people make others feel stigma!!!
In some ways, I think those w depression and anxiety have even more of a stigma because they are told to "be happy" "life is what you make about it", "It's all about perspective" blah blah blah. Schizophrenia is almost a more "legitimate" mental illness.
I'm very open about my dad having schizoaffective disorder and i think this makes people more comfortable to tell me their struggles. A lot of my friends are also in the psychological field.
Actually, schizophrenia is a neurological difference related to dopamine receptors, and can be seen with a PET scan or MRI. It is a genetic condition in most cases.
1. If this were the case there would be objective diagnostic exams to prove it in routine clinical practice. Alas, there aren't. A circular and unfalsifiable fiat decree from a psychiatrist is the only way to verify this supposed "neurological" condition. What a joke.
2. Most neuropsychiatric studies are junk science. The scans are that of iatrogenic (treatment-induced) injuries, not organic pathophysiology. I've yet to see a single large-scale study involving drug-naive subjects with conclusive and replicable results showing how people labeled with "schizophrenia" have any real physiological brain trauma. I have, however, seen studies proving that "antipsychotic" neuroleptics cause brain damage and induce the very dopamine supersensitivity attributed to the "disorder." Experts Joanna Moncrieff and Nancy Andreasen have validated such research.
3. PETs and MRIs themselves are unreliable in neuropsychiatric research because of uncorrected sampling bias from the imaging machines used, i.e. University of California scientist Craig Bennett proved in 2010 how positive brain activity could be found in a dead salmon using flawed imaging techniques.
4. Positive imaging studies would still have to attribute the brain trauma in a reductionistic way. The psychological and physiological have a reciprocal relationship, so it's possible for environmental stressors to cause brain changes as much as the reverse. This was demonstrated with depression more than 20 years ago (blood flow changes seen with PET scans and attributed to the "disorder" could be self-induced when subjects were asked to think of something that made them feel sad).
5. The largest genetic study into "schizophrenia" yet, which looked into 14 separate specific genes, came up blank 6 years ago. Maybe you have more recent data? Psychiatrists have been fiending genetic presuppositions for decades though. Nearly all of the claims they make in that area are vastly overstated and far more hypothetical than literal.
6. Above all else, it's still not logically possible for there to be any such *thing* since "schizophrenia" as the category, as defined by the American Psychiatric Assocations DSM, involves disparate and heterogeneous symptomatology that makes it amount to a catch-all label, i.e. an individual displaying hallucinations and delusions is assigned the diagnosis, but a person whose behavior is grossly disorganized and whose affect is flat can be assigned the same diagnosis. These are very different presentations superficially, and the only reason for assigning the same diagnosis is because the APA says so.
Last edited by Pookie Jenkins; 10-31-2014 at 09:18 AM..
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