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(this has been cross-posted on the Mental Health forum)
I'm dating..actually developing a fairly close relationship...with a person who has bipolar disorder, and who is on meds for it. I didnt think this was a big deal at first since I had a good freind who is also bipolar and it hasnt been an issue.
With this person, however.he seems ...well...somehow more "off" than Id expect. He has a tendancy to tremble sometimes, and i have to hold him or or his hands and tell him to relax and calm down.
Then, one time he was in the kitchen making coffee and I heard him talking to someone...at first I thought he was the phone...but no...he is talking to himself.
I eventually asked him, in a gentle way, if there was anything else wrong with him besides being bi-polar, and he told me is was diagonsed with something called Schizoaffective or Schizo-affective or affect Disorder, which was later changed to the bi-polar disorder.
I really like this guy but sort of want to know what I am getting into with this mental health issue. He doestn talk much about it, and I dont want to pry too much or bring it up too much....but just very curious (yes, this sounds like a "relationships" question, but really more about getting smart on this psychology aspect, these diagonsis).
It depends on how involved you want to get with this person. And what your intentions are in having a relationship with him.
If you just want to have him as a good friend, then ask questions and read about those conditions on the internet.
But if your intentions are to eventually get married and have children, then I think you should discuss that with him. See what he wants or does not want for his future.
Then if things are looking serious, you should both go and meet with his mental health counselor. And then learn about his *specific* situation. Ask about getting married and having children. Maybe that is a good idea, maybe not. Marriage and children can cause a LOT of stress - maybe that is ok with his specific situation or maybe best to avoid stress?
Then you would know what to expect and could then make an informed decision.
And people with various conditions can be wonderful people to live with. But it makes things a lot better if you understand him and learn about "care and feeding" so to say.
Schizoaffective disorder is a specific kind of schizophrenia that also meets all the criteria of a mood disorder.
"On paper" the person will have to have all the requirements for schizophrenia and for a major mood disorder (bipolar disorder or major depression). So at first glance, that sounds more "severe" than schizophrenia by itself, but that's not usually the case.
In my experience (20+ years of working with epople with serious mental illnesses) the folks with schizoaffective disorder can often function much better than someone with schizophrenia (which has a lot of negative symptoms like flattened affect, isolation, and low energy and activity level). The people with schizoaffective disorder usually seem to have a fuller range of affect--you can easily see them being happy, sad, angry, scared, etc via their tone of voice and facial expressions. We avoid the word "normal," but often they act more "normal" than a person with no facial expression or typical expression of feelings, who will usually stand out as "having something wrong."
If someone has all the requirements for bipolar disorder, and also has symptoms of psychosis (like hearing voices), if the symptoms of psychosis only happen when the person is in a depressive or manic phase, they are likely to get diagnosed with bipolar disorder with psychotic features. But if the symptoms of psychosis happen even in between the manic and depressed episodes, they are more likely to get diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder.
But every person is different. What's more important that his diagnosis is how much you care about this person and how invested you are in the relationship. I would never advise someone to stay away form someone simply because htey have a certain diagnosis.
I also need to point out - as someone with a family member who has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder - that it's generally agreed that one component of this disorder is GENETIC - so, if you want to have children with this person down the road, you might really want to consider this. Schizophrenia definitely runs in my family (though thankfully I have been spared apparently!). I firmly believe there's a huge genetic component there.
Also - it's incurable. Meaning that meds and treatment can control the symptoms, but the illness itself is always present.
(this has been cross-posted on the Mental Health forum)
I'm dating..actually developing a fairly close relationship...with a person who has bipolar disorder, and who is on meds for it. I didnt think this was a big deal at first since I had a good freind who is also bipolar and it hasnt been an issue.
With this person, however.he seems ...well...somehow more "off" than Id expect. He has a tendancy to tremble sometimes, and i have to hold him or or his hands and tell him to relax and calm down.
Then, one time he was in the kitchen making coffee and I heard him talking to someone...at first I thought he was the phone...but no...he is talking to himself.
I eventually asked him, in a gentle way, if there was anything else wrong with him besides being bi-polar, and he told me is was diagonsed with something called Schizoaffective or Schizo-affective or affect Disorder, which was later changed to the bi-polar disorder.
I really like this guy but sort of want to know what I am getting into with this mental health issue. He doestn talk much about it, and I dont want to pry too much or bring it up too much....but just very curious (yes, this sounds like a "relationships" question, but really more about getting smart on this psychology aspect, these diagonsis).
My dad has schizo-effective disorder. It's a combination of schizophrenia and bi-polar disorders. He hears voices, is paranoid and has different personalities. He almost never gets any sleep either.
I would definitely ask him what kind of meds he's on. You may feel uncomfortable doing that, but if I were you I'd make sure he was taking his meds. I would also recommend going with him to his doctor's visits, and establishing a relationship with his primary care doctor, and any other doctor's he's probably seeing like a psychiatrist.
I also want to emphasize the fact that my dad is a great guy. He overcame a lot to be where he's at today. Him and my mom have been married for almost 30 years so a relationship with someone diagnosed with schizo-effective disorder is definitely possible. I think the more you show him that you're supportive of his condition the more he will open up to you. I think the more he tells you about it, the more you will understand him, and he will feel like he doesn't need to hide anything from you. There is a lot more I could tell you about this disorder, feel free to send me a PM about this, I will help you as much as I can.
The key to successfully treating this disorder is STAYING ON MEDS, continuing psychotherapy, and STAYING AWAY FROM DRUGS AND ALCOHOL. It's incurable, but the symptoms can be treated. I'm not saying it's impossible to be a great guy - but it's a much greater challenge when you're psychotic and delusional. My brother is OK on his meds but it's touch and go at any moment. He does not have a great history of staying on his meds. Also - he's about to be released into a group home (from a mental institution) and is already talking about how he can drink beer but not hard liquor...so...I have very limited hope in his long term stability.
This particular disorder is a combination of the two
it may very well be just as bipolar and BPD have similarities in mood swings. But this disorder is more schizo and will be found under personalty disorders not mood disorders. It belongs to the "schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders like schizophrenia, schizotypal personality disorder, schizophreniform disorder, brief psychotic disorder, delusional disorder, substance-induced psychotic disorder, etc. It's a personality disorder with similarities to some mood disorder.
Since it is rarely used in diagnosis I wonder if it's just a case of similarities being confused. For years I was diagnosed with bipolar 2 because of my hypomania, however after more accurate testing it was determined I was BPD with hypomania. Found under personality disorders despite the mood swings.
I'm pretty sure that the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for Schizoaffective disorder is more like schizophrenia. With variations of mood disturbances ranging from depressed and elevated, just as I have with my BPD. I can go thru a full cycle in just one hour some times. Some times lasting 2 to 3 hours, never longer then a day. Should we make a new category for me too?
This particular disorder is a combination of the two
No, Schizophrenia is not a personality disorder. Not even partly.
Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder, a disorder of thought. Mood disorders are disorders of mood & affect. Schizoaffective disorders is a combination of a psychotic disorder and a mood disorder. Psychotic disorders, mood disorders, anxiety disorders and other disorders make up the category of mental disorders.
Personality disorders are completely different. They first appear in childhood, or in adolescence at the latest. They are life-long maladaptive patterns that most traditional forms of treatment are unable to change. Disorders like schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder are seen as problems a person HAS. Personality disorders might be seen more as problems with who a person IS. A person with a mental disorder usually feels the symptoms are "not me" while a person with a personality disorder feels that what others see as "symptoms" are "part of me."
Schizophrenia and its sister, schizoaffective disorder respond pretty well to treatment: medication, psych rehab, social & community education/supports. Personality disorders, unfortunately, don't respond so well. There has been some success with some interventions being effective with some elements of some personality disorders. But since these problems largely arise out of early childhood trauma--neglect, abuse, violence, abandonment--the problems are deeply ingrained, and even after a person makes progress, a new trauma can set them right back.
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