r/schizophrenia

My bf (28M) always had depressive tendencies and what I would refer as social anxiety.

Within the social anxiety realm, he always made small comments of "that person on the elevator look at me weirdly", "I think when your friend said this it was referencing me indirectly" etc and would have certain behaviors like pulling the car to the side while driving if the car behind seemed to be following him for too long or avoiding public spaces near his house (e.g., not going to the nearest supermarket but always choosing a far away one where he would feel like people wouldnt know him).

These kind of small behaviors happened for years prior. But nothing major controlling every aspect of his life.

He is also struggling to keep a job for long in the past years, he always ends up feeling bullied and that everybody at work is mocking him or treating him differently on purpose.

In the past 2 months, after some triggering family problems, the situation got wayyyyyy worse. He believes there's a plot with a big group of people to ruin his life.

He started to watch the people on the street from the window to see "if someone looks suspect", started saying he kept seeing his ex coworkers following him by car whenever he left the house, started to see small things as "signs they are watching me" like a paper that he found on the mailbox which apparently was similar to something he used at work. None of this were visual delusions, I would see the cars or the paper, he was just creating a plot around them.

Then it continued to feeling like we're being watched and heard at home and believing firmly the mastermind of this plot is our neighbor. He feels like he listens to us for years and its the one who spoke with his ex coworkers and told them personal stuff about him - and now "it all makes sense" like he finally understands why all the conversations from his ex coworkers felt directed at him (i.e., ideas of reference). He started to look for cameras, look for trackers in the car, changing all of his passwords, checking what's connected to our wifi, etc etc (kind of getting obsessed with that).

Then it continued to escalate. Past month he started to be obsessed with sounds. Like a police siren going outside he would say "that sound doesnt seem normal, it is someone with a speaker to annoy me and not let me sleep". He started to pick up on sound patterns and feeling like it is all targeted to him. Sirens, dog barks, beeping sounds from trucks, etc - and creating patterns between his movements and the sounds (i.e., when they see Im trying to fall asleep they make them louder). But again, I would still hear all of those sounds.

Then it continued to escalate. Past 3 weeks he started to be seriously disturbed by what he calls "frequencies". He started to say he hears high pitch frequencies and that it must be someone with a type of machine sending those frequencies to him. He said he hears them through the headphones or without, at home, in the car, and some places outside. He believes people follow him with the frequencies. The same kind of statements for "flashes" in his eyes, he says they are flashing him and his vision gets white. These are the bits I believe are not based in reality. He started to not be able to sleep due to this and become seriously desperate.

We went to a psychiatrist (disguised as "you're anxious you need something to calm down and be able to sleep) which gave him lorazepam and olanpanzine but after one week taking them he tried to self exit. The frequencies and flashes were being unbearable and he felt like he had no option because "they would just follow him everywhere".

He is at the hospital now but the doctors said this might be schizophrenia. Does these symptoms look like it? Im just worried they don't diagnose him well (I don't trust the health system here a lot) as I feel like schizophrenia it's a bit different? And besides the frequencies and flashes the rest was just paranoia based on reality?

If you have any advice on how to properly support someone in this situation, please help me. It's been a rough 2 months, Im just so tired and stressed, but I want to be his best support to get through this, but I just dont know what's going on.

I have a family member thats male and he was an A star student he went to university and everything was going well until he started failing and he said he needed a break so he came back home.Then a few days later he lost it as in he went mad like literally mad he was violent,destroying stuff and attacking family members and we had to tie him cause it was bad and he even wanted to jump the gate and leave the house and he was always screaming and saying vulgar stuff and some weird things we didn’t understand.I’m from a Christian family so we prayed and prayed and we looked for so many pastors and they prayed then the situation calmed it seemed like he was back to normal so he went to aviation to be a pilot and we thought he was now okay but a few days in flight school we got a call saying he can’t continue cause he always talks to himself even is class when the teacher is teaching he was laughing by himself and he was asked what’s funny and he said I’m on my phone but he didn’t have a phone on him.So he was acting weird it was concerning so we were told that he has to drop out and he did.Then he came back home and he was acting strange so we took him to the hospital and he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and psychosis.His on medication but it just makes him sleep cause he gets violent sometimes.His now very antisocial,his lazy like he doesn’t bath or brush his teeth if you tell him a gets agitated and even violent,he eats a lot in an abnormal way,his unhygienic,he talks to himself.Like it’s really bad he was never like this he also once took of his clothes and went to the neighbors house and jumped into the pool.We have prayed,fasted,looked for pastors,prophets,asked relatives and friends for help but nothing its been like 5 years now and nothing.As a family we are starting to not feel safe around him cause he can get violent anytime and we have done all we can but now we don’t know what to do please help us any advice big or small is greatly appreciated and pray for him.Also has anyone experienced this in their life or circle and how did you solve it

Forgive me if it doesn’t make sense, one of my main symptoms is formal thought disorder/disorganized speech.

I take lamotrigine for my bipolar episodes and it’s very effective, I take Wellbutrin for ADHD and lack of motivation/pleasure. I don’t take antipsychotics anymore, as it doesn’t change much and I don’t like the side effects.

I am considered to have continuous psychosis because I have persistent hallucinations, negative symptoms, and disorganized speech that is impairing and not part of a mood episode. Luckily, I no longer have delusions, as those are mostly associated with my mood episodes. Delusional ideation, kinda, but like in an OCD way if that makes sense.

It’s ruining my life. The hallucinations aren’t that bad but they put me on edge and worsen PTSD and OCD related symptoms. The disorganized speech and thinking makes it so hard to have a productive conversation, small talk is fine, but I can’t explain things unless you wanna sit there for 30 minutes while I pause to think of a word, or re-remember what I was thinking mid-sentence, or talk around what I’m trying to say and getting frustrated when I can’t and you don’t get it.

That part sucks because I think so many things! I’m smart, I know what I’m talking about I just… can’t. Plus, I’m back in in-person school, so I’m in Socratic discussions and answering questions all the time, and everyone looks at me like I’m awkward and stupid because I just cant figure out how to tell you what I mean in a way you’ll understand. And my partner always says that I make odd connections and therefore compare things and make analogies that don’t make sense to people unless I over-explain. Plus I just talk in metaphors all the time. I don’t know how not to.

And the negative symptoms. It waxes and wanes but it never leaves. I will never be the same person I was who was so passionate and active and social, etc. I never want to do anything, and it’s a feeling I just can’t get others to understand. Like I have friends with depression and their avolition is like, “I only want to sleep/watch tv/scroll on my phone.” But I don’t want to do anything, and that sounds impossible.

I do everything not to leave the house. I sit in front of my laptop sometimes just picking my face and staring in front of me. Sometimes I just lay in bed and do nothing. I don’t even think really. I don’t even sleep. I don’t want to.

And I grew up in an ADHD family/community, so they give me dopamine tips like, “you just need to get started, then you’ll want it” which is like actually true for people with ADHD and is used to treat sexual arousal dysfunction. But it doesn’t matter, because nothing is fun. I don’t even like weed anymore. I don’t like being out with my friends. Doomscrolling isn’t satisfying, it just keeps my attention and passes the time.

I’ve been skipping classes because I just don’t want to go and I don’t know how to make myself. I do my homework last minute with the least amount of effort and I’ve got mid term projects due and exams to study for and I just don’t. I just sit there and stare.

And you’d think that because it’s distressing and I have an extrinsic reason to do these things that I would but… I just can’t. I just don’t want to. I can’t even relate to depression or ADHD and use those coping skills and stuff. I have nothing for this. I have coping skills for everything except the “invisible psychosis.” I can’t explain it to anyone, my psych team doesn’t get it or focuses on “more important” things. I’ve looked up what works and there’s just nothing.

The Wellbutrin was supposed to help the negative symptoms, and it barely does that. And all the other meds recommended for disorganized speech and negative symptoms have a little warning that says “actually it has a higher chance of making it worse than better!” And every review is like “yeah it completely zapped my motivation and attention but at least I don’t have delusions.” Like why do I have to trade my symptoms, yk?

Anyway, this was my vent to the void. I just hope someone gets it.

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Hey guys, my name is mohamed am from Morocco and am 20 years old now

I was suffering from schizophrenia for almost 2 years now without knowing what it is, and it was the worst 2 years of my life

I was convinced in the last years that some neighbors and family members of mine are doing black magic, and can listen to my ideas and affect my thoughts and all that, and that they're trying to make me crazy,

I tried to kill them a couple of time, almost did a mass murder crime, i was going to kill more than 5 people, but they always survive by coincidence

For example, one day i got a knife and went outside at night waiting for one of those neighbors who goes to gym by that time of the night, i met him and i was about to kill him but some random dude showed up and i steped back and didn't kill him, after that event the voices just made it worse, calling me a coward, stupid, crazy and all that shit, but the worse experience was just about to happen

Over time the voices made me loose hope in life, telling me that i need to kill them so this torture stop, and that's exactly what i tried to do, one day i got my big knife and i was about to knock those neighbors door and kill all of them i wanted to kill some members of my family too, but because of luck, i sat for about 30 seconds, and i thought about all of this, I didn't get the right idea but i started thinking about how much my mom would suffer because of what am gonna do and i decided to delay killing them,

And to this i still wanna do it, and I can't get treatment because my family financial state just can't handle it, so am here suffering alone in the dark, it feels so scary and lonely that my only solution now is just ending it

Plz help 🫂

My husband is on an AOT and sleeps all day on his meds. He still is paranoid and his act team seems to not help. How are we ever supposed to live a normal life if he is sleeping 17+ hours a day and can’t work. Non-AOT doctors have said this is clearly an issue and his meds aren’t right. My husband has no insight into his illness and won’t seek help and his act team seems to think he is fine and dandy. His AOT is about to expire and then who knows what will happen. Do you have any advice?

My apologies for the length, but basically my niece was diagnosed w paranoid schizophrenia 4 yrs ago but has never believed this and has continued to live untreated. She moved in with my brother a yr ago after having difficulty keeping a job/ran out of money. She has been supported, loved, lives in a safe environment where our family doesn’t want to rock the boat bc they know she is safe and we all just go along with her delusions, saying things like, “I’m so sorry you have to deal with that….must be so frustrating.” She hears voices, often talks to them, but has never had a full blown psychotic break so no one breaches the conversation about seeking treatment bc as I said she doesn’t believe she is sick. So…. I have gotten the green light from my brother to open up a conversation about schizophrenia and I’m willing to chance she may write me off for a bit. I know she will be angry, but she trusts me- we are very close. I feel like I’m lying to validate her delusion frustrations. How can I help her get into treatment? What are thoughts about ways I could approach this/ things to say. I would greatly appreciate any help on this🩷

I have tried several anti psychotics for h the past 20 years. The most recent one is clozapine. It is the gold standard, as they say, for treatment resistant schizophrenia. For me, unfortunately, clozapine hasn't provided the therapeutic relief that I am looking for. I was on 150mg a day and gained a lot of weight, I experienced a serious amount of drooling and had trouble waking up in the morning. When I look back on how clozapine didn't give me the relief I was looking for along with the side effects, it just isn't the drug for me. I'm bummed out, but I'm looking for a possible alternative treatment plan. I've looked into ECT, but I've read that it's mainly effective as an augmentive treatment along with an anti psychotic. I have read a little about a keto diet helping, but it just doesn't seem very credible.

Have any of you all tried something besides clozapine that was effective in managing persistent auditory hallucinations?