Q&A: Sign of Schizophrenia?
Question by Aj Atlanta: Sign of schizophrenia?
First of all thank you for reading this
I am 25, male, and have been physically fit my whole life. Been an outsider and a bit of an introvert. Very shy growing up and timid as a child. But as I got older I adapted, made friends, played sports, dated, partied, etc. A bit of neglect (not extremely) from parents, bullied somewhat by older brother. Good grades in school. Father was an alcoholic but is no longer, and has returned to the generally nice man he is. No physical but some verbal abuse and fear. Mother a bit out of touch of reality due to abuse during childhood, but lives a fairly normal life and can function normally.
Two years ago for about a month I experienced what I would call a schizophrenic episode in which it felt like my mind had separated from my body, or another way of explaining it, I couldnt put logical thoughts together, and nothing seemed to make any sense. People’s dialoge would become blabber, unintelligible. I was having panic attacks in which I wanted to run and hide, into the woods, into the bathroom (although I never did). The real me was the image in the mirror, and I (standing in the bathroom) was the reflection looking out at him. People on tv were looking and speaking directly to me, and were after my soul. I prayed to whoever was listening, that I was scared. Not knowing if this madness would ever end was the most frightening thing. I just thought I broke something in my head. Quite a relief when I woke up feeling “together” again. I quit my job in Human Resources and moved in with family. Stress decreased, and eventually everything mentioned above went away. To this day I have not felt any of these symptoms come back. And I’ve experienced stress again, but havent “relapsed”. I did watch A Beautiful Mind recently and could relate to the madness Mr Nash had experienced, which frightened the hell out of me, and I struggled to not leave the room, and it was causing me to feel panicky again because I could understand.
At the time of this episode, I was extremely stressed out due to taking care of my mother during her chemotherapy treatments, and was fatigued mentally and spiritually, and our relationship had deteriorated as well.
Also, I used to be so deep into “spiritual warfare” due to being an impressionable kid at a church youthgroup, that it took a very long time for me to accept that life isnt what I thought it once was, once I left.
I understand that seeing a psychiatrist is the underlying factor, but if you can answer, is schizophrenia common under these conditions, or is this a sign that I might develop a more complete form of it in the future? Once again, not a single panic attack since, going on 2-3 years now.
Thank you for your interest and help.
Thank both of you for responding. And hey, I know worse things are happening to others, but thanks for your compassion. You’ve both helped.
Best answer:
Answer by taIntervention
That definitely could be schizophrenia but it could also be dissociative personality disorder or secluded a psychotic episode which could be the result of certain medications or a highly stressful situation when you were not in the best mental state such as a death, etc. I would speak to a doctor. If you are not feeling that way now they will not admit you by force but you can get the help you need. Look up these disorders and come with a full and honest description of your symptoms so that you can get help.
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