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Learning to Live with My Schizophrenia Diagnosis

"The diagnosis itself sort of was a label for me, something to put my thoughts into, for me to just figure out fully what was wrong with me."

Mike

Transcript

I didn't receive a diagnosis for myself, I think my parents may have, but I didn't receive a diagnosis for a couple of years. While I was coming to terms with everything, and I was seeing a psychiatrist, and I was living at home, and just trying to get a handle on things, I think my parents were the ones who told me that I was schizophrenic from what they had heard from my psychiatrist.

At this point, this was probably a year or two into it and I was fully accepting that I was having trouble. I was taking my meds, just trying to get better, and I think the diagnosis itself sort of was a label for me, something to put my thoughts into, for me to just figure out fully what was wrong with me.

I think the label is a good thing but it can also be a bad thing because it's pretty easy to live with your label. It's pretty easy to let that word take control of you and give in to the fact that you're crazy instead of working hard to overcome this illness or whatever it is you have.

So, crazy has sort of negative connotations, but I have decided to own it and embrace it and use it as a term of endearment because it describes my experience the best way that other people can relate to it. I mean, yeah, I'm crazy, but it's fine, I'm also pretty normal.

Comments

Comments (5)
Denise
January 23rd, 2021 11:29am

Thank you Mike....for sharing. I am a parent of a son with schizophrenia who doesn't like to talk about himself, so I like reading first person accounts.

This is for the people that set up this website. I hit the link to "Sign me up!". I filled out the information. It would not let me finish unless I clicked that I wanted information about either "kidney disease" or "alzheimers". Please fix that, I just want info about schizophrenia.

OPEN_administrator
January 25th, 2021 4:40pm

Thank you, Denise! Our goal is to provide the best support we can. It may take a while but we're working on getting you an answer.

Suzy
January 26th, 2021 7:25pm

Mike, thank you so much for sharing your experiences. You are such an encouragement. My son had schizophrenia and I believe your testimony will help him own and embrace his diagnosis. You are such a blessing. Please keep sharing and keep believing in yourself. God bless.

Gene
January 27th, 2021 12:16am

Is there a site dealing with bipolar disorder?

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