I want to be upfront. I do not as of now have SZ and I am now 39. I don't think I will not look for a sign. My mom has SZ and hearing the strugles she had in school as others with SZ have as well. I am a mother of 3 children that at this time do not have SZ but do have other learning issues like ADHD and Asburgers. My first child is now out of high school and my 2nd child going into high school and 3rd is in the third grade. All three of my children are doing well in school but with the help of an IEP. This a program that with parent, teachers and therapists work as a team to create a plan to help your child get through school. Its starting to be realized that not everybody learns the same way. From what I'm told this can also carry over into college. With the right help my children have been less stressed and able to enjoy school and be involved in other activities. Like Drama club, cheerleading and the boy scouts. So as for telling others you have SZ... I would say only the people that are involved in helping you be successful. If school is less of a stressful place being social and involved is easier to do.
Hi Christina
I had to pop on over when I read your question. Memories come to mind of my mother and how she made great attempts to work and go to school. My mother had a talent in art. She actually won a scholarship at a very good college to pursue her art. But it never happened because: a. My mother's family decided that only males would go to college and so her brother got to go and not her. b. She became pregnant. c. Her schizophrenia developed during this transition after high school.
It is still heartbreaking to me to see what her life could have been if it weren't for all these factors out of her control.
In later years she went to secretarial school and she was doing so well. But I think the pressure of success weighed heavily on her and she quit...with just one class to go. If she had supports back then maybe she would have gone all the way I do not know.
I think it is difficult for anyone to manage school and then work or both. But add on a mental illness and it becomes a challenge like climbing a mountain. I think for my mother...she looked down the mountain and got scared. And then she slid down without having the stamina to get back up there.
I am very interested in hearing how others manage with the pressure of school and having a mental illness such as schizophrenia. I know it would help me to understand more of what my mother went through.
Thanks for always bringing up such interesting topics...I love visiting your site. Please feel free to stop on over to the depression site. My last question of the week there was to ask members how they ward off the symptoms of depression. Maybe some of your members have some ideas on this.
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I was lucky I obtained a BA in English before I had my breakdown. I went back to school 10 years after I was diagnosed with SZ and graduted with an MLS in 2000.
At college, I was a disc jockey on the college radio station for two years.
In graduate school, I chaired the Student Association lecture series and reported for, wrote and edited Keyword, the library science program newsletter. I worked full-time, took two courses a semester, and spent 40 extra hours each semester publishing Keyword to deadline.
DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. I don't recommend anyone do what I did. Why did I do it? I have no idea.
About disclosure: at library school, I did not tell any professors or classmates or friends from school that I was diagnosed with schizophrenia. It didn't cross my mind to do that. Only secretly I kind of hope now that I have the degree that I could tell someone from that era and see what their response would be.
I also didn't tell my supervisor at the law firm where I worked while I was in school. Research studies over and over detail the truth that most people would not want to work with someone who had SZ.
A great number of people when questioned do believe schizophrenia is a biological brain disorder yet this doesn't equate with a reduction in stigma when they are asked if they would work or be in a relationship with such a person. They do not want to.
The prodromal stage of my illness started long before I had the breakdown. It is my contention that volunteering my time as a disc jockey at the radio station prevented the SZ from striking any sooner.
I was actively involved in the music that was somethign that gave me great joy, I could be creative, and for the first time in my life I felt accepted and not like an outsider, I felt like people understood me.
So I do recommend that while you're going to school you join a club and get involved on campus in something that boosts your self-esteem and gives you happiness.
I will close out by suggesting you use the resources at your school that might have a department or organization for students with disabilitie. My alma mater where I obtained the BA had such an organization.
I look forward to hearing from you.
I think people automatically assume you're not going to do a good job of whatever you're doing once they know you have schizophrenia. What they don't know won't hurt you!