I can't speak for extreme cases of SZ because I don't know very much about them but I do know some about what would be perhaps the milder of cases. These more mild symptoms of SZ seem to come and go for no apparent reason but there are some things that can be done. Intense concentration and activity do seem to hinder the power or intensity of the voices and hallucinations. A good conscience seems to help a great deal and if you are able to believe it is not there or not real, it will disappear and keep on disappearing as long as you negate its existence by believing otherwise. It seems at times to go away in phases that seem unrelated to anything that you do hence the reason for having a good conscience. The symptoms and loud seemingly unexpected noises go away eventually.
The phenomenon of SZ
It does seem we should be able to take charge of our own minds, kind of like the power of positive thinking. In my own case, however, I could not concentrate or focus enough to have any effect on what was happening to me. That lack of focus was a central factor in my sz. I couldn't finish a sentence in my mind; I couldn't finish a sentence when talking to others. I was lost in my own little world.
What did help me was taking Zyprexa as prescribed. That, and finding an antidepressant worked.
I know Dave Robbins says he can "push the voices away," and therapists have told me to try that. Maybe it works for some and not for others. I know I didn't have a milder case.
Carolyn
I don't know if my case of schizoaffective would be considered mild or not but I believe thanks to the proper medication which for me now is 500 milligrams of Seroquel I am the most stable I have been in years. I do know that was not always the case. When I first was diagnosed in 1983 I was pretty sick to put in mildly. I had ECT treatments in 1983 and again in 1986 and since my initial diagnosis I have been on a wide array of medications. Aftet much trial and error with my psychiatrist he has for now have me feeling good about myself. No it has not always been that way and yes I stil have my ups and downs in life but I Thank God I am feeling the Best I have in years!
Each person does seem to be different and that is to be expected because of our physiological make up. Our genes tend to channel us in various directions and cultural environments also seem to be a factor and how a person was raised. These affect a person's thought patterns. The person I know had to just stop thinking the same way.
A similar example of a phenomenon like that was when they did experiments like turning a person's vision right side up so that the person had to learn everything all over again. It was a very hard thing to go through.
I think that medication is a way to change a person's thought patterns but a soon as the person returns to "normal", the same thought patterns return unless the person is able to somehow change that. I don't even know if that is possible for everyone to be able to make a change like that and I don't even know if it would work for all people. My hope is that it can work for at least some of the people.
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Hello Daleri,
Certainly there are some psychiatrists and therapists who believe a patient of theirs could have a mild form. The problem is, for a great number of people with SZ, they have a symptom called anosognosia, or the lack of awareness that they have an illness. Thus they believe their delusions and can't be convinced otherwise.
Perhaps someone with a mild form would like to respond to your comment as well.
Regards,
Christina
Yes, that is most likely one of the biggest problems, not being able not to believe in what a person believes. It requires a complete rewiring of the mind which is the objective and as far as I know, the only one that can do that is the individuals themselves. This person in particular, had to not believe in being able to read thoughts and send thoughts and it was extremely believable that it was possible because of everything that this individual saw. He saw virtual miracles and he had to not believe in them. The only thing that he could come up with was that there was a spirit of some kind putting the same or similar thoughts in both people. The hallucinations were also very real and it was hard for this person to not to believe what this person was seeing. Sounds are also hard to deny. It was as if the person had to go against everything that was real and that took some courage because what if it all was true but for the sake of sanity, the person went ahead and was able to negate all of it so that there were no longer any symptoms but it took literally years to accomplish, about five to be exact and then about ten years to have the courage that it would not return.