Coping with Schizophrenia: Don't Compare Yourself to Others

Schizophrenia is a multi-dimensional brain disease that can affect all aspects of one's life: mental, emotional, physical and spiritual. In this blog, and in blogs to come, we will look at the many facets of schizophrenia.

If you read my first two blogs or my bio you will know that I'm not a psychiatrist, psychologist or licensed clinical social worker, so I will not be offering professional advice. For this you must look to the experts in these fields. In other blogs, scientific analyses and professional reviews included in Schizophrenia Connections you will find just such expertise.

The perspectives on schizophrenia I can provide are that of a consumer and a family member. I have walked the walk on both sides of the street. As such, I can speak with experiential authority. It is my objective to share with you, as best I can, what is like to experience schizophrenia, to struggle with it day to day. I will also make observations from time to time about the art and science of being a family member, also taken from my own experience.

Let's begin with something practical: a coping mechanism. I believe the example described below is most effective at the stage in a consumer's illness when they are just entering into recovery, but continues to be useful thereafter as well.

One of My Most Effective Coping Mechanisms

Individuals with schizophrenia respond differently to various medications available for the treatment of this brain disease. And they may respond differently to the same medications at different points during their illness. No medication works for all patients and at all times, i.e. there is no “silver bullet.”

Coping mechanisms are much the same. Providers have developed a large number of coping mechanisms intended to assist individuals living with schizophrenia. Different patients find different coping mechanisms to be helpful at different points in their illness. Again, there is no “silver bullet.”

During my fifty years of living with schizophrenia, I have tried many different coping mechanisms. The coping mechanisms I will share with you in this and future blogs will be those that have had the greatest impact on my quality of life over the long term. Remember, however, that each of us is unique. You should discuss with your therapist any and all of the coping mechanisms you use.

One of the interesting aspects of the coping mechanisms I will share is that each, in a slightly different form, has been useful to me both as a person living with schizophrenia and as a family member trying to cope with loved ones that are themselves struggling with mental illness.