Schizophrenia laziness

Hello and welcome @GinnyTran

This link is great to read Topic Tuesday// Living a Meaningful and Fulfilling Life with Schizophrenia// Tues 31st May, 2022 7-8:30PM AEST

Also tagging @Bunniekins , @RiverSeal , @TideisTurning , @moderator

@GinnyTran hi i have the same issue it is so frustrating and i am not sure how to fix it but you are absolutely not alone.

Hello @Eden1919

@Patchworks , @maddison

Hey @GinnyTran welcome to the forums, glad that you have found us.

I’m not sure what the side effects of the medication you are on would be… and we aren’t allowed to mention medications on here. But I do wonder if you have depression also? As those things you listed could be symptoms of depression. I know that I often feel that way too….

Thank you so much!! If you could, please share some coping strategies you have found useful!

the dreams that you had before schizophrenia kicked in, do you still remember and want to pursue them?

let’s find a way to combat this illness. I don’t believe that we are meant to be like this forever.

there were days I felt so myself & days I just felt horrible. But the days that were normal, I could tell it was like a preview to the future, a future that is waiting for us both. To be normal again

@GinnyTran hello,

Re:"However I have noticed a lot of side effects, including not wanting to do anything, slow cognitive ability & a general disinterest in self grooming."

Some of what you are describing are called "negative symptoms ". In schizophrenia we have positive symptoms like hallucinations and delusions and negative symptoms like lack of motivation (avolotion) and not finding pleasure in activities (anhedonia). The

cognitive problems you describe can also be part of the illness like problems with thinking and memory. If you more info on these, a fantastic Canadian woman does videos on schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, her name is Lauren and she's on YouTube as "Living well with schizophrenia ".

Unfortunately some of the symptoms of schizophrenia like poor motivation are similar to symptoms of depression. Myself, I have had depression as part of my mental illness so I take both an antipsychotic and an antidepressant. The antipsychotic meds tend to help the positive symptoms and not the negative symptoms so much.

I find my memory is worse than it used to be, I'm not sure if it's a cognitive symptom or side effects of long term medication treatment.

It's a very difficult illness but these days we can live fulfilling lives, even with some symptoms happening. I am glad that you have such a great outlook and optimism!

@Eden1919 I believe there's a response from @GinnyTran to you above...

@GinnyTran just a note: if you want to alert someone you've replied to their message, you can put a @ before their name and then click on their name in the drop-down box 🙂

@NatureLover Thanks

@GinnyTran i don’t have many good coping strategies unfortunately because I am struggling to find things that help with it. As for my dream of life well I still have them and do try to work towards them but it feels further away from me as each year passes sadly.

@Judi9877