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Schizophrenic Fruitarian.

Schizophrenic Fruitarian.

I was diagnosed with Schizophrenia in 2006 and began a raw food healing journey in 2011 whereby I lost weight gained from antipsychotics. Last year I relapsed because I stopped medication and Gained back a little weight. The key point in my fifth hospitalisation last year is that I finally came to terms with having Schizophrenia and that I will not cure it with a Fruitarian lifestyle. I hope to resume a lower dose medication after coming off of my depot injection but resuming a socially integrated life feels impossible. I do not have Schizophrenia symptoms on medication but I have no quality of life due to social isolation. If anyone knows of any social groups for mental health in Adelaide South Australia I would love to know. Thankyou.

12 replies

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In response to: Schizophrenic Fruitarian.

Re: Schizophrenic Fruitarian.

Hi @Former-Member

Welcome to the forums. It's great to have you here and so brave of you to have shared your story. I can relate to trying to adopt a certain way of eating to try to fix health issues. I went through a stage where I was so careful with eating a whole foods diet hoping to help my anxiety. Didn't help really. I felt good but missed some of my favourite foods. I'm glad you have come to terms with your diagnosis. It's not easy but acceptance is often one of the best medicines (as well as sometimes needing other medication!). I hope others can help with social groups. I'm not in SA so can't be much help to you.

Warmest wishes

Hanami

In response to: Schizophrenic Fruitarian.

Re: Schizophrenic Fruitarian.

Hi @Former-Member,

Welcome to the Forums. My name is FloatingFeather and I am one of the peer support workers at SANE. It is nice to have you with us.

Thank you for sharing some of your story with us. Truth if I don't know much about schizophrenia but I just wanted to let you know I feel for you and I hope you find the support you deserve.

Do you have a community centre near where you live? They may have a better idea around local groups that may be able help.

Wishing you all the best.

FloatingFeather

In response to: Re: Schizophrenic Fruitarian.

Re: Schizophrenic Fruitarian.

Hello @hanami thankyou for your reply.

In response to: Re: Schizophrenic Fruitarian.

Re: Schizophrenic Fruitarian.

Thankyou for your suggestion @FloatingFeather. There is not much at my local community centre relevant to my circumstances. I was thinking I may be able to fundraise for SANE just so I can have a sense of purpose around supporting the cause around mental health.

In response to: Re: Schizophrenic Fruitarian.

Re: Schizophrenic Fruitarian.

@Former-Member I'm wondering if our community manager @Peregrinefalcon may be able to provide some information around this?

❤️

In response to: Schizophrenic Fruitarian.

Re: Schizophrenic Fruitarian.

Hi @Former-Member , sorry to hear of your battles with 'schizophrenia', I have had several similar battles for a number of years. No, I don't think you can 'cure' schizophrenia, but I found there was so little information and support that I had to find out more about it myself. The main driver for me was when I started asking questions about my 'illness' and 'treatment'. Well, didn't that cause a fuss! I was whisked off to hospital in the back of an ambulance and spent a week there while I was put back on medication. I agree I am very difficult to live with when I feel like I am being threatened but my treatment for years has been nothing short of criminal. If you would like to go back through some of my earlier posts (I began posting about 4 weeks ago), I have been trying to explain psychotic illnesses in terms of society and expectations. Advance warning - some of my content may be confronting.

In response to: Re: Schizophrenic Fruitarian.

Re: Schizophrenic Fruitarian.

@justanotherguy sorry you were forced into hospital for your honest enquiries about Schizophrenia and mental illness treatments. I found hospitals dehumanising also. Dismissive staff because of my diagnosis.

I feel that society says they accept people with mental illness but on a personal level would rather not associate with people who are ill outside of an assigned role due to their own incorrect assumptions about what those who are diagnosed are really like. This has led me to simply not tell people about my diagnosis in the past.

I was coping fine with activities of daily living while off of medication for six months in 2022 (after being on them since 2006) but the imaginary assumptions I had narrated in my mind along with my disturbed emotions would have had me hospitalised eventually. Delusions infiltrated every aspect of my life.

I could not find some of your past posts. I am new to these forums and am still learning how to navigate my way around them. My apologies. Feel free to tag me to any thread.

I wonder that if Schizophrenia was a self resolving biochemical imbalance, whether being on medication for "too long," simply damages the brain circuitry in the long run, creating dependence on drugs anyway.

Dad had Schizophrenia so I inherited it from him. I wish I was still in denial about my condition while on medication, so I would not be so self conscious that I hide myself from the world.

Your journey sounds like it has not been pleasant from the few comments I was able to read of yours. I have found life can at the very least be peaceful and normal even with Schizophrenia.

I hope you can find your "normal," even if it means tolerance rather than acceptance of certain protocols you may be stuck with. Being resistant is always part of my journey and it is simply there for those who have a fighting spirit and will to overcome adversity.

In response to: Re: Schizophrenic Fruitarian.

Re: Schizophrenic Fruitarian.

Hi @Former-Member , pretty much what you said. My earliest posts reflected that the further down the 'psychosis' scale you are, the less support you get. I've had plenty of mental health staff be genuinely hostile when they know your diagnosis, not a lot of fun when you are locked up. But it's not really about 'overcoming', but rather how to 'live with'.

In response to: Re: Schizophrenic Fruitarian.

Re: Schizophrenic Fruitarian.

@justanotherguy yes, you are right actually. How to "live with," is true.

In hospital I always just kept to myself and asked when I could go home. Asking for and getting enough fresh fruit and raw salads was difficult. I don't know if my raw vegan eating habits were perceived as the psychosis for some time by staff.

If you have viewed your files under Freedom Of Information you would be able to gain a more in depth perspective about the perceptions staff had about you while you were an inpatient.

I have been hospitalised five times. Almost always due to medication non-compliance until I have realised I must live with my diagnosis now. Since I am raw vegan, thankfully I do not get any symptoms I am aware of, of Schizophrenia, provided I am on medication.

Forgive me if I missed the details and only answer if you feel comfortable. Are you too on medication right now and do the pros weigh out the cons?

In response to: Re: Schizophrenic Fruitarian.

Re: Schizophrenic Fruitarian.

@Former-Member, for me the side effects were slowly destroying me as a person, I had no choice but to be off them. It has taken over 12 months, a lot of my 'psychosis' symptoms were just waves of trauma overwhelming me over the last 30 years of my life, and all the added trauma that 'treatment' has given me. I really reached a point where I knew I didn't need the medication, my initial diagnosis was only for a 'mild' condition. I've been in hospital 6 times - for a mild condition? That just ain't logical. And I keep getting pressure to go back into the system - don't people realise it was harming me? I think me being in the system is to please others rather than myself. If I am ok with me, then others should be ok with me too.

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