Schizoaffective, ADHD, OCD, Anxiety, Major Depression

@GR_088 hi GR_088 well you have come to the right place. i have schizoaffective disorder and ptsd. there are a few of us here with that diagnosis. am happy to chat anytime. bun x

Hi @GR_088

A warm welcome to the forum and this community!

Sounds like you have reached out to the best people for tips to cope with these diagnoses, it is a path that needs lots of support and connection and you will find the members provide a great support.

Working with your current team to develop and apply strategies to support your wellbeing is super important. This community is very welcoming and will be sure to help with other tips 🙂

It takes courage to share your experiences with the community, and you are being really brave reaching out to your peers. 

I'm sure that the community will have some insights to share with you soon!

Take care

Mindee

Hello too @Bunniekins. appreciate your reaching out about my post. I've heard ptsd is quiet complex. We are all in the same boat with complex issues going on with each and all of us I'm sure.

@GR_088 just letting you know that my support button is being difficult so i cant use it on posts (it happens quite a bit unfortunately). yes we are in the same boat in so many ways. my diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder came quite late it was based on a severe traumatic event (so the psychiatrist said) so i was diagnosed finally in my late 40s. i am on a multitude of meds for it are you? did your have hallucinations eg: visual? i had some crazy ones others are so uncomfortable for me i just block them out of my mind. i remember once i heard women screaming at me in my kitchen it was like loud speakers on full volume! i thought someone had planted microphones in the walls of my home!

Hello!! Yes I am on a multitude of medications, I also have major depression 😞 I have hullicinations daily, from sun up to sun set even with being on a decent dose and multiple anti psych meds. Voices aren't as common for me but still happen frequently enough. I appreciate you taking your time to read and reply on here. Very appreciated.

Hey @GR_088 ,

You are certainly not alone in what you are experiencing. Yes, I also learnt how real SAD is. My forums friends here often talk about how destablising it can be and how misunderstood it can be too.

I can see you are doing what you can to get on top of things.

What do you like to do in your free time?

@tyme

It can be a hard thing to live with. The medications changed my life and not knowing anyone else with SAD doesn't help as I have no one to talk to about it or what's really going on in my head.

In my free time I like to work, keeping busy working, cleaning, tidying, doing house hold chores, playing with my dogs, or drinking.

I don't get much free time with working on average 120hrs a fortnight to occupy my mind from what I've become to know as "normal".

Hello, I am new here too : ) I have schizoaffective disorder as well. Diagnosed a couple years ago at 35. Before that I was told since 16yrs that I had Bipolar Type 1 (with psychotic features). I can’t relate to OCD but I do have ADHD, Level 1 ASD and SUD.

I am amazed that you are able to hold down a job. That’s really good! I haven’t worked for over 2 years and even then it was only part-time. I am on the disability pension and live with parents. I have tried to work many times but crumble under pressure.

I haven’t had a psychotic episode for about 3 years. When mine come they are all in one hit, really bad and for weeks on end. Otherwise, I don’t really get delusions / hallucinations. Very occasionally I hear music that I know isn’t there. I have had more psychiatric hospitalisations than I can count.

What works for me is:

- being 100% honest with my psychiatrist. Otherwise I am only letting myself down.

- taking medication exactly as prescribed and no matter how I feel. Never trying to stop without medical guidance.

- abstaining from all drugs and alcohol (or doing my best to)

- getting good sleep. No really late nights.
- being kind to myself, Eg. Choosing to leave a social situation when it is too much for me and I am overwhelmed

- keeping stress levels as low as I possibly can

and I have recently discovered that travelling interstate and overseas triggers me heaps. I have travelled a lot and my symptoms are always worse when I’m away.

As for making “friends with similar issues” well I know a couple people with schizoaffective disorder but I find they trigger me. I think it is best to have a wide range of friends, including those without mental illness. You would be surprised how much they can understand and support you. Just takes a hell of a lot of effort and putting yourself out there to find the good ones who are patient, caring and empathetic.

I don’t know about you but I wish I didn’t have this diagnosis. My heart goes out to you and you are not alone in this ❤️

I have SAD too.

I can understand why you enjoy alcohol but it is not going to help in the long-run. I had a substance problem and joined NA (Narcotics Anonymous). I have met other people with schizoaffective disorder there and also made heaps of good friends. Maybe you could try AA or even NA. Even if it is only for the social aspect 😊 those meetings are much safer than a pub and you will definitely come across people with diagnoses and mental health there.

Welcome @GR_088 you have joined an awesome forum with non-judgmental, caring and supportive people. I think you will find this forum very helpful.

After reading up on what schizoaffective disorder is, I really feel for you and the other members who have the same diagnosis. It must be a very hard disorder to live with. And if your family are not very supportive, which is sounds like they are not, it would be even harder for you. Just know that we are here to listen and help you through.

I suffer from Major Depression, Anxiety, Panic Attacks and Complex PTSD. I used to use alcohol and other substances to help me through my bad days, but in the end I finally realised, that the alcohol just made me worse as I would get really soppy and upset when remembering the different events and traumas that I have been through, and I tend to slip into the "why me" or "am I a bad person and deserve this" way of thinking. Which is obviously not helpful. Plus, if both my partner and I drink together, to the point where we are drunk, we tend to argue about our past. So, I decided it was just easier to limit my alcohol consumption to one or maybe two drinks a week if that. When my depression was really bad back in 2015, I was drinking a bottle of wine a day and then it crept up to a bottle and a half a day. I am so glad that I no longer need the alcohol to help me cope. And I think a lot of that has to do with the social workers and therapists that I have been seeing over the last couple of years

They have provided me with the insight into why I did the things I did and made the choices that I made. They have also helped me change my way of thinking. It has taken a while to sink in, but I eventually understand it and start using what I have been taught.

What sort of dogs do you have?