Schizophrenia
Hey. I'm wondering if there are any average homos out there with schizophrenia or who's partners have it. My ex-boyfriend is schizophrenic and we're still friends and its not totally impossible that we will be more then friends again. I'm looking for some sort of been-there, done-that kinds of stories that could help with what I'm dealing with.
I can't really help you there.
However, I can tell you what I've seen from the other side of the fence. I've suffered from unipolar mood disorder since childhood (went untreated until I was 23). The love of my life, epinoid, and I have been together for over 16 years, the first 5 of which were long distance. I was in remission for almost all of that time, though I'd have a few "rough patches" now and then.
I came out of remission and was fighting slipping back into an episode from the fall of 2007 until summer of 2009. It was rough on me, and even rougher on him. During those earlier, "rough patches," epinoid would joke, after they'd ended, that he wanted to shrink-wrap me and put me in the attic until it had passed. During the past 2 years, the only thing that he could do was try to be there for me, and express his love with his hugs. Words tend not to get through; mental illnesses of any form tend to scramble them ( ... )
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I was diagnosed with MDD when I was 17, but it was extremely circumstantial and I don't even know if it was the right diagnosis. I hope you've been medicating this, because MDD is not something to fool around with. Pharmacology aside, though, what I've found helps my bipolar friends most is a keen ability to predict what they'll be going through in the next 2-3 weeks. It's obviously very self-prophetic; but emotions come in waves, and sometimes it's better to let the ebb and flow come rhythmically as they do instead of forcing it back and making a bigger "wave" later on. After all, fighting a serotonin imbalance in your head is about as futile as stopping a wave on the beach in itself.
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I finally received proper treatment for my unipolar mood disorder when I was 23. I'm now 40.
Bipolar is different from unipolar in more ways that, "doesn't have the manic phase." I've had bipolar friends tell me that it's as if someone took the 0-10 emotion dial, and cranked it up to 20. For a unipolar mood disorder, it's more like, well, living in a grey fog. All of your "positive" emotions just disappear; the best you can get is neutral.
BTW - while serotonin is one of the neurotransmitters involved in mood disorders, it's not the only one. Some people with a unipolar mood disorder, like me, also have a norepinephrine imbalance. Dopemine can also play a role, though it's not clear how.
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I thought this was post was a query for advice in the first place?
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Seriously, I'm glad that you're doing education about mental health issues. I do that, too. All of the time. I jokingly call it my, "Public Service Announcement," on mood disorders and proper mental hygiene. The more of us out there doing this, busting myths and misconceptions, the more of us there will be. I am … and I suspect you are, too … out there giving this advice and educating people because we wish that someone had done the same during earlier phases of our treatment.
So, I am glad that you're trying to educate others about your own illness. Just like I'm educating others about my own illness. ^_^
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Yes, I give people the lowdown on whatever is pertinent when they're confused over what's going on with their brain. It's extremely stressful not knowing what exactly it is you're going through-especially when it comes to mood disorders! Some are easier to peg than others.
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