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Originally Posted by Zeraph
I'm not saying its not schizophrenia but those are hardly the classic symptoms of it (it was a little hard to read though, so I may have missed something). I should know, I have a family member with it that's of the variety you're thinking of.
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This:
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Originally Posted by Moriarty
Everything is about me. All conversations strangers have. Even friends. They are good at what they do. Wish I could learn that skill. The more I focus on having it the worse it gets.
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reminds me a lot of an old video from a news site about what someone with paranoid schizophrenia might experience while off their medication
http://one.revver.com/watch/298771
Usually, schizophrenics feel that people are plotting to harm them, but the feeling that everyone is talking about you and getting worse when you think about it is definitely in line with symptoms. That's delusion. The sample of writing from an episode of paranoia exhibits disorganized thoughts characteristic of a formal thought disorder. The DSM-IV requires two out of four symptoms to be present within a one-month period for formal diagnosis, and two appear to be present.
It affects social relationships, which is qualifies as affecting "one or more major area of functioning."
It's been happening for ten years , and diagnosis requires that it persist for at least 6 months. As I always say, I'm just some guy on the Internet, not a professional, so a visit to a professional is necessary.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moriarty
I have considered see a psychiatrist, not sure what is stopping me. The only thing I can think of is I am a little fearful of it. I am closer to actually doing it since I have struggled with this for about 10 years and it's not gotten any better, but progressively worse. Somedays are better than others. Sometimes I wonder if I am just incredibly insecure.
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What's stopping you is the deeply ingrained stigma that our society attaches to mental illness. If you tell a bunch of people that you were out of work last week because you had the flu and a high fever, they're going to be sympathetic; if you tell them that you were out because you had a major depressive episode and tried to kill yourself, they're going to freak out and distance themselves from you. Both are serious medical conditions and neither is your fault, but it's a lot easier to get sympathy after you happen to inhale some germs than if a neurological chemical imbalance inherited from your parents shifts your thinking outside of the "normal" spectrum.
Not to blame the victim, but the way some people act due to mental illness that they're afraid to address only serves to reinforce widespread stereotypes, and being afraid to seek help is a downward spiral. If any other part of your body feels abnormal, you would at least think about going to a doctor. If your mental or emotional health is off, the answer is not to be afraid to address it, it's to go to a doctor like you would for any other illness. Don't be afraid of what they might tell you, you already know that something is not right and there are established and proven ways to help people who have these problems.