Do I come across as being schizophrenic?

[Deja Q]

Poll question: Do I come across as being schizophrenic?

?

[achtung_circus]

1. Which one of you is asking? nt

[Deja Q]

3. I was hoping for serious responses.

Oh well.

[Must_B_Free]

2. No, you don't; and neither do you...

[Hans Delbrook]

27. You guys are confusing schizoid w/ schizophrenic.

Not to be a party pooper but that's a pet peeve of mine.

[foo_bar]

33. actually you're confusing schizoid with multiple personality syndrome

Schizoids are the hermit "type":
http://www.pipeline.com/~dada3zen/schizoid_per_dis.htm

[Hans Delbrook]

34. Every man is my superior in that I may learn from him.

Thanks for the info.

[davidinalameda]

4. you do

at least the voices in my head say you do

[Left Is Write]

5. No, I don't think you do.

In all seriousness, are you concerned for some reason?

[Deja Q]

9. The neurosurgeon earlier today readily diagnosed me, after claiming the

MRI results were too blurry to be of use. (funny, that, the lab techs said the results look good... And funny this, the neurologist saw a distinct problem in the MRI charts...)

Funny, that. She has nary a diploma in psychology yet she openly asks if I've been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

And funny, this: They had a stack of peoples' MRI charts (in their envelopes) poorly piled up on the floor. Mine was perched on the side, partly bending. At the time, I was more worried for the charts' care than I was the eminence of the doctor. Very woolly thinking on my part. And very sloppy on theirs.

Obviously I'm looking for a second opinion, post haste. I am increasingly fed up with the system.

[Left Is Write]

12. You seem perfectly lucid to me, but of course, I'm not a professional

and this is just a message board.

It sounds like you're getting different answers from everyone. I hope you can get a second opinion sooner rather than later. (I don't blame you for being fed up with the system. Getting decent health care can be extremely frustrating.)

[jeff30997]

6. You're paranoid !

Let's get him !

[cornermouse]

7. Unusual?

[Droopy]

8. A combo of eccentric and ADD

I've read your stuff here, Toad, and I can tell you that if you were a schizophrenic suffering from your symptoms then you probably would not be able to express yourself in as cohesive a manner as you do. Take it from me because I suffer from a form of schizophrenia called schizoaffective disorder. It's like schizophrenia and bipolar combined. When I was suffering from my symptoms I couldn't even talk properly let alone sit down and type something out that made any sense.

[Deja Q]

19. Thanks for your input! I was diagnosed with that once...

by a person who refused to listen to me for OVER THREE YEARS until he humored me by having me take a surprisingly simple test (even a test I took over the internet a few weeks ago had 7 times as many questions. :crazy: ). Even then, when that test he'd given overwhelmingly said "ADD" and whose readings didn't even begin to suggest "ADHD", he decided I was "ADHD" anyway. (Why did I just think of Daffy Duck just now? :silly: )

I also won't talk too much about the previous "drug dealer" (as I like to call them). If my PDA didn't konk out on me at the time, I'd have reported that idiot to the AMA, the managing director of the clinic, anybody in relative authority. There's no damn way should that creep be practising, not after how he (mis)treated me. :grr:

Since then, my schzo-affective has been rescinded, but the new one is contemplating schizotypal, despite knowing me for only a few net hours. Keep in mind, contemplating. Very diplomatic and intelligently stated, keeping all optiopns open. (that alone is a good sign I've found somebody competent for once.) Now I have been honest with them, I'd never be any less. And they did only suggest schizotypal, rather than harshly brand me as such, so I think these new chaps are actually worth seeing...

But over the last 17 years, I've been diagnosed with, by 8 different people (only one of which I'd ever give a gram of credibility to these days):

* Depression (situational, which is normal for anybody)
* Anxiety (this I agree with, especially when I get frustrated)
* Schizophrenia (Paranoid schizophrenia, no less!!!)
* Bipolar disorder
* Manic depression
* Paranoia
* Schizoaffective disorder (which isn't related to schizophrenia, or so I'd been told...)
* ADD (aged 7, was prescribed ritalin. My parents stopped taking me to that doc, however, so I will never know if there was a PDD involved or not...) For this I was thrown into none of any sort special education, with some persons I'd rather not remember right now. If they weren't depraved, they were disgusting. x(
* Adult ADD
* schizotypal disorder (it's also not related to schizophrenia despite the 'schizo' prefix. The way they worded some of the symptoms makes it fit me, but I am still wary that schizotypal is truly what's going on. Maybe it is, and I think there is some credibility there, but given my past, I can not (nor will not) blindly accept it. I've known myself for far too long. So do co-workers who are appalled by what they now know; for many of them are in the psychiatry field as well.)

And, as I understand it, it's not possible to retroactively diagnose or even take into account the past. (so much for the idea that knowing the root causes can help alleviate the symptoms, but what do I know? I'm a mental health patient so therefore I'm always stupid and they're always right... :eyes: If they're always right, how come I'm a potpourri of ill-fitting disorders?! :-) )

Cool, huh?

[Droopy]

21. If you still have any concerns

check out this link.

http://www.schizophrenia.com/diag.html#first

It'll tell you all about the symptoms and diagnosis of schizophrenia. I'm betting that you'll find little in common with yourself and schizophrenia.

[Deja Q]

22. One section makes sense, but it's only one section and the symptoms can be

Applied to many other disorders as well:

# disorganized thinking
# slow thinking
# difficulty understanding
# poor concentration
# poor memory
# difficulty expressing thoughts
# difficulty integrating thoughts, feelings and behavior

Not always at once, but I can cite examples of each of the above. A lot of it can go back to ADD, anxiety, or other things (but most of those would be disqualified because of the passage of time involved...)


Thanks for the link!

:yourock:

[Droopy]

23. You're welcome.

[melnjones]

31. What kind of professionals have you been seeing?

Just wondering, because if they've all been psychologists and psychiatrists thus far, you might consider seeing a counselor, one who is a social worker or something similar, in addition to the others. I'll give you fair warning that this is probably pretty biased, as I'm a social worker:-) But while psychologists and psychiatrists are important, my experience has been that MSW counselors will focus a little less on labeling and diagnosing and a little more on treating the individual. Labels can be useful, but they can also be pretty distructive and even get in the way of treatment and recovery. Just a thought. By the way, most people have some symptoms of a lot of disorders, but that doesn't mean we all HAVE those disorders:-)

[Lone_Star_Dem]

10. I have never thought so.

I've always read your post HypnoToad and I've never gotten that impression from you. However, I've only known one diagnosed Schizophrenic in my life from which to make comparisons.

Honestly, I'd seek another opinion if I were you.

[LDS Jock]

13. I agree with LDS.. oh that rhymes!

get another opinion and don't worry about it until then.

[LDS Jock]

32. that was supposed to be LSD

I'm too used to typing my own name.. too late to edit the other post

[salvorhardin]

11. No.

You come across as a geek with perhaps a little Asperger Syndrome (which I personally don't count as a disease). Unless you're a lot more detached in real life than you seem to be on DU, I'd say if someone is trying to convince you that you're schizophrenic then I'd find someone else.

Schizophrenia is one of the most over/mis-diagnosed mental illnesses out there. Also, remember that mental illness is often culturally defined.

If you haven't ever read it, check out the famous study On Being Sane In Insane Places.

Finally, I'm not a psychologist or medical professional. I don't intend any of the above as medical advice; just my personal opinion that I come to from the photons that splatter against my retinas while reading your post.

[Deja Q]

20. Culturally defined. Funny that reminds me of 'culture of life.'

:evilgrin:

Anyway, you're spot-on about cultureal definition. I am an individual. Not a lemming, part of a string of sausages, a chain link, or a head of lettuce in a rabbit-infested patch. Conformity is repugnant to me, I'm sincerely sorry if society wants me be just like it. It's also funny for our society to proclaim it's free but then demands everybody looks and acts within someone's idea of 'normality'. That's a (partial) crock and it is hardly indicative of a mental illness worthy of doping up a patient with drugs for. If I ran around killing people, it's another story. And my friends from all walks of life (cultural, ethnic, olitical,and even ethic :-) ) have told me it's okay to be a little eccentric or unique. If everybody's the same, then life would be boring.

I appreciate your opinion (as do I for all). I am definitely not seeking answers here. Just opinions and perceptions that are were not made by me. (and thanks for the link on 'being sane...'. I'll look it up.)

In real life, I can be detached. I often look to others to see how I should react. And despite having trained myself to look directly at peoples' eyes, it's still hard...

I've been to a couple of DU gatherings. All I know is the same thing: I feel I don't "fit in" with the crowd. That's okay too.

[ZoCrowes]

14. Nah

Youre just batshit crazy

[catbert836]

15. Well, asking what WE think proves it

beyond reasonable doubt. Just kidding... maybe.

[msgadget]

16. Eccentric and intense.

I see a lot of that here so it's gotta be normal. :bounce:

[skygazer]

17. You've never seemed so to me

I'm sorry you're still getting such a runaround - it's so frustrating. You've never struck me as schizoprenic - perhaps a little manic now and then but it's so hard to tell from a message board. I'm bipolar and I know in my manic phases, I tend to ramble all over the place when I talk or write - you always seem to make pretty good sense and have a fairly firm grasp on what's going on (what IS going on?).

No, seriously, I think you're right to get another opinion but keep in mind that labels are just that. They can help in figuring out a treatment schedule, obviously, but often people have combinations of problems which makes it tricky to figure out (I've been diagnosed as bipolar, PTSD and anxiety disorder, all of which are probably true to one extent or another. The trick is to figure out which are causing the problems and to what extent). So you might get varying diagnoses because your issues have more than one root cause.

Don't give up and don't get discouraged, though I know it's hard not to. :hug:

[Guaranteed]

18. No, I think you just have undifferentiated "crazy" syndrome.

:)

[HuskiesHowls]

24. You can't be....

One of my instructors in Advanced Psychology said that there are so few schizophrenics that we'd probably never meet one in real life. At that time, I was married to one, knew another, and had dealt with at least 3 others. Needless to say, I dropped that class quickly!!!

The radio isn't talking to you, and people you don't even know aren't plotting on your life (other than politicians, that is :D) so its highly unlikely.

[FuzzySlippers]

25. I don't think so.

I think you express yourself too coherently.

[bigwillq]

26. I don't think so Toad

But seriously, we all here at DU will try to give you honest, sincere advice but if you have a question regarding your mental or physical health, it's best left up to a doctor.

[Deja Q]

28. Oh, I understand and appreciate that. But I believe peoples' comments here

have helped to an extent, at least.

[bigwillq]

29. Well, that's a good thing

About the comments helping.
I try to post positive tips when you ask questions like these but I also don't want to lead you into the wrong direction.
I am not all that familiar with your situation and wouldn't want to give bad advice.

be well!:hi:

[fluffernutter]

30. you? never ;)