According to NAMI, only about .3% of the population develop Schizoaffective Disorder in their lifetime. This means that this disorder is relatively rare and because of that fact, there are many misconceptions concerning Schizoaffective Disorder. Some people confuse it for Multiple Personality Disorder (DID) or they just assume that it is demonic. In reality, it is neither of these two. Schizoaffective Disorder is a disease of the brain that can be treated with medication and counseling. Many people with this disorder can, and often do, go on living productive lives in society. Despite this fact, there still remains a stigma against those of us with this disorder. The reason for this is because of the gross ignorance surrounding this disorder. In this blog, I shall discuss exactly what it is like living with this disorder so I can clear up some of the stigma. I would like to say that this is based on my own experience but Schizoaffective Disorder, like all mental illnesses, affects each individual person differently. However, I do still think that it is good to talk about my experience with this disorder because it will help the reader understand basically what our experience is like. I will separate this blog into three sections: Mood, Delusions/Hallucinations, and Triggers. There are by far much more signs and symptoms for this disorder but these are the main ones. I would like anyone who suffers from this disorder to please post their experience in the comments below. If we can feel free to openly discuss our experiences, then it will go far in eliminating the stigma.
Mood:
One of the biggest signs of Schizoaffective Disorder is extreme mood fluctuations. What I do not mean by this is that the person will go from mere happy to sad. That is a gross oversimplification of what is going on. What I mean by extreme mood fluctuations is that the person will experience a very high mood of ecstasy and then out of nowhere will drop down to a severe depression and then will go back up to feeling very ecstatic. This is why many times people with Schizoaffective Disorder tend to get misdiagnosed as being Bipolar at first. Also, Schizoaffective Disorder is a combination of both Schizophrenia and Bipolar. When I am dealing with this, my mania episodes cause me to engage in high-risk behaviors such as overspending and sexual deviancy, and then afterward I will drop into a depression where all I want to do is isolate and contemplate suicide.
Delusions/Hallucinations:
Another common symptom of Schizoaffective Disorder is having delusions and hallucinations. What are delusions and hallucinations exactly? According to the dictionary, a delusion is,
"a false belief or judgment about external reality, held despite incontrovertible evidence to the contrary, occurring especially in mental conditions"
The dictionary also defines a hallucination as,
"An experience involving the apparent perception of something not present"
I would like to note that not all people with Schizoaffective disorder experience hallucinations, but most of us do experience delusions. Delusions can come in many different forms too. If you would like to know what these different types of delusions are, please check out my video titled Different Types of Delusions (A Christian Perspective). In the past when I have dealt with delusions, I believed such things as me being the Antichrist, me being prophesied to harm the president, my presence dictating whether or not my favorite sports teams win the game and other such things. Whenever I tend to hallucinate, I will hear voices telling me that I am God or that people are praying to me. I also used to see animals that are not really there.
Triggers:
Every person with Schizoaffective disorder does seem to have certain triggers in their daily life. What exactly is a trigger you wonder? According to Healthline, a trigger is,
"something that affects your emotional state, often significantly, by causing extreme overwhelm or distress"
There are many different types and ways someone can be triggered into either a mania or depression episode. Triggers can even set someone into a delusion or hallucination too. Every person with Schizoaffective Disorder has different triggers, but the person needs to know what triggers them. Stress is a common trigger among us so it is wise for us to be in low-stress environments. If you would like to know what are my triggers, please read my blog titled What Are Some Of My Triggers?
I hope that this blog gives you some idea of what it is like for those of us with Schizoaffective Disorder daily. Like I said before, as long as we remain on our medication and continue seeing our therapist, then we can live functional and productive lives in society. There is absolutely no shame in this because it is just like a diabetic needing insulin shots to stay alive. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my blog and may the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all!
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
Check out the other Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
Mood:
One of the biggest signs of Schizoaffective Disorder is extreme mood fluctuations. What I do not mean by this is that the person will go from mere happy to sad. That is a gross oversimplification of what is going on. What I mean by extreme mood fluctuations is that the person will experience a very high mood of ecstasy and then out of nowhere will drop down to a severe depression and then will go back up to feeling very ecstatic. This is why many times people with Schizoaffective Disorder tend to get misdiagnosed as being Bipolar at first. Also, Schizoaffective Disorder is a combination of both Schizophrenia and Bipolar. When I am dealing with this, my mania episodes cause me to engage in high-risk behaviors such as overspending and sexual deviancy, and then afterward I will drop into a depression where all I want to do is isolate and contemplate suicide.
Delusions/Hallucinations:
Another common symptom of Schizoaffective Disorder is having delusions and hallucinations. What are delusions and hallucinations exactly? According to the dictionary, a delusion is,
"a false belief or judgment about external reality, held despite incontrovertible evidence to the contrary, occurring especially in mental conditions"
The dictionary also defines a hallucination as,
"An experience involving the apparent perception of something not present"
I would like to note that not all people with Schizoaffective disorder experience hallucinations, but most of us do experience delusions. Delusions can come in many different forms too. If you would like to know what these different types of delusions are, please check out my video titled Different Types of Delusions (A Christian Perspective). In the past when I have dealt with delusions, I believed such things as me being the Antichrist, me being prophesied to harm the president, my presence dictating whether or not my favorite sports teams win the game and other such things. Whenever I tend to hallucinate, I will hear voices telling me that I am God or that people are praying to me. I also used to see animals that are not really there.
Triggers:
Every person with Schizoaffective disorder does seem to have certain triggers in their daily life. What exactly is a trigger you wonder? According to Healthline, a trigger is,
"something that affects your emotional state, often significantly, by causing extreme overwhelm or distress"
There are many different types and ways someone can be triggered into either a mania or depression episode. Triggers can even set someone into a delusion or hallucination too. Every person with Schizoaffective Disorder has different triggers, but the person needs to know what triggers them. Stress is a common trigger among us so it is wise for us to be in low-stress environments. If you would like to know what are my triggers, please read my blog titled What Are Some Of My Triggers?
I hope that this blog gives you some idea of what it is like for those of us with Schizoaffective Disorder daily. Like I said before, as long as we remain on our medication and continue seeing our therapist, then we can live functional and productive lives in society. There is absolutely no shame in this because it is just like a diabetic needing insulin shots to stay alive. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my blog and may the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all!
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
Check out the other Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
No comments:
Post a Comment