Schizophrenia

[Purple Banana]

Yeah, I don't get the whole paranoia bit.

Those two disorders, bipolar and schizophrenia respectively, can have some intertwining symptoms, but definately not the same thing...

I just get really restless a lot of times, but good ol' herb takes care of me.

[TallulahGreen]

I am a psych major...I know lots about schizophrenia.

Smoking pot and doing other substances will only bring on schizophrenia if you have a predisposition to it. Drugs can and may trigger schizophrenia in some cases.

There are 2 kinds of schizophrenics...your functional and your non functional.

As far as the extent of the schizophrenia it very much varies from person to person. Some have paranoid schizophrenia where they are constantly paranoid about their delusions, and some just have straight up weird delusions..not necassarily paranoid.

It usually shows up from mid to late adolescents.
...it is also genetic.

My uncle has it, it is really quite a sad disease.

One of the hardest parts of a schizophrenic is trying to get them to take medication to help their symptoms. Many don't believe they have any problems at all.

They are really hard to help, and it's really sad. Like my uncle for instance, I haven't even seen him since I was 3 years old.

I would say smoking marijuana depends on the schizophrenic as to how it will affect them. I know schizophrenics that you wouldn't even realize they were schizophrenic...then you got your schizophrenics which can't hide it.

[TallulahGreen]

Many schizophrenics turn to drugs because in many situations druggies tend to be the only people to accept them.

Drugs can also temporary and sometimes even permantently send someone into a schizophrenic like drug induced psychosis.

My boyfriends brother was schizophrenic, a really great cool guy....who went down that horrible road and in the end..ended up with the wrong crowd and was murdered at 23 years old.
It's too bad.

[Purple Banana]

Actually, there are three types of Schizophrenia:

Catatonic- Not moving, emotionless, very sedentary, may experience hallucinations, but rarely says much about them

Paranoid- Large amounts of paranoia, most likely to experience hallucinations of auditory and visually

Disorganized- Very scatterbrained, may experience hallucinations, but if they occur, they're minor. Disorganized, may show inappropiate emotions, lack of motivation, and abstract thoughts.

But yeah, it was very diffuicult for myself to realize I had the issue, and it wasn't others around me who were strange. Luckily mine hasn't really progressed because I take my meds regularly...

That's too bad about your uncle and boyfriend's brother... :\

[thcbongman]

You don't mind if I ask a question regarding schizopherenia?

I believe my friend has the catatonic version, and his actions and thoughts seem out of sync with each other. What runs through a mind of a schizophernic? I know this seems like a general question, but I want to try to communicate with him better, for him respond to the world in a more coherent fashion, and convince him to take his meds without making him feel uncomfortable.

[JunkYard]

When I was 23 I was diagnosed bipolar II; by the time I was 28 I was diagnosed bipolar I, my new DX is schizoaffectve, which is worse than bipolar, but much better than schizophrenia. I quit smoking weed for years, and it made absolutely no difference, so I smoke now and my symptoms are no better and no worse. I have the auditory hallucinations, and slight-moderate paranoia.

Sometimes the weed I smoke makes a difference, so I try to stick with a good indica strain, as the sativa strains tend to make me a bit more psycho-reactive.

I'm highly functional, but can see where this could be a very deabilitating disease. EVen today I have trouble being around too many people, so I have but few friends. They know about my illness and allow me some room when things get a bit heavy, tho. I take my antipsychotic meds, but they don't help. Hell, they never did...except when I took so many I couldn't function at all.

If quiting weed would lessen the severety of my illness, I'd quit pronto, but in my experiece the weed doesn't increase my symptoms, and it at least allows me a good feeling when w/o it I feel like complete sh!t.

I think my biggest problem with my illness is the anxiety/paranoia it causes me and how it effects the people I'm around. This has been going on for 13 years, and it'll drive you madd if you let it, and that's just schizoaffective...I couldn't imagine having a full blown case of schizophrenia.

:

[LIP]

I dont belive cannabis can cause it. At all. BUT, i belive it can agravate it, and cause it to show itself, when maybe, it wouldnt have if the person had not smoked cannabis. BUT, because it may have not been present during childhood, and only surfaced when they started smoking cannabis, the cannabis gets the blame, when really, it's only helped diagnose a condition that CAN be treated.

And anyway, the numbers of users that EVER get a phycotic reaction from cannabis are so low* it still cant be directly linked to even agravating the illness.

* In England

[Bob the Awesome]

I do think cannabis can aggravate certain kinds of it. But when, exactly, I couldn't tell you.

I think Schizophrenia, like most disorders (especially autism) isn't just one organized disorder that has specific traits...

Imagine if there's a block of red, then a block of orange, then yellow, all the way to purple. Now imagine a rainbow, with the colors blending into one another.

Most psychologists seem to think these disorders are like those blocks of color, but I think they're more like a rainbow, sharing traits and blending into one another.

How the disorder is for a person in unique to them, and needs to be treated as such. That's my thoughts on it.

[Matt the Funk]

I am still not sure what I have, because I already have anxiety and a very paranoid personality, and suppossedly have ADD as well. I have been having hallucinations since I was a little kid but no one believed me till I had a full blown manic episode about a year ago. I can't really compare what goes on in my brain compared to other people but it's pretty much impossible to describe. I'm probally not a schizo and am just bi-polar, but I really wouldn't have it any other way. Sometimes these mental "disorders" cause a lot of negative in my life, but I feel like they make it more purposeful and fufilling.