Living a Full Life with Schizophrenia
Unlike most, many schizophrenics only experience a single, brief, but very acute psychotic break without any further relapse...
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Many schizophrenics are familiar with obsession. Obsessive compulsive disorder is in fact an anxiety disorder and is oftentimes comorbid...
Read MoreSchiz Life serves to…
Schiz Life intends to achieve this goal in the following manner:
We all thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for playing your role in the developing journey surrounding schizophrenia awareness and research. With all of our combined efforts, we will change the way the world perceives this illness and we will advance the medical efforts of professionals in their search for a cure and effective medicines. Thank you again!
Do you know of a great schizophrenia resource out there? Let us know! Do you see a person in need inside the comments of this site? Lend them some advice or encouragement! Are you a graphic designer or artist? Show us your work and I'm sure we can find some way to include your skills here on the site. Are you a writer who would like to contribute to the site? Shoot us an email and we'll discuss it. This site is for all of us and excludes none of us. Contact us for any reason and get involved!
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This is but a quick quiz to test your general knowledge of schizophrenia. If you would like to take the extended and in-depth quiz, venture over to our Schizophrenia Quiz page and see just how much you know! Try the Schizophrenia Test to gauge your symptom levels.
Schizophrenia Quiz Directions: Please select the correct answer for each question and then press the button below to grade your quiz.
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1. What is the term for perceiving stimuli that doesn't exist?
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2. Which is NOT a type of schizophrenia?
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3. Which of the following is a symptom of schizophrenia?
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4. How common is schizophrenia in the general population?
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5. Who can diagnose a case of schizophrenia?
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6. How can schizophrenia be treated?
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7. Are the causes of schizophrenia genetic or environmental?
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8. What is the most common age of onset?
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9. Catatonia is categorized as what type of symptom?
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10. Is Schiz Life the best website about schizophrenia?
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If you're brand new to this site, it might look overwhelming until you get a sense of where things are at. Schiz Life is a content-based site, much like a newspaper or a magazine. However, we focus strictly and solely on schizophrenia. So where does all of this content reside? We have decided to separate our articles into several categories, as described below:
This category will be of the most interest to those who wish to gain a very broad but shallower overview of the entirety of the academic view of schizophrenia. We cover all of the topics you'd expect to find in an abnormal psychology text book here, and at a similar depth. It is a great introduction to this illness and will guide you further along into deeper topics.
We cover various angles such as statistics, research, and more factually based views of schizophrenia and place them in this category. One could say that it is almost a repository for article that don't fit into the other categories, but it is more than that. Go check it to find out more!
The name says it all. This category of content covers all topics related to the treatment and prevention of schizophrenia and its relapses. We've started with the empirically sound and scientifically backed methods first, but we intend to venture into more holistic and alternative therapies as well. Without investigating all options, progress wont' be made, and so we do.
There are countless symptoms involved in schizophrenia. We cover them in depth in this category, including the positive (outward) and negative (inward) symptoms of every type of this disorder. There is much to read here, so if a particular symptom is giving you or a loved one trouble, this is the place to go and learn more about it.
What use is all of this information when we simply don't feel good enough to read it and learn? The category for coping provides many ideas that you can apply to your own life to help you maintain the best health possible, physically, psychologically, and spiritually. Schizophrenia is a mental illness that some of us simply cannot escape, but we can learn to live with it, minimize its problematic aspects, and take advantage of some of the aspects it unlocks within us that others don't have!
Let's face it. People are afraid of what they don't understand. This category addresses the cultural issue of schizophrenia and it's impacts on the way we are treated or perceived by the masses. It is up to us to represent ourselves in the best light and to combat the myths and misunderstandings that exist in the world concerning our plight. Learn about these issues here and apply them in your lives!
There are other classifications of illnesses that are very closely related to schizophrenia. The only differences might just be a research label actually, but we have found it useful to place these articles in a category of their own. We deal with schizophreniform and psychosis disorders and their respective symptoms here.
While the medical community deals with schizophrenia as a psychological or physical disorder of the brain, those of us who actually experience it know it is much more. It is a philosophical, spiritual, metaphysical, and mythological issue. Coming to terms with this, confronting it, integrating it, and reconciling it leads to much higher functioning not only as an individual diagnosed with schizophrenia but as a member of society in general. We have a deeper access to this aspect of life and have a great opportunity for learning and healing.
Many of us past and present have chosen to express ourselves through the arts. Whether this is painting and drawing, poetry, dancing, or any other artform, it is healthy and beautiful. We are writing biographies, displaying artwork, and welcoming submissions from our own community to be included here in this category! Please submit if you have something to share!
The internet has opened up the world. There is a constant flow of news concerning our illness but you wouldn't know it by watching the television. We cover new research topics, treatment modalities, and nationwide and worldwide coverage of schizophrenia or incidents related to it in this category!
We have also included other items of interest throughout our website. For instance, we are producing a series of infographics to help educate the public on this topic. We also are collecting and reviewing books concerning the illness. In addition, we have created a directory for the United States of all treatment facilities and hospitals that have staff that are trained to work with schizophrenia cases. Please look around and find these sections and more.
There is something that was slightly mentioned in the footer of the site, but that could be overlooked easily so we felt it was the responsible thing to do to create a large disclaimer to be displayed here on the homepage. This has to do completely with safety. Let us explain.
Every individual on this planet is a unique person. Even more so, those of us dealing with this special psychological difficulty are even more unique, if that makes sense. On this site, we are talking about one of the most complex brain mysteries ever and it expresses itself through every person differently. Every case is going to have it's own peculiarities and all we are able to do in the articles on the site is speak in generalities. We invite anyone to leave appropriate comments and engage in discussion, however we can't take responsibility for their words. Nor can we take responsibility for the actions of any individual or group who have at one time or another visited our website.
If you find yourself in a situation where you're trying to learn more about your condition or are trying to cope through a moment of crisis, please do not act upon any of the information listed on this site, whether in the main content or comments, without first corroborating the accuracy of the info with a medical professional first. Reach out to a general practitioner, psychiatrist, psychologist, or counselor. Even then it's always helpful to have a second opinion from a separate professional as well. Again, we must stress... always act with safety as the foremost concern, and this means consulting professionals before engaging in any practice intended to treat your condition.
We understand that delusions can be very confusing and convincing. We also understand that delusions can center around topics that simply are too philosophical to be proven wrong or correct and thus are tempting to explore in-depth. We have no problem with this exploration as long as it is not harmful to those discussing it. Please use your best discretion in this regard. If the staff of Schiz Life step in and begin deleting comments or halting a conversation, please respect their decision and understand it is not personal.
Investigating delusions is encouraged. Delusions are interesting due to their nature of being understood as strange and outside the norm of the culture of the experiencer, but there is a vast number of individuals visiting this site from many cultures. There is a subtle difference between discussing these topics, and encouraging or trolling. Please find that balance and abide by the above suggestions.
We also, under no circumstances, will tolerate anyone discussing or suggesting harming themselves or others. Past-tense symptom discussion in this regard is fine, but nothing in the future tense will be allowed.
We encourage discussion in the comments as much as possible and are looking into offering a forum and personal blogs as well. In all of these mediums when carrying on conversation, there are some useful questions to ask yourself before posting that comment or response.
The main question to ask yourself is the following:
Is what I'm about to post going to help and support or will it further entrench illness and suffering?
Please consider this as you enjoy Schiz Life. Try not to post angry or hurtful comments. Try not to criticize or blame others. Be as supportive, encouraging, and respecting as you can. Accepting and negotiating differences is key to carrying on constructive conversation.
Remember, there is a real person on the other side of the screen. It's easy to assume the other person is in a similar situation as yourself, but you don't know the extent of their emotions, symptoms, nor their age or even gender.
Let's have a supportive and comforting community where we all feel open and able to share as much as possible. If you receive support from someone, please pay that forward and try to help out someone else. If we all do this, we should all be okay! Thank you for reading and enjoying this thing we are building together.
