Do I really have schizophrenia? Psychiatrist want to hospitalize me immediately.!
Question: Do I really have schizophrenia? Psychiatrist want to hospitalize me immediately.?
- lack of motivation, apathy;
- inability to concentrate;
- social withdrawn;
- loss of interest in studies, work, and friends;
- social anxiety and fearfulness;
- no interest in making and keeping friends;
- lack of emotional expression;
- monotone speech;
I believe I have always had high dopamine levels. I inherited it from my mother. She has OCDs and high adrenaline. She inherited it from her father. When I was 5 i experienced facial ticks that later went away. I started to experience something that resembles depression since I was 11 years old. I experienced chronic stress at home and at school in my early adolescence. I remember that I already had the inability to concentrate when I was 15 (it may also be because I am ambidextrous (I do everything with both hands equally well) as I have read ambidextrous teenagers have 90 percent higher risk of developing ADHD). Because of stress I was always tired, unable to do my homework. After graduating school I entered the university. As I started living alone the stress went away. I then started having high adrenaline episodes with some intermittent depression episodes. This was when the grandiose thoughts began. Later depression almost went away and only high adrenaline episodes remained. I was doing things in random order, I tended to skip some words while reading, because I was reading very fast. Sometimes words totally disappeared from my thinking processes and I was thinking only visually, sometimes I had only verbal thinking, but most of the time visual and verbal thinking is co-occuring at the same time (I tend to express logic visually in my mind by drawing lines between the associated concepts since my early childhood). I was also extremely creative and had some low latent inhibition. Sometimes I had racing thoughts and restless legs syndrome. I developed social anxiety. I rarely left home. I avoided leaving home for as long as possible. I developed some OCDs, for example, I had to drink water in the number of sips divisible by seven, or always enter the room with my right foot first.
These went away a year ago. I liked learning new things very much, but I usually got bored if I stayed on one thing for too long. I started a lot of different projects but never finished even one of them because I lost motivation too quickly. I lost motivation to study so I quit university. I then found a job, but I was fired three weeks later, because I was unable to finish tasks on time, because I was unable to concentrate. This is when the loss of motivation to do anything appeared and have been continuing till now since then. The level of adrenaline dropped significantly. I didn't have restless legs syndrome anymore however a paing in the legs started which I believe is called fibromyalgia and is associated with low dopamine. An extreme apathy appeared. I was just sitting and watching at one spot. I didn't care about anything. There were clouds of dust in the corners. I collected all the
bags of trash in my balcony instead of bringing them out, etc. This is the state my father found me when he came to visit.
So, my questions are:
- I it really necessary for me to be hospitalized? (I will be hospitalized against my will anyway);
- How likely is that I really have some mild schizophrenia? I think my symptoms might as well have been caused by a few co-occurring syndromes that have started at different times in my lifetime and psychiatrist just misdiagnosed me.
- What medications for my symptoms I should expect to get if I were treated for mild form of schizophrenia?
- What are the side effects of this medication I should be worried about?
And most importantly:
- Is there any possible irreversible brain damage from these medications?
Answers:
Best Answer - Chosen by Voters
I can answer the first question. No, it does not appear to be necessary for you to be hospitalized. The criteria for hospitalization is an imminent risk to self, others, or gravely disabled (so mentally ill that you cannot take care of yourself). You don't describe that degree of illness in the vignette. Also, it don't make sense to hospitalize you, as your symptoms are relatively mild. This can be managed on an outpatient basis. I wonder why the psychiatrist didn't just write you a prescription for an anti-psychotic.
The rest of the questions are out of my league. When the psychiatrist eventually prescribes a medication to you, you have rights. You may ask questions about the medication, it's side effects, how long it takes to be therapeutic (to help), and what you can expect if you cooperate with a medication regimen.
Back when I was a student, the literature indicated that 66% of the people who were identified with schizophrenia, and who cooperated in their own treatment, were able to lead mostly normal lives. At this point, you don't appear to be in the "unfortunate 33%" category.
Take care, and if you want more information on your rights as a mental health patient, contact NAMI (National Association on Mental Illness).
edit: I can see why some here think you are depressed instead of schizophrenic. Some of the symptoms on your list are what's called "negative" symptoms of schizophrenia. I have attached a site with more information.
http://www.schizophrenia.com/diag.php
Well the fact your still not in hospital. you cant be that bad !
my husband tried to get me sectioned after cutting my wrists twice.i cant really advise, but i can listen and understand as i know how you feel.
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it seems that doctors always want to hospitalize you.
hospitals are very expensive
Get another psychiatrist, one that knows the difference between schizophrenia and severe depression.
NONONO NO please do not go to that hospital i dnt see nothing major that you have to get hospitalized please dnt let them
try to make the best of hospital, keep insisting that you arent all that bad and dont copy any crazy behaviour you might see
the meds will be safe
no u seem normal dont go
I'm surprised that you've been able to gain access to a computer if they wanted to hospitalise you. Why would they wait? They'd just put you straight in. Are you on the run?
I have read that the doctors in America are far more prone than in other parts of the world to diagnose schizophrenia.
It's a tough one to diagnose because the classic symptoms are not there - the delusions and the hallucinations. I have a personal bias against doctors calling people schizophrenia just for problems with motivation.
I have had problems with concentration, but only because I was experiencing delusions. Are you sure that you are not experiencing delusions? Even if you had them, you would likely not think that they were delusions anyway.
The medications you would expect to receive would be anti-psychotics. They do have side effects. They can actually take your motivation away from you - pretty bad if the problem is that you don't have any in the first place.
I'm not sure about the irreversible brain damage. I'm not sure that anybody does at this stage. You might want to try the anti-psychotics and see if there is any improvement to be had through using them.
My guess is no.
But you may want to look into counseling anyway. The "symptoms" you mentioned are specific to "most any mental illness". I think you may be reading too much into your research and are making conclusions based on misinformation. Mental illness isn't something you can self-diagnose.
They can only take you against your will if you are a threat to your self (suicidal), a threat to others (homicidal, assaultive) or unable to take care of your daily needs such as eating, bathing, dressing.
You will be entitled to an attorney if they try to keep you beyond a certain point..in my state it is 20 days..
the hospitals are a joke in my area..they have a TV, a puzzle or 2, a game or 2...all with missing pieces...and a small stack of old reading material.....they give you a coloring book and crayons and call it therapy--they are teaching you a recreational skill.
the doctor barely talks to you..and when you ask the nurse, they say the doc will talk to you , but he never does....
they will lay and say yu made a suicidal threat to keep you if they want..
they will just do a quick checklist to screen, but never do a real evaluation, they will hand you drugs without even talking to you about them....its pure abuse...
unless youhave access to a private hospital.......
being schizophrenic IS NOT A REASON To be hospitalized, many people with schizophrenia can live in their own homes, The women I knew that was hospitalized was only there becasue she had no place to go....she felt her hoome had been invaded by terrorists......and they were just letting her stay until she had a home to go to...she was a sweet lady--not a threat to anyone..and took extensive steps to protect herself
it does not sound like schizophrenia...do you think you are being attacked, or that you are superhuman, catatonic (unresponsive)
some symtpoms of shizophrenia can be something else--for example--i had a brain injury and now have disorganzied speech
lack of interest/activiy can be depression
TRY TO GET TO ANOTHER DOCTOR ON YOUR OWN WITHOUT YOUR FATHER...ifa doc wants to hospitalize you jsut because they suspect schizophrenia..hes an idiot
NEGATIVE CHARACTERISTICS MUST BE PAIRED WITH ANOTHER MAJOR CHARACTERISTC FOR IT TO BE SCHIZOPHRENIA...delusions, hallucinations, incoherent speech, catatonia..
iwouldn't say what you descibed is catatonia
LOOK UP SCHIZOID PERSONALITY DISORDER
FMS IS not a label for a pain in the egs..fms is widespread...the pain in your legs can be caused by many things
No I think the doctor is wrong you don't need to be hospitalized.My boyfriends brother is schizophrenia and he is nothing like you.He screams for no reasons,says voices are talking to him and tell him to do bad things,plus he sees a little furry creature that tries to drown him in the tub.Your not schizophrenic I bet.You should check with the doctor again.I think you might be extreemly depressed.
My guess:
1. You probably do have some kind of behavioral disorder, and possibly mild schizophrenia. The good news is that low doses of anti-schizophrenic medicines PLUS cognitive-behavioral therapy (not traditional psychotherapy) can help IF INTERVENTION starts early. You don't usually have to be hospitalized.
2. You can't be hospitalized against your will unless it can be demonstrated that you are a danger to yourself or others.
3. I think you are fooling yourself that you don't have a chronic biochemical problem. The right meds and the right therapy can do wonders and make you yourself again.
good luck
Take my word for it. You go into hospital you'll be scared for life. They make out it's all a pretty place like a holiday, 'oh you'll be safe/fine' then you get there and as soon as the door goes behind you thats it. NO escape. I was in there 3 months. Now i'm mentally scared, I have nightmares pretty much every single night & flashbacks most days.
Yes they can section you, they say it's only in EXTREME circumstances but nearly everyone in my unit I was in was sectioned and some of them had nothing wrong with them. They only tend to sectioned people if they are a harm to themselves or others. Or could be they are detatched from reality which could potentially lead to the harm of others.
My opinion is that you don't have schizophrenia someone on the unit with me had that and she used to just sit there and talk about putting babies in washing machines & that people had gone in her room and wee'd on the floor and the floor was all wet. Stuff like that.
I'm not too sure on medication look at pyschotic medication on Google.
Most medications have side effects such as weight gain.
Take care.
My personal experience.