antipsychotics

  • The Foot Shuffle and Other Unhelpful Side Effects

    There are several side effects from the Haldol that I’ve been dealing with. They’re pretty frustrating and annoying all at once. I know I’ve talked about the drooling. That’s still happening. It sneaks out of the corners of my mouth… Continue reading

    The Foot Shuffle and Other Unhelpful Side Effects
  • Childless

    Sometimes I regret not having kids. I never wanted any, but I feel like I should’ve over the years. There was a time, a couple of months, where my ex husband and I were thinking about it. He wanted kids.… Continue reading

    Childless
  • Scary Relief

    The voices are still here, in case you were wondering. I have been trying to focus on other things while they’re not as loud, but some days are better than others. And the last couple of days I’ve had some… Continue reading

    Scary Relief
  • My Journey With Talk Therapy

    I have had a long, tumultuous, relationship with talk therapy. I love it. I hate it. It’s alright. Fuck nah. Just to go back to it’s alright, again. I’ve run randomly through all of these feelings, sometimes lapping over another,… Continue reading

    My Journey With Talk Therapy
  • Behavior

    I’m embarrassed about my behavior in the past. I know it’s not good to stare into the past, but I gotta learn my patterns somehow – and reflection is good for that. I was just thinking about all of the… Continue reading

    Behavior
  • Drooling

    It’s really strange to say this, but I’ve been drooling lately. Come to google this here. While I’m thankful for the validation, I’m frustrated that it’s not written about more. There’s not much on it. Some wordy studies here and… Continue reading

    Drooling
  • Stability Loading…

    I’m blown away by how stable I feel. Tired. But stable. Surprisingly stable. I was supposed to get my Invega injection on Friday last week, but the nurse left me a voicemail saying they had to reschedule me for after… Continue reading

    Stability Loading…
  • My Capacity

    I haven’t been writing that much the past few weeks. Dealing with this medication change and adjustment has been pretty brutal. Very brutal. I’m starting to come out the other side slowly, but I feel like it’s taking an eternity.… Continue reading

    My Capacity
  • Anything Goes

    Now that I’m getting used to the Haldol, I’ve been able to think again today. And clearer than I’ve been able to yet, which is such a welcomed and very promising feeling. Last week was no good for that, but… Continue reading

    Anything Goes
  • Haldol

    I can’t express the exhaustion I’ve been dealing with the medication changes from this week and last. It’s been much more debilitating than any other medication change before. I’ve been down for the count since starting the Haldol. And I… Continue reading

    Haldol
  • Side Note 3

    I’ve got two things. The first thing is a couple of additions to Nomadic Protection that didn’t come to mind till after it was published. I have moved over twenty two times since 2004. And I have moved cities every… Continue reading

    Side Note 3
  • Medications: Part Seven

    I had to wait the weekend to hear back from my psych NP about a medication change. I had an appointment last Tuesday, but the provider canceled it last minute and I was rescheduled for over a month out. It’s… Continue reading

    Medications: Part Seven
  • Nomadic Protection

    I’ve been told that I tend to drop things and want to leave people, places, and things once things get a touch easy. Or hard. Or stangent. Or if I just get straight up bored. I know I’ve thrived in… Continue reading

    Nomadic Protection
  • It’s Tiring: Part Two

    I was supposed to have an appointment with my prescriber (my psych NP) for my mental illness medications yesterday, but he called out and I got rescheduled. I did get my Invega injection at least. It was three days early… Continue reading

    It’s Tiring: Part Two
  • The Right People

    It’s really hard to wrap my head around things when I don’t remember much. I can’t recall much at all about anything. Why things went sour with someone. What I was thinking. Why this, that, or the other happened. I… Continue reading

    The Right People
  • Blurry Noises

    I’ve been hearing crowd murmurs for the last few days again. They first surfaced when I was 19 years old. I remember the night that I first heard them. I thought It was paranormal, of course. This hallucination sounds like… Continue reading

    Blurry Noises
  • It’s Tiring

    So I apologized to my neighbor today about my explosion yesterday and she acted like she had no idea what I was talking about. Maybe I made it all up. Or she was drunk like she gets. But she literally… Continue reading

    It’s Tiring
  • This Too Shall Pass

    I noticed a lack of something latey. Music in my head. I used to have music playing constantly in my mind. Tones that I had heard before. Songs that I know. Layered over and through oneanother. Just, really, quite constant… Continue reading

    This Too Shall Pass
  • Defining my Progress

    I’ve been really tired this week. Worn out. Part of it is because I was in an episode last week and weekend. It’s so exhausting to have psychotic symptoms. I’m constantly trying to figure out what’s real and what’s not.… Continue reading

    Defining my Progress
  • Mind and Body

    I struggle with my mind and body giving out on me. The giving out of either part usually happens at different intervals. Different times. Several days of my mind not functioning properly. Then several days of my body not functioning… Continue reading

    Mind and Body
  • Medications: Part Six

    I was just sitting here thinking and realized that my having a better mood is directly coinciding with the rate at which my immunosuppressants for my arthritis have been working. It’s been about eight weeks of the weekly methotrexate and… Continue reading

    Medications: Part Six
  • My Relationship With Food

    I’ve always used food to cover up my feelings. As a coping mechanism. A way to forget what I was so miserable about. I used to tell myself that I don’t use it that way. That food wasn’t an escape.… Continue reading

    My Relationship With Food
  • Reframing

    I’ve been feeling good the past week. So good I’m on edge waiting for my symptoms to take hold again. It makes me antsy when I have several decent days in a row like I have been this week. Wait,… Continue reading

    Reframing
  • Empty

    I’ve been feeling very empty lately. Like, unable to see or feel much joy. I’ve been watching shows like Reno911! and News Radio to keep it light and non thinky. Everything’s been too much. And that’s frustrating because everything is… Continue reading

    Empty
  • The Wash and Fade

    I’ve been feeling very, very blah this week. My Invega injection makes me so tired now that I don’t know what to do. I was resting most of this week because i couldn’t do anything else. And that feeling gets… Continue reading

    The Wash and Fade
  • Thoughts vs Auditory Hallucinations

    I know it may be a bit hard to imagine what auditory hallucinations sound like. Believe me, I wish that no one would ever experience them. Ever. I wish it wasn’t even an option. But unfortunately it is. And I’d… Continue reading

    Thoughts vs Auditory Hallucinations
  • Navigating My Mental Healthcare: Part Two

    I can’t even tell you how many therapists and psychiatrists I’ve seen over the years. Dozens. Easily. I currently deal with a doctor that doesn’t really believe me. He gives me the right medications. But when we talk he is… Continue reading

    Navigating My Mental Healthcare: Part Two
  • “Anosognosia” and Delusions

    I’m forty years old. And I didn’t understand that the voices I hear are actually hallucinations, until I was thirty eight. I thought they were my thoughts. My internal system. The paranormal. The voices are a nonstop discourse of layered… Continue reading

    “Anosognosia” and Delusions
  • The Luxury

    I noticed that I’m starting to be aware of the weather again. It’s been sunny. Then rainy. Then sunny. Then rainy. All week. I’ve been noticing the shifts in temperature. And the bright shades of green pouring out of the… Continue reading

    The Luxury
  • Navigating My Mental Healthcare

    I feel like I’ve been busy this week. But really I’ve been preoccupied. I had an arthritis medication that the doctor’s office just simply wasn’t doing anything about.  I called each day this week. Because I had put in my… Continue reading

    Navigating My Mental Healthcare
  • The Blockage

    It’s been three weeks. Only. And already. Three weeks since I started the daily Risperidone tablets. And only about one week since starting it twice a day. My goodness! How quickly my mood. And ability to think. Changed. In that… Continue reading

    The Blockage
  • The Birds

    Things have been really quiet this weekend again. Which is surprising. I get my injection on Tuesday. And I’m kinda thrilled for it. Normally by now the radio noise would’ve merged into voices. And they would’ve been incessant. But today… Continue reading

    The Birds
  • Medication Adjustments

    This is my 70th entry. This one right here. I never thought I’d continue to follow through with this blog. It’s rewarding. Therapeutic. Satisfying. And I’m getting quite proud of my continued growth. I was looking at some of my… Continue reading

    Medication Adjustments
  • A Sense of Myself

    I have had a significant decrease in symptoms this week. Like, night and day difference. That Risperidone that was added a few weeks ago. Is amazing. In combination with the Invega. Flooring. I’m shook by how much better I feel.… Continue reading

    A Sense of Myself
  • Medications: Part Five and a Half

    This isn’t a full entry. More like a quick update. I got a call from my pharmacy today. Just as I got home from therapy. Regarding another prescription. One for all of the breakthrough symptoms I have. Especially toward the… Continue reading

    Medications: Part Five and a Half
  • Medications: Part Five

    After my Invega injections I feel much, much, much more like myself. Whoever that is anymore. I got one this last Friday. And I feel a night and day difference. My anger dissipates. I’m calmer. I’m reserved. Reflective. Pensive. Even… Continue reading

    Medications: Part Five
  • Enhancing My Misery

    Through the struggle of keeping my darkness at bay. My body is rebelling. Friday the tenth was my fifth and final bilateral knee injection of the series of five that I had to get. Every Friday. For the past five… Continue reading

    Enhancing My Misery
  • Appointment Reminders

    My mental health clinic texts me appointment reminders. And since they got this service. I have been getting SO many reminder texts. I honestly thought that they had plugged my phone number into a place holder account or something. Because… Continue reading

    Appointment Reminders
  • Medications: Part Four

    Honestly, I have always been awful about taking my meds. Any of them. All of them. I’ve gone days or even weeks without taking them. Then I would start taking them again suddenly and get that roller coaster effect. I… Continue reading

    Medications: Part Four
  • Climbing Out of an Episode

    Everything was really rough for around ten to twelve days. I finally started snapping out of it on Thursday. My therapist is convinced that my neighbor accusing me triggered me into an episode. I agree with her. Honestly, things had… Continue reading

    Climbing Out of an Episode
  • Radical Acceptance

    I had a ton of breakthrough symptoms this last week. I was severely triggered by a neighbor. I don’t want to go into detail. So to sum it up, she accused me of something I didn’t do. And believe you… Continue reading

    Radical Acceptance
  • Friends: Part Two

    I used to get so frustrated with some of my friends. I mean, almost enraged at times. And I was never afraid to show it. With actions or words. Or tone of voice. I never said I wasn’t toxic before… Continue reading

    Friends: Part Two
  • The Neighbor Hallucination

    It’s an on going thing for me. Hallucinations are. I hear the neighbors talk about me. Every fucking day. Sometimes I can ignore it. But it’s incessant. It’s been happening for many years now. The last few years they have… Continue reading

    The Neighbor Hallucination
  • The Physical Effects of Antipsychotics

    Antipsychotics make me feel like a different person. In the best way possible. Bet you weren’t expecting that one! Or maybe you were. I have never had good side effects from a medication. They always cause me intense weight gain.… Continue reading

    The Physical Effects of Antipsychotics
  • Habits

    I’m trying to reframe things in my mind as the weekend is about to hit again. I’ve just been so frustrated with everything the past few weeks. Everything kind of collapsed. I had to just sit and let the anger… Continue reading

    Habits
  • My Needs and Boundaries

    I have been trying very hard lately to set boundaries. It’s tough. Some times are better than others. Especially in regards to follow through. I can set as many as I want. But the follow through is incredibly difficult. I… Continue reading

    My Needs and Boundaries
  • Everything’s Different

    My memory is shot. I feel like my capacity to remember anything has been cut in half since I was in my twenties. And I couldn’t remember anything back then either. It feels like these psychosis symptoms leave holes. They… Continue reading

    Everything’s Different
  • Medications: Part Three

    Medications are filled with tons of stigma. Especially antipsychotics. Taking them is admitting that I need help. And I can’t do this life on my own. It’s stressful. It’s packed with shame. Especially when folks who don’t have to take… Continue reading

    Medications: Part Three
  • Homesick

    I’m noticing that my depression is rearing its ugly head. It’s surfacing pretty gradually this go-around. Sometimes it hits like a freight train though. It’s self loathing and doubt. It’s soul crushing shit. With the voices and everything that take… Continue reading

    Homesick
  • DBT and BPD

    I’ve been working on a DBT workbook that I ordered. DBT stands for Dialectical Behavior Therapy. It’s for people who basically, can’t control their emotions. Find out more about DBT here.  I started thinking about DBT again because I am… Continue reading

    DBT and BPD
  • Engage the Rage

    I think the type of anger I have is a little closer to rage. A thick, stifling, deep, dark red rage. It sometimes feels like my blood is literally boiling under my skin. Bubbling up at least. I can feel… Continue reading

    Engage the Rage
  • Mutating Appropriately

    I met with the new-for-me NP at the mental health clinic I go to. The appointment went really well. I felt heard, finally. I was able to take in what was being said. I didn’t have a flood of uncontrollable… Continue reading

    Mutating Appropriately
  • Loaded Questions

    I have been very awkward in public lately. I’m terrified of people talking to me. Or about me. Probably because I always feel like people are talking about me. One harmless side glance starts a wave of paranoid thoughts through… Continue reading

    Loaded Questions
  • Inner Voices

    It’s been long enough that I don’t feel like I’ll ruin it if I bring it up now. My inner voices have been beautifully silent lately. It’s been about three weeks now. These are not the same voices I have… Continue reading

    Inner Voices
  • My Exhaustion

    There are nights where I get plenty of solid sleep and still wake up exhausted. I know that part of this is my depression. But another part of my sleepiness is now from being overwhelmed with the difference of my… Continue reading

    My Exhaustion
  • Retail, Behavior and Social Skills

    I always say that I’m not social anymore because of all of the years of retail I’ve worked. So, so many years of constant human interaction. Bad days, good days, sick days, it doesn’t matter. I have had to interact… Continue reading

    Retail, Behavior and Social Skills
  • Friends

    I have no desire to have friends right now. I can’t tell if I’m telling myself that because I don’t have many at all, or because it’s a real thing. But I really don’t have the capability to be a… Continue reading

    Friends
  • My [in]Ability to Think

    I was approved to see another NP at the clinic I go to. I’m glad it moved so quickly. And I’m glad the clinic I go to let me get a second opinion with another provider. I’m just so unsure… Continue reading

    My [in]Ability to Think
  • My Voices and Forest

    In the recent past, my delusions grew and got loud enough to impact every aspect of my life. I have a tendency to become obsessed with certain topics – mainly people and conversations between us, actually. Especially a specific line… Continue reading

    My Voices and Forest
  • Transition of Thought

    My psychosis episodes warp everything. They pop up out of nowhere and run my entire life until they wear out. Then it can get quiet for a few days. Then it ramps right back up into me. I have been… Continue reading

    Transition of Thought
  • Finding Parts of Myself

    Everyday something new happens. Or at least, I notice something new about myself. Like how dairy and I haven’t coexisted well for quite a few months now. Like how my mind overrides me. Like how I have white hairs on… Continue reading

    Finding Parts of Myself
  • Lactose Intolerance

    For the first time since starting this blog, I haven’t felt like writing this week. I know I will. I mean, I did. Because this is posted right here. So I know I did write. But I seriously don’t feel… Continue reading

    Lactose Intolerance
  • Madness Leaking

    I went from hearing deafening silence for two days to hearing voices again. It’s legit soul crushing shit. I know my symptoms will probably never go away fully. But the two days of silence was very eye opening. It was… Continue reading

    Madness Leaking
  • Silence and Other Senses

    It’s quiet this morning. Like, really quiet. It’s Friday, at 10am. People are out walking and driving and everything. But I don’t hear anything but faint background car noises. It’s as if someone switched a channel in my eardrums. It’s… Continue reading

    Silence and Other Senses
  • Addiction

    For many, many years I have been trying to cover my mental health symptoms with substances. Especially my psychosis. Alcohol, pills, anything that I could get my hands on. I was in rehab about 10 years ago, and I remember… Continue reading

    Addiction
  • Core Delusion

    I’ve honestly felt like a shell of myself until the last few months. My mind has thrived in chaos, for so, so long now. But today, right now, I am sincerely doing good. And that’s so much more sincerely said… Continue reading

    Core Delusion
  • Relationship

    Relationships are so, so difficult for me. I’m talking about all of them. Family, friends, significant others, etc… I’ve said before that I have a very hard time communicating. And that’s a big part of it. Another part is that… Continue reading

    Relationship
  • Medications: Part Two

    I was taken off of my Seroquel due to severe physical side effects and complications. At my psych appointment in August, I was to stop the rest of both my Geodon and Seroquel within about a three day period. Of… Continue reading

    Medications: Part Two
  • Paranoia, Hallucination and Delusion

    As long as I can remember it’s felt like someone is watching me. I have “heard” friends talking about me since I was fifteen. When I look at the few memories I have, it feels like there was always someone,… Continue reading

    Paranoia, Hallucination and Delusion
  • Changes

    During the past month I’ve been noticing that I have very high blood pressure and quite a bit of chest pains. I didn’t even think about them being from my Seroquel until last Friday. I noticed that overall, I hadn’t… Continue reading

    Changes
  • Therapy

    I have been in and out of talk therapy for quite some time. I was made to go when I was younger. Because, even at a young age, the darkness and doom engulfed my core being. I was originally sent… Continue reading

    Therapy
  • Splitting

    I can easily split into a completely different version of myself. Splitting turns me into a person that has an impossible time separating my behaviors from my personality. It’s like my emotions completely take over my mind and body and… Continue reading

    Splitting
  • Medications: Part One

    My Seroquel dose was upped again this week. I’m writing this entry through very heavy eyelids. A big downfall for me has always been how exhausted my psych meds can make me. I have taken Synthroid every day since birth,… Continue reading

    Medications: Part One
  • The Start

    When I’m in a high stress situation, I shut down or switch over or snap or split. These actions are attempts at self preservation – and also surface from subconscious neurological misfirings. It’s fear of abandonment.  It’s fear of rejection. … Continue reading

    The Start