I used to have nightmares of drowning. I would be underwater and try to come up for air and the water would solidify like glass and i could not escape. Then I would wake up not breathing. I would have to consciously start breathing again, usually counting to 5 or 10. I slept with a knife under my pillow and had night terrors for years. Sometimes I would feel someone watching me and peek above the covers and see a figure in the doorway. I was one messed up kid. My nightmare were very vivid. Are night terrors schizophrenia related?
Schizophrenia
by frankiespeakin 38 Replies latest jw experiences
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still thinking
I had a lot of nightmares as a child DATA-DOG....mine were stress related. I was so stressed by my home environment when I was 3 years old my hair started to fall out in chunks. The doctor said it was stress. I grew up in an alcoholic home. I used to dream about people dying all the time. And running but never getting anywhere. I was a fearful child.
Night terrors are also normal in young children. My son has them sometimes and when he does I give him calcium and Magnesium for a few days. they always subside quite quickly now. He had them for weeks before I discovered this.
If it had continued for him though I would have sought medical advice.
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Chariklo
This view of the mentally ill being blessed is not a fringe belief. R.D. Laing glorified it, I believe, though my exposure was so long ago I may be misconstruing it.
Band, I don't think you meant that you thought I believed that the mentally ill are blessed...I was writing incredibly late at night, and that's never the best time for me to express myself clearly. What I was thinking was...well, a number of things really.
Firstly, that God has love and compassion on those who are suffering, and people with serious mental illness exist in great pain and confusion and are little understood by the world. Thus, for that reason, I believe they are special, because they are not pretentious, (though they may be delusional.)
Secondly, from my own observation and from many conversations I've had with patients while visiting a member of my family on acute psychiatric wards, I would say they often show great kindness themselves to their fellow-patients and those who are suffering. They see through pretence and insincerity. They are in a state of total dependency, sometimes, and yet from their nothing they can be very very generous.
So, I'd say, blessed by being especially close to God's heart. They are dear to him, as are all those who suffer.
That's the idea I was trying to convey.
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NeverKnew
I have an uncle who has been diagnosed as bipolar and schizophrenic. He is in his mid 70s. He was hospitalized recently.
When I visit, sometimes we just sit with each other and say nothing. It's painful to not know what's in his mind as we sit. The other day, he looked at me with a big toothless grin as if to say, "Thank you for being beside me." I returned a huge grin feeling good that we connected. As his smile faded, he looked at me quizzically and asked, "Why are your eyes so sad?"
Even in his tortured and drugged state, he seems to be able to see through people when they have his attention.
I thought grandiosity was a characteristic of the sickness. He leans towards thinking that he's an "original gangster" and can beat ANYone up when he misses a few pills. He forgets he's darn near 100....
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Scott77
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jgnat
The voices in my son's head are not at all friendly. He's described the two to me. One whispers, and the other growls accusations. Those inner voices threaten the most despicable and vile acts to his person, and accuse him of the most horrible acts. No where near divine.
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jgnat
I just stumbled across this site, most enlightening to the Schizophrenic mind:
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Branded Rebel
I know this might sound heartless to most people, but after having lived with my ex husband and suffered at his abusive hand when he would drink and get drunk, thereby cancelling out his Schitz Meds or refuse to take his meds; I could not put myself through that again if our daughter developed the condition. I would put her in the care of professionals. She is my only child and I love her dearly, but I'm not about to be stabbed, bashed, kicked and abused in my own home by a member of my own family or someone elses. Even if they have mental health issues. Half the crimes committed are from people who are violent mental health patients. They even use that as an excuse to get away with murder.
My ex was diagnosed with the condition a couple of years before we married and I did as much research as I could on the matter to understand what I would be dealing with because I loved him. I found out that most people with the condition are non-violent people and have timid/shy personalities who will shy away from an arguement rather than getting into one. That might be well and true - in theory... When my ex was medicated, he would still talk to himself and be vacant within himself. When he wasn't on the meds or something triggered him even while he was taking them, he would lash out. It was a very hurtful thing to experience watching someone you love disappear and there was nothing you could do to bring them back. I couldn't even reason with him. There was no logic. I could never believe anything he said.
I understand that living with someone with the condition is a heart breaking nightmare that lingers and you can never wake up from it, but living in fear of them or walking on eggshels in your own home is far worse. When my husband and I split up I helped him pack! I was glad he left us because 'the voices told him to'.... Later I found out he left because those voices were telling him to kill and harm us. During the course of our 2 year marriage, he would repeated tell me he didn't love me and married me because the voices told him to, but he didn't love me. No matter how much you love someone, if they have the Schitz, and tell you they don't love you, there is nothing you can do to save them. Medication only works if they own the fact that they are ill and need it which maybe 1 sufferer in 100 will realize. But if the person is nasty and a liar AND they have the Schitz, I've learned that's a tripple deadly whammy - despite all the medical studies and fluff about sufferers. They are trying not to scare you about the illness - but infact, it one scary as hell illness that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.
Nuthouse Escapee: I'm not strong enough to live through hell again. Once bitten, twice shy. I think anyone who battles on with a family member who has the illness is very brave. It's not easy to cope with and is very emotionally draining. My hat goes off to you.
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still thinking
Branded Rebel...I would never judge you or anyone for that decision.