Schizophrenia As I Live It (audio)
I discuss navigating the labyrinth of paranoid schizophrenia as a personal and Informative journey.
I'm Diana Dirkby, and I'm living with paranoid schizophrenia. In this podcast, I'll open up about my experiences with this complex brain disorder while also providing a comprehensive overview of schizophrenia itself. Despite sharing common symptoms, each individual's journey with schizophrenia is unique. We all seek tools and strategies to manage our symptoms within the context of our unique lives.
As mental health consumers, we are responsible for sharing our experiences openly and honestly. By doing so, we can help combat the stigma associated with schizophrenia. We can empower listeners to understand what psychosis truly feels like, dispelling the fear and misconceptions that often surround it. While a schizophrenic episode can be an intense and overwhelming experience, it's important to remember that the person experiencing it is usually not a threat to others.
Beyond my experiences with schizophrenia, I'll also share aspects of my life that transcend my mental health condition. This serves as a reminder that mental health consumers are multifaceted individuals, not defined solely by their diagnoses.
My fiction novel, "The Overlife: A Tale of Schizophrenia," is based on a deeply personal exploration of my own experiences and those of my mother. It's available as a Kindle and paperback book (visit https://www.amazon.com/author/diana_dirkby or search for "Diana Dirkby" on Amazon). An audiobook version will be released soon. For more information, please visit my website: https://overliveschizophrenia.com/.
Part 1 of this podcast aired during the prepublication phase of my novel. Now the book has appeared, Part 2 assumes you have access to it. You can still follow along without having read it. However, reading the book will help you understand and appreciate my podcast.
Together, we can break down barriers and promote open conversations about mental health. Thank you for joining me on this journey.
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Schizophrenia As I Live It (audio)
Voices and Visions: Finding Myself Amidst Schizophrenia
Have you ever wondered what it's like to navigate the complex world of paranoid schizophrenia while trying to hold on to your true self? My debut novel, "The Overlife: A Tale of Schizophrenia," provides insights into this dilemma. In this heartfelt episode, I open up about my experiences with multiple relapses and psychotic breaks, highlighting the daily challenges and the constant battle to maintain my sense of identity amidst auditory and visual hallucinations.
Get ready to gain a compassionate understanding of schizophrenia, and learn the crucial role caregivers play in the lives of those affected by this illness. I discuss the often misunderstood distinction between schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder, shedding light on the unique ways schizophrenia impacts one's reality. You'll hear about my personal strategies for preserving my true self, which include prioritizing time with loved ones and indulging in activities that bring me joy. This episode aims to foster empathy and awareness, providing a window into the life of someone living with severe mental illness.
#mentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #mentalhealthawareness #schizophrenia #paranoidschizophrenia #schizoaffective #mentalillness #psychosis #depressionsawareness #fictionwriting #family #relationships #nomorestigma #fightthestigmaofmentalillness #letstalk #lookafteryourself #schizophreniaawareness #mentalillnessrecovery #mentalillnesstreatment #motherdaughter #brainhealth
Pastime With Good Company by King Henry VIII, played by The Chestnut Brass Company
Pastime With Good Company, composed by King Henry VIII, played by The Chestnut Brass Company
Hello, my name is Diana Dirkby and I live with paranoid schizophrenia. Today's podcast will be rather short and it's a little bit late, as those who follow the podcast will have noticed. The reason is that I am working on the penultimate version of the proofs for my forthcoming book entitled " Three Kidnapped, Three Siblings, T three Furies, and I haven't really got time to do much else once I start that because it's kind of obsessional work. I read the proofs through and I look for grammar mistakes and I look for inconsistencies and even though I've done this several times, I need to do it again several times to be really sure. Of course, the editor with whom I'm publishing works on that, but you have to cross-check everything yourself. So today I wanted to talk about schizophrenia and identity, what could be called schizophrenia identity disorder. However, one should contrast schizophrenia with dissociative identity disorder, as they are not the same mental illness illness as I have shared with you. My debut fiction novel about a mother and daughter both living with schizophrenia has now been published and is entitled " T the Overlife A Tale of Schizophrenia. It's available from a Amazon. com and other leading booksellers. It is also available as a Kindle and an audiobook o n the Audible app. After the second book has appeared that I just referenced, my third fiction novel will invite readers to reflect on the concept of ' self,' so that's my upcoming project. The concept of self is highly complex for those living with a severe mental illness, like, as I do, paranoid schizophrenia. A relapse of paranoid schizophrenia, or the schizophrenia symptoms that can occur daily, involves auditory and visual hallucinations that the consumer of mental health struggles to control. Part of that fight forces you to disbelieve the information you receive from the basic senses you use to operate as a functioning human being. Your caregiver or others in your circle of trusted friends and relatives, usually with good intentions, pressure you to change, to become healthier, by negating part of what seems natural to you.
Diana Dirkby:The danger is to throw the baby out with the bath water.
Diana Dirkby:I am a veteran of multiple relapses of paranoid schizophrenia. Such relapses are often called psychotic breaks, as the symptoms usually include psychosis. . Psychosis refers to a collection of symptoms that affect the mind where there has been some loss of contact with reality. During an episode of psychosis, a person's thoughts and perceptions may be disrupted and they may have difficulty recognizing what is real and what is not. I have discussed aspects of psychosis in my other podcast episodes\ podcasts. As scary as the symptoms of schizophrenia may be for those who observe them, they are far more terrifying for those who endure them, even if they suffer from anosognosia, a neurological condition in which the patient is unaware of their neurological deficit or psychiatric condition. As we discussed in our podcast on the LEAP method, the priority for someone undergoing psychosis is to get the treatment that will help them control . schizophrenia
Diana Dirkby:symptoms
Diana Dirkby:.
Diana Dirkby:Observers often overlook that, despite the crisis of a relapse, there is still a person who exists, independently of their symptoms. Even those close to a consumer of mental health can make this misjudgment. When undergoing a struggle with mental health, there is a parallel struggle to preserve a sense of self that is at the core of identity. Those parts of the mental health consumer that have nothing to do with their illness are often ignored by those who care for them and are under attack from the symptoms they are trying to control.
Diana Dirkby:Although I am not diagnosed with DID, standing for dissociative identity disorder, what used to be called multiple personalities, a mental illness distinct from schizophrenia, my psychiatric symptoms can lead at their worst to me feeling outside my body and in somebody else's, though that person is always fictitious. I don't believe I am important in such circumstances. I hide inside someone else to escape the symptoms. It is more like a mind game than a total switch to another identity, like with DID. What I am looking for in such mental journeys is not another identity. I am defending my real one.
Diana Dirkby:To further hold on to my true self, it is vital to cultivate my interest in the activities and people I love, and to do so to a greater extent than I would normally. I love my spouse, a terrific caregiver, and spend more time with him than usual. I love nature, music and films, and I prioritize those activities above what I have to get done, like shopping or paying bills, leaving some tasks for my husband to do that I would typically do. Most importantly, even amid my worst relapses, some strong sense of my authentic self fights back, and I need people to talk to me about my interests and passions, the ones they know I have. As important as controlling the symptoms is if contact with people is only about my mental health, that is self-defeating. Every consumer of mental health is much more than their diagnosis, so I thank you for listening and hope you tune in next time.