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)
The Overlife Is A Best-Seller And What My Next Novel Says About Schizophrenia
What if a person’s greatest insights came during their darkest hours? Join me, Diana Dirkby, as I celebrate a major milestone—my book "The Overlife: A Tale of Schizophrenia" has become a bestseller on Amazon Kindle! I'll share exclusive details on where you can purchase this powerful story and highlight the unique experience offered by the audiobook version, narrated by the talented Wendy Moman. Plus, get an exciting sneak peek at my upcoming novel, "Three Kidnapped, Three Siblings, Three Furies," featuring Isabel Morse, a brilliant scholar of Greek myths who is also living with schizophrenia. Dive into the complex world of sibling abuse and uncover how Isabel’s expertise becomes instrumental in solving a series of kidnappings in the town of Vraboro.
But that’s not all—this episode goes beyond fiction to address real-world challenges of engaging with severe mental illness. By sharing Isabel’s story, we explore the importance of empathy and understanding when someone is experiencing a mental health crisis. I open up about my personal frustrations and the struggles of separating one’s identity from their illness. We emphasize that contributions made during a relapse can still be meaningful, highlighting the critical need for patience and compassion. Tune in to gain deeper insights into the lives of those living with mental health conditions and learn how we can all foster a more empathetic world.
#DianaDirkby #TheOverlife #A TaleofSchizophrenia #Schizophrenia #MentalIllness #FamilyDynamics #CaregiverBurden #Resilience #Hope #MentalHealthAwareness #MentalHealthStigma #Strength #Love #Compassion #SecondChance #Transformation #Fiction #MentalHealthPortrayal #FamilyStruggles #EmotionalTurmoil #PoignantStory #GrippingNarrative #UnforgettableCharacters #MustReadBook
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. You are listening to my podcast, Schizophrenia as I Live it. Last week, my book, the Overlife A Tale of Schizophrenia, by Diana Dirkby achieved bestseller status for a Kindle book on amazon. com and was named best in Fiction about People with Disabilities. You can see more about it on my Instagram at diana_dirkby_writings, and Twitter account at DianaDirkby. This is a milestone for the book. The book is available on Kindle Unlimited, which offers free access to those with an account. The Kindle version is a steal for those without an account at only $9.99. The paperback version is also reasonably priced, at $34.99 on Amazon and a discounted $29.50 on my website at overliveschizophrenia. com. It's processed there through IngramSpark.
Diana Dirkby:The Audible audiobook costs $19.95. However, the Audible app offers a free trial, so you can enjoy it for free, even if you have the Kindle or paperback version. The audiobook is a unique experience. The narrator, Wendy Mo man, brings the book to life with her deep understanding of it. She is Australian and narrates with an Australian accent, adding a touch of authenticity to the setting. Whether you multitask or prefer to sit back and listen, the audiobook is a great addition to your reading experience.
Diana Dirkby:Meanwhile, work on my forthcoming novel, Three Kidnapped, Three Siblings, Three Furies, continues. The book is near publication and I'm reviewing the final draft. Although the main subject of the book is sibling abuse, one of the central characters is Isabel Morse, a classics scholar whose speciality is the Greek Myths and who lives with schizophrenia. Therefore, even though the book is very different from the Overlife, I intend to discuss it in this podcast, since I, the author, live with schizophrenia and so does Isabel. We will devote some other episodes to the problematic topic of sibling abuse, which is relevant to this novel.
Diana Dirkby:Let's say a few words about the character Isabel Morse in Three Kidnapped, Three Siblings, Three Furies. The book is set in Vrayboro, a fictional place in East Texas with about 5,000 inhabitants. It opens with the kidnapping of three teens from three separate families under eerie conditions. The ransom notes and amputated body parts of the teens that show up at their parents' door drive the story to horror and suspense.
Diana Dirkby:Isabel is 35, single, and works from home for an online university. She writes material for their classes on the classics and grades exams. Her specialty and passion are the Greek myths, but she is interested in all beliefs. For about five years she has had a firm friendship with the 55-year-old Catholic priest, Father Louis. Her friendship with Father Louis began when Isabel attended one of his sermons in the Catholic Church. Isabel is not religious, but word had spread about how excellent Father Lewis's sermons were, so she went to one out of curiosity. After the sermon, father Lewis and Isabel struck up a conversation in which Isabel confided that she lived with schizophrenia. Even though her schizophrenia had been well managed for some time with therapy and medication using gifted local doctors, she was still the victim of stigma from some of the residents of Vrayboro. She was, in fact, quite lonely. Father Lewis assured her he would be her friend, even though she wasn't Catholic. He was still there if she needed to talk, and the conversation need not be about mental health. That began a friendship that lasted a lifetime.
Diana Dirkby:Stigma against Isabel from other characters in the book does arise, but that doesn't drive the plot. Isabel Morse and Father Lewis are the two characters who have the most influence on the action in the novel. Rather than write, as I did for Sarah in The Overlife, about Isabel's path from untreated schizophrenia to managed schizophrenia with the help of good doctors in Vrayboro, we take up Isabel's story when her schizophrenia symptoms are well under control. She still has to avoid stress triggering her schizophrenia, and faces stigma because she lives with this brain disorder. However, there is a great deal to her life that has nothing to do with mental illness and that features prominently in the novel. Isabel herself feels that living with schizophrenia and studying Greek myths and other belief systems has given her the ability to entertain assumptions that many people would dismiss because they don't sound like everyday reality. The problem is that, due to stigma, others often reject her good ideas. Father Lewis always takes them seriously, and this friendship with Isabel is one of the keys to unlocking the origin of the horror and suspense in the story.
Diana Dirkby:When Isabel and Father Lewis meet to talk about the kidnapping of the teens, Isabel impresses on Father Lewis that aspects of the kidnappings that have come to light are a horrific mystery when viewed straight on. She suggests that viewing the events in another context may be necessary to understand what is going on and thereby help to recover the kidnapped teens. She points out that the kidnapping's emerging details echo some Greek myths, so that context may be relevant. Father Lewis is initially skeptical. There are several ways to view what is transpiring in the horror in Vrayboro, but he would not think that any Greek myth was relevant. As the book unfolds, a ransom note left on the parents' doorsteps reveals that the kidnappers identify themselves as the Three Furies, or Three Erynes from the Greek myths. Considering the alternate reality of the Greek myths then becomes a must, and the best person to help is Isabel Morse, who, as always, has the backing of Father Lewis, despite his reservations about alternate reality. The Three Furies punish wrongdoing, and it turns out that the wrongdoing is sibling abuse. But by whom, to whom?
Diana Dirkby:There is a message here for people engaging with someone fighting a severe mental illness, like schizophrenia. As alarming as the symptoms can be for the consumer of mental health, i. e. the person living with a mental illness, and the witnesses of a mental health crisis, not everything is rubbish in the mind of a mentally ill person who is struggling. In Isabel's case, her contributions to the horror of Vrayboro could also have been made while she was undergoing a relapse of her mental illness. They are part of how she is - sick or well. I know how frustrating it can be to try to convey to others what is my mental illness and what about me and what I say has nothing to do with it. Please remember that a mental health crisis needs to be met with patience, sympathy and room for what is not the mental illness. Thank you for listening.