Schizophrenia Psychosis Awakening - Surviving Schizophrenia
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Published 2022-05-17
Journey Through the Mind: Surviving and Thriving After Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia.
In this video, we dive into the raw and profound journey of Stephen, a courageous individual who grappled with the challenging circumstances of childhood-onset Schizophrenia. We will venture into his experience of falling ill with psychosis at the tender age of 12 and discuss how he emerged from the depths of this debilitating mental health disorder through sheer resilience and determination.
In February 2012, Stephen's life took a terrifying turn when he began to display symptoms of psychosis. In the next two years, his condition worsened into persistent psychosis, which saw him struggling with disordered thoughts, delusions, and hallucinations. Stephen's experience during these two years was marked by confusion, fear, and an overwhelming sense of alienation from reality.
To alleviate his condition, Stephen was treated with a series of antipsychotic medications, including aripiprazole (Abilify), olanzapine (Zyprexa), and Latuda. Unfortunately, these medications failed to mitigate the 'positive symptoms' of his Schizophrenia. This struggle and the apparent failure of the treatments brought about frustration and a deep sense of despair. The absence of progress left Stephen and his support system in a challenging and heartbreaking position.
However, in February 2014, after six months of clozapine (Clozaril) therapy, a glimmer of hope emerged. Stephen began to wake from the long sleep of psychosis that had haunted his teenage years. This was a turning point, a breath of relief, and the beginning of a new chapter in his life. Clozapine, the medication that ultimately proved effective for Stephen, is known for its potential to treat Schizophrenia when other medications have failed.
Yet, emerging from the clutches of deep psychosis was not without its psychological repercussions. Alongside Stephen's father, we unpacked the toll this journey took on Stephen's mental health. Notably, the persistent 'negative symptoms' of Schizophrenia lingered even after the positive symptoms had largely dissipated. The depression, anxiety, and an overwhelming feeling of loss posed their unique challenges as Stephen navigated his way toward recovery.
A significant portion of our discussion revolved around this feeling of loss. In many ways, Stephen had lost his childhood to Schizophrenia. The condition had stripped him of what is often considered the carefree years of one's life. Moreover, the loss was associated with the years he spent enveloped in psychosis, removed from the world around him.
However, our conversation was not just a recounting of struggle and loss. It was also about resilience, hope, and the power of effective treatment. Stephen's story is one of survival and, in many ways, victory. His journey offers hope for others who may be grappling with similar conditions. It demonstrates that recovery is possible while the road may be challenging and lengthy.
Stephen's journey through Schizophrenia underlines the need for persistent, individualized, and comprehensive mental health care. It also highlights the importance of a robust support system, with his father playing an instrumental role throughout the journey. It was an intimate exploration of their shared experience, the highs and lows, and the strength they found in each other.
The story of Stephen's battle and subsequent victory over childhood-onset Schizophrenia is essential. It shows the harsh realities of the condition, the strength of the human spirit, and the potential for recovery.
Thank you for joining us on this journey, and we hope it has illuminated the struggles and triumphs associated with Schizophrenia. As we continue our series on Surviving Schizophrenia, we look forward to sharing more stories, providing information, and fostering a sense of community for those affected by this condition.
Remember, no one is alone in their struggle. By sharing our stories, we can help reduce the stigma associated with mental health disorders and inspire hope for recovery and a brighter future.
Stay strong, and keep surviving.
Your Friend, Stephen.
All Comments (21)
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I lost my old life after the illness hit for me. I was doing well in college, had friends and lived a care free life feeling I could do anything. After getting psychosis by the end of my first year of college, I was fully dysfunctional and had to go back and live my parents, leaving my friends and old college life behind. I started living a lonely life after that barely going outside but now I've been picking myself up again. I'm on my third semester of college in a completely different part of the world now and going strong
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I am a psych nurse who had a brother with schizophrenia. I worked in hospitals first and then in community mental health with people with schizophrenia and am so impressed by your videos. Your relationship with your dad is amazing. The hardest part is getting people with this disease to accept their illness and to continue to take their medication. You are an inspiration and are going to help a lot of people.
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What a beautiful relationship of Stephen and his Dad. My brother in law had a mental break and was hospitalized. He was completely depleted of Vitamin D. It totally messed with his version of reality. He had to get injections of Vitamin D. He is doing better. I am so happy for Stephen and hope he continues to feel good. What a brave, handsome young man.
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I am a mother with a son with severe schizophrenia. His first hospitalization was in August of 2010 at 18 years. He was on Risperadal but in the beginning went off it because he felt well again after taking it for a while. He became psychotic again and had to be hospitalized again. He went off again in 2012 when he went to massage school because he feared the medication would go through his hands onto the people he massaged. He had another psychotic episode but managed to go back qnd finish massage school. I took him to Toronto to a doctor who prescribed a meat diet , no carbs and vitamin therapy instead of Risperadal. Six months later he had another psychotic episode in January of 2014. The head psychiatrist of the community hospital at that time was sending the more severe ill patients to the state hospital which was a nightmare far beyond One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest or Snake Pit, more like the movie Shelter Island. The psychiatrist at the state hospital loaded my son up with Halidol at such a high dose that he had to shuffle to walk. The other patients were so heavily medicated they were like ghosts. It took five months to get my son out of there, even though they let him go home on the weekend for the last couple of months. He was discharged on monthly injections Risperadal which did not work so he was back in our community hospital behavioral science unit with another psychotic episode after a month. Risperadal no longer worked so the doctor decided on Clozaril. It took over a month to get him on a high enough dose for it to work. During that time my son was catatonic, unable to move, at one point on an IV and needing to be turned in bed because he couldn't move at all. The Clozaril eventually took effect and as soon as my son could walk and eat again the head psychiatrist insisted on sending him to a state hospital. We managed to have him sent to a different one which was much, much better. He was released to our care after three weeks. He was so much better on Clozaril, and Vraylar and an anti depressant was eventually added. He was still hospitalized every two months or 5 or 6 times a year when he would become distressed by the voices he heard, which can be quite bullying. My son does not have anosognosia. He knows he has schizophrenia. Nevertheless, he hears voices whom he believes are disembodied people. He is able to maintain many of his hobbies, writing music, playing the guitar, drawing, fishing and fly tying. He has made friends fishing. He often catches trout, bass and salmon from the huge lakes nearby. He sleeps 12 to 14 hours a day so does not work. After 10 years of being hospitalized, roughly every two months, he has now been home for 3 years without a hospitalization. He still hears voices that lead to poor judgment when he listens to them, so we still have a ways to go. Clozaril has been a tremendous help, though, in actually addressing his symptoms of schizophrenia rather than just tranqilizing him. I am grateful for the doctor who put him on it. I wish we had known about Clozaril from the start as it would have spared us all much pain.
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Awesome relationship you and your Dad have! The hug.... tears. I wish I had the same support
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I wish I had a dad like yours. So clear he loves and cares about you. Lucky!
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Good Morning Stephen, I am so glad that you have came so far. You are a very strong young man to have been through what you have been through and can talk openly about it. Your video have been good for me to get a better understanding to what it is to be schizophrenic and how to be supportive to a love one who has just been diagnosed. I’m so happy that I found your channel. I love to see how your parents have been there to support you through your journey.
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I am so grateful and glad that you are talking about the grief aspect after coming out of psychosis. I was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 14 and it feels like I am stuck at the point in my life and cannot get past that because I've missed so many milestones and now I'm 30 constantly comparing myself to those around me and who have gone through all the milestones and it causes me a huge amount of internal pain. I thought that this was just me. I've been drinking diagnosed with depression and anxiety in the last few years as well and it's something I try to cope with everyday. It's hard because I am not the person who I was before epilepsy hit me. This video is extremely comforting to me. Thank you both very much and God bless you
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Stephen, you and your dad are just incredible. Thank you<3
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My son has been ill with schizophrenia for the past 12 years and has tried many different medications, but continued to have a lot of symptoms. He's starting a trial of Clozapine this week, and I'm hopeful he'll finally get his life back.I'm very happy for you and I hope you continue to improve.
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I am deeply touched by your video Stephen. It has been a difficult journey since my son was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Thank you so much for helping break the stigma by sharing your story! Blessings to you and your father.
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Wow!!😭😭 Thank you for sharing your story. Just dropped my son off at B-MED again. He was just diagnosed and i understand how lonely it can feel for the person suffering as well as the fanily. What a beautiful relationship you have. ❤️
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Shout out to Steve! Worlds greatest Dad!
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Thank you so much for sharing this. In a few weeks, I will start as a researcher at a hospital in the Netherlands. The goal of the research is to predict if patients will be treatment resistant and should take clozapine immediately based on their DNA. It would be amazing if we could achieve this, as it might have saved Stephen some years of non-effective medication if we were able to make an accurate prediction based on his DNA. Thanks again, I will come back to this when I feel demotivated to remember why I am doing this. Love from the Netherlands!
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I truly admire you Sir, you are such an inspiring Father to your awesome Son, May God continue to bless you with abundant health and wisdom 🙏🏻
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Hi Stephen, your story is very inspirational. My son was diagnosed with schizophrenia 12 years ago, and it's been a really tough journey for him. He may be starting a trial of Clozapine in a couple of weeks, which we pray will lift him from his ongoing psychosis. Best of luck and take care.
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Your dad is so supporting... you need a good support group when dealing with this ...
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Thank you for sharing your experience with us. My daughter has been suffering from schizophrenia for 8 years now. She couldn't go on Clozapine because her neutraphil levels fluctuate and sometimes go below the threshold. Recently, there has been a change to treatment policy and with the review and approval of two haemotologists, people with low baseline neutraphil levels can have a trial of Clozapine. She is now just into her fourth week and is starting to show some small improvement. Very small but encouraging. It is inspiring to hear your story and we hope our daughter can recover as well.
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LOVE this video, thank you!
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Thanks for sharing your story. I’m grateful for you sharing. Catching up on your videos.
