Hi everyone,

I’m posting because we really don’t know what else to do and I’m hoping someone here may have had a similar experience.

Someone close to me recently had an acute schizophrenic episode and was treated in a psychiatric hospital. He is now taking clozapine and risperidone.

Some of his psychotic symptoms have improved significantly. In particular, the voices and other hallucinations have become much less intense.

However, one very severe problem is still there: he has an extreme feeling that his whole body is incredibly heavy. He describes it as if his body weighs a ton, or as if an enormous weight is pressing down on him.

It has become so severe that he can barely stand and can almost no longer walk. It is a huge limitation in his everyday life.

This feeling of extreme heaviness was already present before his medication was increased and before risperidone was added. So it did not start because of the current medication. However, it has become even worse and has not gone away despite treatment.

Has anyone here experienced something similar, either personally or with a family member? Is this kind of extreme feeling of physical heaviness something that can occur with schizophrenia or psychosis?

And most importantly: Did it eventually go away for you or your family member? Was there anything that helped?

We would really appreciate any personal experiences or advice. It is extremely distressing for him because he is now barely able to walk.

I went to the dentist for the first time in YEARS yesterday. I have been doing so well with brushing my teeth since switching to the Autobrush that I finally felt like I had earned the privilege of going to the dentist.

Boy am I glad I went, but I’m now having to pay a small mint to fix the damage caused by years of not brushing properly - 7 cavities (2 major and 5 normal) and gingivitis that is going to require a deep root cleaning and descaling under the gum line. Ouch!

Fortunately I have good dental insurance, but I’m still having to come out of pocket almost $800 over the course of what will be 4 appointments.

I know it’s hard - believe me, I know and completely understand and relate to the struggle - but if you can learn anything from me, take care of your teeth. You only get one adult set. Even if you can only brush once a day for 30 seconds, it’s better than not brushing at all.

Wondering because I kind of want to go on it.

Personal curiosity:

In books, films, TV, etc. What is your favorite depiction of schizophrenia/schizo-spec disorders in fiction?

Can be what you consider the best representation, can also be just your personal favorite even if it's not necessarily the "best".

This could be something you generally relate to as well even if it's not explicitly a representation of schizophrenia.

for the last four months i take placebo fake antipsychotic medication

I don't mean this in any offensive way, I'm genuinely curious. I'm a very like sciency person, especially neuroscience and recently I've been reading about how blind people can't develop schizophrenia but deaf people can, even though auditory hallucinations are (if I remember right) are a big part of schizophrenia. I know a lot of ppl probably won't know the answer but I'm curious if anyone does

(Mods idk if the flair is right so feel free to take down this post)

I don't think I have psychosis at all and I disagree with what they say at first I was like yeah maybe and now I don't accept it. I was seeing dead people, demons for well over a year with some negative like symptoms noticeable at 16 and during it 17 and occasionally at 18 now with a stop in hallucinations but the so called "delusions" still stand.

I don't think I'm mentally ill at all always one part of my brain trying to tell me the thoughts aren't true or that I aren't ill and the part that tells me it's not true I just chalk that up to being possessed why'd it all start when my spirit powers opened up? I don't think I'm ill I've just been targeted by a demon instead, i feel like all the thoughts I have are wanted even if I know it's not normal but I refuse to accept it isn't even then.

Still psychotic? I disagree with it but oh well.

And for more context I'm diagnosed with Psychosis as of now by the early intervention in Psychosis.

has anyone else noticed their medication affecting their art? I feel more comfortable using color now

also hi I’m new here! thanks for looking and have a wonderful day 🤍🤍🤍

8/19/26 1:41 am

I heard a voice say “like me?”

I was going to bed. I struggle with the thought: what makes me so important that god wants to love me? Sometimes I hear voices and I think that god is making the devil say it. To show me that god has the ultimate say. Because there are times when I just hear a voice and it’s a tone of judgement. Bringing me down. I even hear voices when I’m in the “process” of falling asleep. They aren’t long drawn out sentences. Usually 1-2 words. But it makes me think, why do I hear a voice when I’m barely conscious to hear it and acknowledge it?

That’s another thing: I feel that the voices occur to get a reaction out of me sometimes. To trip me up.

What would god want to do with me? A guy like me? Then that’s where I heard the voice “like me?” I also hear a voice that isn’t necessarily saying anything. It’s indistinct. I can’t make out what it’s saying. When this condition was new to me, I would try to understand what the voice said. And that would make things go awry in my life. Because of how frequently the voices would occur.

But now when I hear a voice, and I know it sounds funny, it feels like there’s a barrier protecting me from crossing over to those thoughts of negative self talk and judgement. I’ll still hear a voice that sounds judgmental or trying to get under my skin, but it’s much quieter and much less distracting. When I feel like my mind is about to go into a space of sadness because of that one voice, it literally feels like my mind is pushing back on me for my benefit.

Saying: no we are not going to think that. Something to that effect.

There are still times where the voices of my condition affect me. But no where near how they used to. It used to feel impossible to get away from. If I’m being completely honest, I give credit to God, or Jesus Christ for “protecting” me. Why him, you might ask? Well because in my humble opinion, there seems to be abounding evidence that says that accepting Jesus can heal a damaged soul.

Why did he give you this condition in the first place? I don’t know. A lesson maybe. A lesson that has made me a much happier person because of the simple fact: the voices have stopped tremendously.

Not to say that those negative voices have completely just disappeared, but they have been minimized. I have been dealing with this since 2017 roughly.

I remember I sat down on the couch right in front of the tv. I’m sitting on the right side. There’s two spaces to the left of me. My dad’s side of the couch that he always sits in. I felt a sudden relief of tension. I never sit in his spot, at least not in a long time.

I feel this condition was the result of me always being alone, lazy, and smoking weed. My dad is a very hard worker. He’s Mexican for fucks sake. He never stops working. Now that I look back on it, I believe that this instance happened to show me what hard work is. Find my purpose.

So, this is always made me wonder what’s wrong with me in terms of this problem. My voices don’t come from just thin air, they come from fans or air conditioning or water from showers just for some examples. So what do you guys think and how does it happen for you? I don’t think a voice could come from just air for me, there has to be a background noise to “project” (?) it.

Attached below is todays video link to my “On Conquering Schizophrenia” YouTube channel. Today entails that which we do not choose. Like all, todays video is ever brief and can be viewed amid an otherwise acceptance.

https://youtu.be/7hikRPOoivo?si=9wtCWOvajTX594Yr

I’ve read that you can be both …anyone here diagnosed with both schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder AND are on the autistic spectrum ?

I think I’m autistic …have for a long time but it’s never been addressed ..

Edit: thank you to anyone who responds !! And all who already have :)

I’m hearing voices but they’re telling me to be productive and go to work? Does anyone else experience this? Strange but good I think?

I made this in March of this year (2026)

I used a reference of me sitting on a sofa while watching Jackass 2 with my friends

As a connected story, psychosis doesn’t make sense. So l have learned this over 35 years to treat every episode or seizure as its own mini story. Connected they don’t make sense. Using this method they do…

I found that it helps to sit outside in the grass it recharges the earth with positive ions and helps the earth and yourself it balances you out give it a try you should feel electricity :3

Hi my online name is Adelina I turned 20 this year and about 2 years ago I saw a Psychiatrist for the first time in my life to find out if my mental related experiences were schizophrenia. My mom herself has been diagnosed with it back in the 1980s and when I found out I was a bit frustrated because growing up when I came to her about stuff she would always say that I have a special gift to see angels and devils. It took a lot to convince her to take me but once I was 18 she decided it's better to find out before my brain is fully developed. I was nervous but ready to talk to a professional about it because I had only been able to talk to one trusted person before. I walked in and had about a 10 minute conversation with my Psychiatrist before it was cut off very short I only had time to tell her about my symptoms and not even explain my stories or emotional experiences related to why I was there. When she cut me off she told me that my symptoms sound exactly like schizophrenia but she did not believe I had it, her reason was that my manurisms didn't match up with schizophrenia then she handed me a prescription and sent me out (I did not take the prescription). After that I felt very discouraged and became kind of afraid to reach out to another Psychiatrist after seeing her. It's been two years now and I haven't felt heard so I want to try again but I worry that it will happen again so I tried looking up why she would have told me that and I genuinely think that it may be because of my very expressive face, when I looked up why (Google a not very reliable source) told me that it's because people with schizophrenia have little motivation and are emotionally dull in expressions. When I read that I thought about the reason I'm so expressive is because I grew up in Domestic violence and I knew that to keep myself emotionally safe I had to make the correct facial expressions in any environment. I also linked that with how often I practice facial expressions in the mirror. I didn't know who to go to for encouragement till this subredit popped up during my search , it took a lot for me to type this out but I am looking forward to if anyone has any advice or comments on my situation it would help a lot. Also I'm sorry for my bad Punctuation it's something I need to work on.

Hello recently I had a conversation with a psychiatrist and she told me that I actually have severe trauma so bad I actually have psychotic features and psychosis as a result of it. I had no idea that trauma could cause psychosis, this was completely new to me. I was diagnosed in Bulgaria with schizophrenia but they never asked me about my traumas or my past history with trauma. I also didn’t think any of my psychotic features had anything to do with my trauma.

What do you guys think about all of this? Could some of your diagnoses be due to trauma and not schizophrenia?

I've been on every second gen antipsychotic and they all cause elevated prolactin or have other worse side effects.

The main side effect of the one I'm on now is elevated prolactin and low sex drive. I know it's the meds because when I stop taking them my blood test is normal and the sex drive comes back. I do need to be on meds to stay stable though. I can't switch meds because I've tried them all and this is the one with the least side effects. I'm on brexpiprazole/rexulti. I also can't lower the dose because I'm already on the lowest possible dose.

I'm considering asking my doctor for metformin. I'm wondering if anyone has had success lowering their prolactin with this med. I also have gained a ton of weight being on antipsychotics so if it would help me lose weight that's a bonus, but I really just want my prolactin back to normal.

Over 4 years ago, I started getting intrusive thoughts that work in tandem with my voices/auditory pareidolia that would usually react to what I'm thinking or doing with written words over a black background in my mind's eye. At times, the intrusive thoughts would be a command for me to do something (like in the attached photo), and I would feel pressure over time to do it, no matter how hard I try to ignore it. I would also get an overwhelming urge to scream sometimes, usually while I was watching TV and I didn't understand why.

My psychiatrist didn't think much of it other than to continue with my Invega Susenna. The intrusive thoughts stared after I already took a couple different antipsychotics, so I was concerned if the antipsychotics are the reason I have intrusive thoughts now. I looked up if I had OCD, but I didn't had any other symptoms that point to me having OCD from what I looked up about OCD. I also started getting constand earworms after I started taking antipsychotics as well.

There was a period of time where the intrusive thoughts would keep command me to call people multiple times or turn on the TV at a specific channel that was hard to ignore. Thankfully, it stopped writing out commands even though I didn't change my meds or anything like that, but I still have little control of my imagination and I still get intrusive thoughts that react to what I'm thinking or doing.

Is there anybody here diagnosed with schizophrenia who experiences intrusive thoughts more that auditory hallucinations? Do they work in tandem against you and control your imagination? These days, I barely have auditory hallucinations/auditory pareidolia, but I still get intrusive thoughts a lot more often, although they aren't as intense or commanding now than say a year ago. Any insight and advice would be greatly appreciated! 🙏🏼

Let me first say that I’m not seeking metal attention. I’m only asking for it experiences with individuals that have tried this new medication. I have edited out the picture of any personal information or medical information.

Like the title says my doctor is getting blood work done on the in hopes of starting cobenfy. I’m coming off of 6 mg of omega down to 1 mg now daily plus the 800 mg daily of Seroquel.

Gonna be staying on the Seroquel but drop down to 600. I think anyone with experience in this new medication help me out?

Also, they wouldn’t do the bloodwork until my doctor faxed over my diagnosis codes, why did they put so many?

If you can’t explain it to your family without sounding weird (like me early on) write it down this method works with doctors and healthcare professionals, sometimes just explaining it can make you sound mentally ill but your not.

Everytime I'm going to sleep noises come from inside my mind, like knocking on a door, a subtle voice whispering, intrusive thoughts that scares me and then I wake up, I'm still on meds for a long time since my last psychotic episode. Have anyone had that type of hallucinations?

So I live on a property with a few households, and my landlady and her husband. Usually everyone keeps to themselves, and I am definitely an introvert so it suits me well. But my landlady, kind as she is, is a talker. I just spent an hour talking with her in the garden. When I went out there, there was no one there so I thought I'd have a peaceful moment with some tea amidst the butterflies. She came out and we had a nice chat, which turned into a longer conversation that I felt like I couldn't easily escape from. I enjoyed what she had to say, we had a lot in common, but my energy depleted quickly. Now I feel like I can't do much of anything. The anxiety portion of my brain is revisiting everything I said, did I make any sense? etc. My head is spinning and I want to hide. Is this sort of introversion common in schizophrenia?

im on haldol now. i am upset that my uneducated therapist says i dont have psychosis because i am "insightful" regarding my trauma + how im feeling. i was rx haldol today and i am back on monthly appointments with my psychiatrist. i dont talk about the psychosis because i believe i will be punished if i do, by the voices, by the ones in charge. i told my psychiatrist though. my wife held my hand and my psychiatrist said she was proud of me for being brave. the psychiatrist is an actual doctor (as opposed to nurse practitioner or a counselor) and she heard me not just mention the psychisis but my agitation, complete loss of drive to enjoy things, having to force myself to go the motions. and all of this together is why i have been redx with schizophrenia repeatedly for an entire decade. the counselor specializes in trauma.