There is no shame in experiencing schizoaffective disorder

Josh, September 16, 2020

A few years ago if someone had said to me, Josh you will experience psychosis and it will be confusing and frightening and change your outlook on life forever. I probably would have said something unhelpful. I was ignorant back then. I thought people who suffered schizophrenia or psychosis were dangerous and violent. I hadn’t even heard of schizoaffective disorder!

My diagnosis is part of who I am

Giles, July 17, 2020

I have bipolar schizoaffective disorder. I’ve had it since as long as I can remember, it first rearing up in lesser form when I was a child. Of course, the older I get the stronger it becomes, so my actual diagnosis was when I was thirty one. That was for bipolar disorder, which became easier to deal with once I learnt Carrie Fisher aka Princess Leia had it; the schizoaffective bit was added on later. What did he say? Schizo? Hell no! Run for the hills!

I experience schizoaffective disorder but I am not my diagnosis

Ann, June 17, 2020

Before I experienced mental illness for myself, my knowledge of mental illness was zero. That all changed in 1997, when I found myself in a very dark place. A lot of unpleasant experiences occurred at the same time, which resulted in my feeling that I could no longer cope with life. This resulted in a mental breakdown and began a journey which lasted for about 10 years. There is no doubt that I was severely mentally ill. However, once I was aware that there was hope for the future, the recovery process began.

Schizoaffective disorder

Schizoaffective disorder is a mental illness that affects a person’s mood, thoughts and behaviour. Around one in 200 people develop schizoaffective disorder and some point in their life.

What are some of the symptoms of schizoaffective disorder?

A person diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder may experience symptoms of both schizophrenia and bipolar – these can include psychosis, mania and depression.

Symptoms of mania may include: