Aa
Please someone tell me this is normal
Hello, name is Alex and I've read a lot of helpful stories on this site so I have come to share mine, and hopefully get some advice. For the past six months I've been dealing with headaches and a type funny visual perception where's I feel as though I am a bit drowsy or intoxicated. This all started with a stressful end to a school program and tough exams along dreaded presentations. To a point where I freaked out during one presentation though I was having a heart attack, left the school, went to the hospital, got checked out told I was fine, and then I came down. Now after the last day my classmates and I went out for drink n got pretty drunk. Next day when I went to a store and was standing In line I got this random out of nowhere feeling as though the room is starting to spin and I again thought it was my heart I freaked out left the store and after a while it subsided. Now these types of attacks lasted for a bout a month or so but then subsided. I thought it was something wrong with my brain so I started freaking out and got checked out n everything was fine. I've seen several psychologists and family doctors that all tell me it's anxiety. I don't get the panic attacks anymore but I do have the headaches...that go away if I'm really distracted but come back and get worse when I'm thinking about them or I'm irritated. Now I'm worried about having a severe mental illness such as skitzo...I've been obsessing over it and researching it and paying attention to my body and my thoughts and ideas for a large portion of my time. One thing that I wanted to ask you guys if this what I'm about to explain is hallucinations. At my job there's a medical record room and inside is a small chair where often times you find a person sitting picking out charts now you don't always see someone sitting there but most of the time there is someone. Today I walked by the door which was slightly open and I noticed the chair right away and in my mind I automatically pictured someone sitting there. I did not see the image in 3D in front of me just a sharp mental image. I also immediately in a split second realized nobody is there and it was just in my mind. This happens every now and then when I'm anticipating something. I'm also very aware of my surroundings as I'm worried at some point I will start to hallucinate smh. No family history of skitzo no drug use. Have always been a nervous person and have had bouts of worrying about health issues in the past that were all cleared up with tests and forgotten about. But now it's like, ahhh there's no test for skitzo....the psychologist said ... Talking to him is the test...and ten minutes into talking to be he can tell I'm not skitzo (21 years of experience). Help, please some advice.
pretty sire you've gotten plenty of advice already but yea youre so not skizto at all. if you had any form of psychosis you wouldn't even know it. you'd feel like you were normal and clearly you know something is wrong. as for those "hallucinations" you think youve been having of seeing people at a quick glance, its very common with anxiety. I used to think I saw people all the time and id freak out. buy I never actually saw someone in front of me. it was more like at the corner of my eye or a quick glance like you. have you tried any form of therapy or even any medications? hope you feel better soon.
Thank you so much...my mother and girlfriend told me the same thing that he is just trying a different approach because the others have not worked. I thank you for giving me your personal input from your experience. Also thank you for telling me they don't sound like hallucinations in the first place, I'm starting to think that also. If these things happened before I learned of skitzo I would have brushed them off easily. Thank you once again.
Sounds like last time he told you not schizophrenia. This time you went to him explaining how you are obsessing over many little things because you are worried they are signs of schizophrenia. he tells you this is all explained by anxiety.
Then you ask him if it could be schizo. At this point, he is firmly of the view it's anxiety, but you are so obsessing over schizo he is convinced you won't believe him if he says no it's not schizo. So, in an effort to get you off your obsessive track, he says he won't engage and wants you to focus on addressing the schizo.
I am not a mental health professional, but I think that would be within the norm of dealing with people's obsessions. Personally, i probably would have reaffirmed my no answer, but i could see where some psychs think non-engagement is better.
I definitely would not compare his answer from last time to the one this time. At this new meeting you brought to the table a lot more information on numerous tiny incidents where you thought you might have had a hallucination, plus lots of information on how much you've been obsessing over this. Last time he thought you needed a simple reassurance that you didn't have schizo, and this time he sees that just assuring you that you don't have it isn't going to do the trick, so he is trying something else.
Just so you know, I have a child who has had hallucinations for years (WAY more elaborate then what you've described). I didn't know about it for a very long time--she was perfectly normal in every way in her presentation to friends and family, but secretly she believed she had schizophrenia. Once she told me, it took a very long time for me to convince her she did not have schizophrenia. She has been to several psychiatrists and they all agree she absolutely does not have it and she is not psychotic in any way. The hallucinations seem to be anxiety related. The difference between you and her her is that at 14 she googled hallucinations, came up with schizophrenia, and decided that's what she had and tried to come to terms with it by herself--quite unnecessarily as she definitely does not have it.
It is a myth that hallucinations mean you have schizophrenia; there are many other causes. At any rate, in your case, you don't really seem to be having hallucinations in the first place....so stay off the internet and stop watching programs that get you thinking along these lines. It is so important not to wallow!
Then you ask him if it could be schizo. At this point, he is firmly of the view it's anxiety, but you are so obsessing over schizo he is convinced you won't believe him if he says no it's not schizo. So, in an effort to get you off your obsessive track, he says he won't engage and wants you to focus on addressing the schizo.
I am not a mental health professional, but I think that would be within the norm of dealing with people's obsessions. Personally, i probably would have reaffirmed my no answer, but i could see where some psychs think non-engagement is better.
I definitely would not compare his answer from last time to the one this time. At this new meeting you brought to the table a lot more information on numerous tiny incidents where you thought you might have had a hallucination, plus lots of information on how much you've been obsessing over this. Last time he thought you needed a simple reassurance that you didn't have schizo, and this time he sees that just assuring you that you don't have it isn't going to do the trick, so he is trying something else.
Just so you know, I have a child who has had hallucinations for years (WAY more elaborate then what you've described). I didn't know about it for a very long time--she was perfectly normal in every way in her presentation to friends and family, but secretly she believed she had schizophrenia. Once she told me, it took a very long time for me to convince her she did not have schizophrenia. She has been to several psychiatrists and they all agree she absolutely does not have it and she is not psychotic in any way. The hallucinations seem to be anxiety related. The difference between you and her her is that at 14 she googled hallucinations, came up with schizophrenia, and decided that's what she had and tried to come to terms with it by herself--quite unnecessarily as she definitely does not have it.
It is a myth that hallucinations mean you have schizophrenia; there are many other causes. At any rate, in your case, you don't really seem to be having hallucinations in the first place....so stay off the internet and stop watching programs that get you thinking along these lines. It is so important not to wallow!
So I spoke to the doctor (psychologist/anxiety specialist) according to him everything is explained by anxiety and being overly sensative to everything around myself. He did say one thing that upset me n seemed kind of off, I asked him so based on everything I've told you past two visits do u think it's possible that this could be skitzo or early signs of ot. He said I'm not gonna engage in that because that's not you asking that question that's anxiety and nothing I say is gonna satisfy you so I'm gonna just tell you when u get that urge to wanna know then u have to fight It and brush it off. Now I'm thinking I asked u a similar question after last visit and u were able to tell me then no it's not skitzo...y now that I added this stuff you don't wanna tell me the same thing. Also like wouldn't it be better to just say no it's not skitzo signs if u really believe that it's not what harm could be in it to say no it's not that. Sigh.
Thanks berdie...the therapist I spoke to put it this way...that over these months of worry I developed a negative filter that I see everything through and that I need some CBT to change the way I view things. Imma go back to him soon and talk with him...tell him about the voice concern if I can even call it that and hopefully he sticks with his initial diagnoses of anxiety with panic attacks.
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