Hi everyone

[Wennie]

Hi everyone. I am pleased to of joined SANE. I am a female in my 50’s and I live with Schizoaffective Disorder with psychosis and auditory hallucinations and also Borderline Personality Disorder/Panic Disorder/Social Anxiety Disorder so quite a mixed bag. I have been living with my diagnosis for well over 35 years and  I first became ill at 17 and was placed in a Psych hospital and since then have had a number of stints over the years during my psychotic episodes

Though I have a number of mental health issues for me life is rather good. I have my partner/best friend who I have been with for just over 30 years and he has been with me through the good times and the bad and he is so so supportive and understanding of me and my mental health issues. I also have my mum who I absolutely adore and she too is very supportive. Unfortunately I lost my dad in 2022 and he was my hero and I am still grieving his loss and I go up every week to the cemetery and attend to his grave and sit and chat with him.

I have 3 dogs and 2 cats and Cooper my youngest dog at 1.5 years old is my ESA (emotional support animal) and believe me I wouldn’t be without him.

I enjoy walking, gardening and writing poetry of which I find calms my mind.

I am looking forward to contributing to SANE and reading everyones stories about how you all live with your Mental Health issues.

Take care all of you. Cheers

[hopeful_hannah]

Good morning @Wennie and WELCOME to the SANE forums! Thank you for showing up and sharing some of your story with us.

You will find that the forums community are a lovely bunch of supportive people.

Have you had a look around? there are lots of interesting threads to explore. 

Much on for the day? 

Sending you all my best this morning 😊 and again...WELCOME it's great to have you here with us. 

[owo]

Hello @Wennie, I am fairly new here too! But I welcome you to this community. Thank you for sharing a bit of your experience and your story.

Andd Oh my HEART! I am getting a bit teary and excited here… I have another fellow friend, you! Wennie!, who also has a similar diagnosis to me. I also have schizo-affective. I also got diagnosed when I was 16-17 and I’m 24 years old now. It gives me hope with my diagnosis and hope with my life when I hear your doing well. Thank you for sharing friend!

Sincerely a warm welcome from me!

[Wennie]

Hi owo it’s good to meet another person with schizoaffective disorder as it is not a common diagnosis.

Over the years I have learnt to navigate the disorder and have had some strategies to cope put in place.

I have a therapist who I see on a monthly basis and talking to her really helps in alleviating some of my anxiety and discussing what my auditory hallucination do to my overall mental health.

I am on anti-psychotic medication which I have in the form of an injection and I have it fortnightly. I chose to have the injection rather than tablets as once I have the injection I don’t have to worry about taking tablets each day which I know I wouldn’t take. Fronting up to have the injection is empowering as I know it is a responsibility I have to keep me sane.

I admit I had a bad patch between Dec and Feb with auditory hallucinations and mood fluctuations but I reached out to my Dr. who put me in touch with our local mental health services and after meeting with the Psychiatrist there was an increase in my medication but though I was reluctant to have the increase it has helped settle me and I am now back to practicing healthy self care and being my happy self.

Have a good weekend and I look forward to chatting with you in the near future.

Cheers

[owo]

@Wennie afternoon my friend!! Thats so awesome that you’re seeking help to settle yourself down with professionals. Its good you have found the right medication strategy for you. It feels empowering to hear that later in life we can still live well and be well regardless of our condition. Thank you for sharing, Wennie!

[Wennie]

Hi owo

I hope you have had a good weekend

I spent the morning at my mums and lit a bonfire for her to burn of some garden waste she had in a pile… I love watching flames dance so it was a rather enjoyable morning for me

I am interested in hearing about your lived experience with  schizoaffective disorder and how it affects your everyday life.

Are there components of it that are more heightened than others and what symptoms do you have?.

It would be great if you could share with me please as I am fascinated by how different the disorder is for individual souls.

I look forward with anticipation

Take care

cheers