Ask someone with Schizophrenia anything.

reply to post by RicoMarston


actually, i did just think of a question. once in a great while a voice will pop into my head. It sounds like the same voice is both whispering rapidly and speaking in a low, slow motion-sounding voice at the same time. Not like someone recorded their voice twice, one over top of the other, but as if the same voice were producing the two different talking styles at the same time. I can never make out any real words though. I'm just wondering if that is anything similar to what you experience, or just something goofy that my subconscious likes to do?

reply to post by RicoMarston


If I understand what you're talking about, I've only experienced that in dreams.

It's actually kind of stressful for me to imagine.

I would like to ask if you ever experienced anything related to your condition as a child? As in, seeing shadow people ect.

I'm interested because when I was young I would see them quite frequently but only in my peripheral vision it seemed. Usually running away. I also have always had a thing where I imagine violence to excite myself, usually war. And I somewhat hallucinate it on command, like I'm watching a movie in my head. It's not as often anymore but it was frequent as a child, I think that specifically stemmed from witnessing my mother being beaten frequently by my father while I was an infant.

I've always had extremely vivid/terrifying nightmares and sleep paralysis. I was a heavy pot smoker in my teens and experimented with drugs, which now has left me with what was severe anxiety that I am learning to overcome. I found when smoking a lot of marijuana over an extended period of time would produce mild/subtle halucinations within my thoughts, like invasive images or fading voices. that all went away after quitting though.


I have bouts of depression and have been on medication for it, which eliminated my anxiety strangely but didn't help with anything else. I've always been fairly introvertive, but at the same time I can be very social with ease.


I don't quite think I'm schizophrenic, but it may be too early to say yet. I'm 21. I've talked a bit about this to my family doctor and he thinks this is all "alright". Well I haven't told him about the violence thing, I only feel comfortable talking about that anonymously.

Anyways, sorry for making this so long. But what do you think of this, in a nutshell?

Originally posted by Oroborus
I'm interested because when I was young I would see them quite frequently but only in my peripheral vision it seemed. Usually running away. I also have always had a thing where I imagine violence to excite myself, usually war. And I somewhat hallucinate it on command, like I'm watching a movie in my head. It's not as often anymore but it was frequent as a child, I think that specifically stemmed from witnessing my mother being beaten frequently by my father while I was an infant.

I apologise for intruding upon Hey Jude's thread and I hope you won't mind me asking, but, out of curiousity, following the beatings, was your Mother's behaviour any different towards you? I am wondering whether you are excited by the violence, or in anticipation of the ending of the violence, ie, was she more affectionate towards you, or did you receive a 'treat', that kind of thing, if you can remember what usually happened 'after'.

Many thanks.

Originally posted by Oroborus
I would like to ask if you ever experienced anything related to your condition as a child? As in, seeing shadow people ect.

Yes. I used to see them all the time as a child. I blocked it out as best as I could. They would follow me around, watch me. I would refuse to ever be alone in a room.

Originally posted by Oroborus
I'm interested because when I was young I would see them quite frequently but only in my peripheral vision it seemed. Usually running away. I also have always had a thing where I imagine violence to excite myself, usually war. And I somewhat hallucinate it on command, like I'm watching a movie in my head. It's not as often anymore but it was frequent as a child, I think that specifically stemmed from witnessing my mother being beaten frequently by my father while I was an infant.

That just sounds like a normal, active imagination. Other than that those are all normal, human things. And I use normal very loosely.

Originally posted by Oroborus
I've always had extremely vivid/terrifying nightmares and sleep paralysis. I was a heavy pot smoker in my teens and experimented with drugs, which now has left me with what was severe anxiety that I am learning to overcome. I found when smoking a lot of marijuana over an extended period of time would produce mild/subtle halucinations within my thoughts, like invasive images or fading voices. that all went away after quitting though.

That sounds exactly like me. My deer are you by chance my long lost twin?

Originally posted by Oroborus
I have bouts of depression and have been on medication for it, which eliminated my anxiety strangely but didn't help with anything else. I've always been fairly introvertive, but at the same time I can be very social with ease.

Ditto.

Originally posted by Oroborus
I don't quite think I'm schizophrenic, but it may be too early to say yet. I'm 21. I've talked a bit about this to my family doctor and he thinks this is all "alright". Well I haven't told him about the violence thing, I only feel comfortable talking about that anonymously.

Anyways, sorry for making this so long. But what do you think of this, in a nutshell?

I don't think you have Schizophrenia. But you should go tell your doctor exactly what you just wrote.

Originally posted by BadPenny

Originally posted by Oroborus
I'm interested because when I was young I would see them quite frequently but only in my peripheral vision it seemed. Usually running away. I also have always had a thing where I imagine violence to excite myself, usually war. And I somewhat hallucinate it on command, like I'm watching a movie in my head. It's not as often anymore but it was frequent as a child, I think that specifically stemmed from witnessing my mother being beaten frequently by my father while I was an infant.

I apologise for intruding upon Hey Jude's thread and I hope you won't mind me asking, but, out of curiousity, following the beatings, was your Mother's behaviour any different towards you? I am wondering whether you are excited by the violence, or in anticipation of the ending of the violence, ie, was she more affectionate towards you, or did you receive a 'treat', that kind of thing, if you can remember what usually happened 'after'.

Many thanks.

I don't mind. And that is hard to say when I think about it now, I don't really think it effected how she treated me, the beating ended when I was about 3 years old when my father was taken by police so it wasn't like a very prolonged thing but it's still with me, as I was aware of what was going on and it was freightening. Back to the point though. I guess my relationship with my mother was closer, because of what happened. I was and still somewhat very defensive of her.

I was never really spoiled by her or anything though, it's hard to really think of this though now. Someone who witnessed my childhood might have a different view.


And thank you to HeyJude for answering/responding to me, appreciate it. When I do talk to my doctor about these things he just says to go back on anti-depressants and stay on them, but I really don't think it's needed.

Originally posted by Oroborus
I don't mind. And that is hard to say when I think about it now, I don't really think it effected how she treated me, the beating ended when I was about 3 years old when my father was taken by police so it wasn't like a very prolonged thing but it's still with me, as I was aware of what was going on and it was freightening. Back to the point though. I guess my relationship with my mother was closer, because of what happened. I was and still somewhat very defensive of her.

I was never really spoiled by her or anything though, it's hard to really think of this though now. Someone who witnessed my childhood might have a different view.

My son witnessed violence between his father and I. It has taken him almost three years to feel really safe and secure since his father left. He too is very protective of me. It was at that level really that I was interested, he is fascinated by violence, but I think that is, to an extent normal, it is more my guilty response that isn't normal. Thanks for answering.

Originally posted by Oroborus
And thank you to HeyJude for answering/responding to me, appreciate it. When I do talk to my doctor about these things he just says to go back on anti-depressants and stay on them, but I really don't think it's needed.

It is quicker and easier to drug you, and most people are happy to be drugged, and some definately need it. I have from time to time. The best way to use your doctor, is to go informed and tell them what you need, nobody knows your body and much more so, your mind, better than you do and your doctor should respect that. Don't rule out medication, it can help, but make sure you know what you are taking, whether it is necessary and what exactly the drugs are treating. Don't lose faith in your doctor's ability to help you, heyJude is right, you do need to be completely honest about what is troubling you in order to benefit.

Best of luck and thanks again

reply to post by heyJude


Hey I was diagnosed with schizophrenia as well but mine is drug induced from marijuana. That is when I have my halluicanations after smoking. Is yours drug induced as well? Also, what medication are you taking if you don't mind me asking?

Hi heyJude,
I wanted to ask...Do you think it's possible for a non-schizophrenic person, to develop shizophrenia as a result of taking psychedelics? I've taken '___' a couple of times, and I ended up becoming very scared the second time, because my parents and several other people I knew, told me I could end up permanently insane from it.

I haven't read much about schizophrenia, but what little I have seen, has made me think that not all of it is hallucination or "made up stuff," but that some of what schizophrenics see or experience actually has external, objective reality somewhere. So to me it's possible that you're not actually mad at all, (in terms of seeing things which "aren't there," or that you're just making up) but that you simply see/hear/feel things which the rest of us can't.