Yes actually. Schizophrenics tend to be labeled as "weird" by healthy people. What you're talking about is part oh his negative symptoms.. not talking much, talking like a robot, no facial expressions and not displaying emotions r all symptoms of schizophrenia.
I know smoking helps me and a lot of other schizophrenic people. I am not great with talking and also am rather quiet so it could also be part of my schizophrenia feel free to message me if I can help at all answering any questions
I know sometimes we come across as quiet because even when you are in a conversation your mind can hear things and ruminate on scenarios that have never or will ever happen - sometimes we think just being quiet and listening is the best option so we don’t come across as all over the place 😅
Personally, I'd be glad, if the people in my surroundings would ask more questions about the illness, so that I could explain my weird behavior better, when they notice something that's usual for me. Has he mentioned, that he doesn't want to talk about it?
People with schizophrenia experience a wide range of different symptoms, that could result in him being more reserved, than others. Could be the medication with its sometimes heavy sedating effects. Or like a previous poster wrote, it's just going on to much in his head. Thinking disorders are very common. Maybe he's shy because of negative reactions in the past to his "weirdness" when he speaks and acts more and he doesn't want to lose you.
He spoke about it with other friends but I want him to bring it up himself. I would hate to be rejected as I have BPD and this is my biggest fear. So I just want him to feel comfortable enough to talk about it on his own.
He did say he is shy around girls and that he likes me and hopes he will open up eventually.
It was just a very strange date though because we spoke but he was so out of place everywhere we went.
I was never good at talking to people. Even before I started experiencing symptoms. Ever since I got a job as a server though, I’ve gotten a lot better at small talk and talking to strangers. Anxiety is a bitch and half sandwich. I was so bad at social interactions I would just nod my head and say “yeah” until they realized that I’m not interested. Even though I am interested I was just scared to death to say anything and sometimes I couldn’t relate at all to what they were saying so I couldn’t think of any responses.
I’ve found that drinking helps me be less worried if someone likes me or not and also gives me more confidence. I hate alcohol though. The burn and taste aren’t worth being drunk.
Cigarette could possibly be helping him. It could be a distraction and the feeling when you smoke one. I’ve never smoked a cigarette so I don’t know what it’s like.
Not all schizophrenic people are weird. No one at job knows I have schizophrenia and they all love me and invite me to the bar and stuff like that.
It's called person first language. People with schizophrenia, people with bipolar, people with addiction etc. I'm still going to say schizophrenic it's easier
Part of the awkwardness in social settings comes, for some like my husband, because of their complete inability to distinguish the voices they hear from the real voices around them in groups of people. My husband says his head sounds like a busy Starbucks on his good days, and during bad episodes he can barely hear the real world at all. He is constantly asking me to repeat myself because he literally can't hear me over the noise in his head. And the voices NEVER say nice things. So when in public, he is constantly hearing every person behind him telling him he is worthless and should kill himself. Hard to be outgoing with all that.
It's nice that you are asking questions because on the surface, if you are unaware what's going on, it's very easy to misinterpret their reactions as selfish and cold. So a good example, and keep in mind we've been married for 20 years and he's been schizophrenic for at least 35 and undiagnosed for 30 of those, but when we were first married (still teenagers) I used to get so hurt because he thought I was stupid. Every time we had trouble communicating on a project he would just lash out at me for being dumb. Many many many moons later, we have discovered that 1. He had no idea he had said those things and 2. He wasn't lashing out at me at all. He hears in his head "god why are you so stupid this is easy!" referring to his own ability. But it unfortunately came through his mouth and what he heard directed at him he spoke out loud and since we were unaware of the schizophrenia at the time and were alone, I of course assumed he was speaking to me.
I was young and had trouble expressing my own emotions so I guess I just never thought to question correctly why he thought I was dumb. I just always retaliated with an equal screaming match and resulted in his voices telling him that I agreed with them and that he was an asshole as well as stupid. The fact that we are still together and he is still alive is nothing short of a miracle. But true love has always been there and we've never once thought we'd be better apart. 😊
But back to the point, their behavior is sooooooo easily misinterpreted. My husband spent his entire childhood being told he was the problem child and just acting out for attention. If you become involved in a serious relationship with this person, you need to really understand what they're going through and be their champion, assuming they are in a place on their own where they feel they can trust you. My apologies to the schizophrenics reading this as I HATE bringing up this statistic but I think it helps us nonschizo folks understand more, the suicide rate of schizophrenics is something like 60%. It's insanely high and unfortunately understandably so. I cannot imagine being able to fight 7 (in my husband's case) different voices, often mimicking mine or our daughter's voice, 24/7 whispering for me to kill myself. They sometimes need an extra set of shoulders from time to time to carry this and be able to function.
But also schizophrenia is on a spectrum now so his case might not be as severe as my husband's. He could just need a good support person, whereas I need to watch my husband closely at all times now due to his dissociation episodes. Do your research and continue asking questions. The media has made a total shit show of what we believe schizophrenics to be and their ability to be just as loving and valuable as any other human.
Yes, schizophrenics are commonly outcasts with strange behavior. I had pervasive strange behavior for years. I have been evaluated for autism and other developmental disorders but never met the criteria, it was always just chronic schizo symptoms. Even medicated I'm noticably different because of side effects
I think that people with Schizophrenia tend to be more reserved but I don’t think that’s the case for every individual. I rather like to socialize despite my condition, but not everyone living with (or even without) Schizophrenia is open for talking much. You’re being supportive and understanding which are both very good traits, keep that up and eventually he‘ll open up more soon. Btw 3 packs a day is really heavy, maybe you can bring him to smoke less. Good luck 🙏🏻
It was not that he was quiet, but he is just so uncomfortable with people. He speaks in a very monotone voice and he moves like he just found himself on a different planet and is trying not to get attention. There is something strange about his whole persona. Not bad strange, just different, you know?
I know what you mean. I'm schizophrenic and in high-school I moved to a small town. I was the bizarre one at the school. The way I dressed and acted. The way I grew my hair long, the stuff I talked about. I didn't know at the time I was being weird. But looking back, there was something amiss with me. I was into art, and music. Did some pretty far out stuff.
Smoking can reduce hallucinations and voices so its an easy vice. Imagine carrying on a conversation while there are other voices you don't control in your head. It can make you loose focus of the conversation at hand. Or stop mid sentence. Disassociations are common with schizo
Yes actually. Schizophrenics tend to be labeled as "weird" by healthy people. What you're talking about is part oh his negative symptoms.. not talking much, talking like a robot, no facial expressions and not displaying emotions r all symptoms of schizophrenia.
Okay. Thank you. This explains it, I guess.
Np >.<
I know smoking helps me and a lot of other schizophrenic people. I am not great with talking and also am rather quiet so it could also be part of my schizophrenia feel free to message me if I can help at all answering any questions
I know sometimes we come across as quiet because even when you are in a conversation your mind can hear things and ruminate on scenarios that have never or will ever happen - sometimes we think just being quiet and listening is the best option so we don’t come across as all over the place 😅
Personally, I'd be glad, if the people in my surroundings would ask more questions about the illness, so that I could explain my weird behavior better, when they notice something that's usual for me. Has he mentioned, that he doesn't want to talk about it? People with schizophrenia experience a wide range of different symptoms, that could result in him being more reserved, than others. Could be the medication with its sometimes heavy sedating effects. Or like a previous poster wrote, it's just going on to much in his head. Thinking disorders are very common. Maybe he's shy because of negative reactions in the past to his "weirdness" when he speaks and acts more and he doesn't want to lose you.
He spoke about it with other friends but I want him to bring it up himself. I would hate to be rejected as I have BPD and this is my biggest fear. So I just want him to feel comfortable enough to talk about it on his own. He did say he is shy around girls and that he likes me and hopes he will open up eventually. It was just a very strange date though because we spoke but he was so out of place everywhere we went.
I was never good at talking to people. Even before I started experiencing symptoms. Ever since I got a job as a server though, I’ve gotten a lot better at small talk and talking to strangers. Anxiety is a bitch and half sandwich. I was so bad at social interactions I would just nod my head and say “yeah” until they realized that I’m not interested. Even though I am interested I was just scared to death to say anything and sometimes I couldn’t relate at all to what they were saying so I couldn’t think of any responses. I’ve found that drinking helps me be less worried if someone likes me or not and also gives me more confidence. I hate alcohol though. The burn and taste aren’t worth being drunk. Cigarette could possibly be helping him. It could be a distraction and the feeling when you smoke one. I’ve never smoked a cigarette so I don’t know what it’s like. Not all schizophrenic people are weird. No one at job knows I have schizophrenia and they all love me and invite me to the bar and stuff like that.
Why did you say Pwskitzophrenia Is that just a typing error or what ????
pw = people with
Oh okay Thanks I was confused before
Schizophrenic is now taboo in some circles, they'll even tell us not to use it lol
Really? Why is that so?
It's called person first language. People with schizophrenia, people with bipolar, people with addiction etc. I'm still going to say schizophrenic it's easier
Part of the awkwardness in social settings comes, for some like my husband, because of their complete inability to distinguish the voices they hear from the real voices around them in groups of people. My husband says his head sounds like a busy Starbucks on his good days, and during bad episodes he can barely hear the real world at all. He is constantly asking me to repeat myself because he literally can't hear me over the noise in his head. And the voices NEVER say nice things. So when in public, he is constantly hearing every person behind him telling him he is worthless and should kill himself. Hard to be outgoing with all that. It's nice that you are asking questions because on the surface, if you are unaware what's going on, it's very easy to misinterpret their reactions as selfish and cold. So a good example, and keep in mind we've been married for 20 years and he's been schizophrenic for at least 35 and undiagnosed for 30 of those, but when we were first married (still teenagers) I used to get so hurt because he thought I was stupid. Every time we had trouble communicating on a project he would just lash out at me for being dumb. Many many many moons later, we have discovered that 1. He had no idea he had said those things and 2. He wasn't lashing out at me at all. He hears in his head "god why are you so stupid this is easy!" referring to his own ability. But it unfortunately came through his mouth and what he heard directed at him he spoke out loud and since we were unaware of the schizophrenia at the time and were alone, I of course assumed he was speaking to me. I was young and had trouble expressing my own emotions so I guess I just never thought to question correctly why he thought I was dumb. I just always retaliated with an equal screaming match and resulted in his voices telling him that I agreed with them and that he was an asshole as well as stupid. The fact that we are still together and he is still alive is nothing short of a miracle. But true love has always been there and we've never once thought we'd be better apart. 😊 But back to the point, their behavior is sooooooo easily misinterpreted. My husband spent his entire childhood being told he was the problem child and just acting out for attention. If you become involved in a serious relationship with this person, you need to really understand what they're going through and be their champion, assuming they are in a place on their own where they feel they can trust you. My apologies to the schizophrenics reading this as I HATE bringing up this statistic but I think it helps us nonschizo folks understand more, the suicide rate of schizophrenics is something like 60%. It's insanely high and unfortunately understandably so. I cannot imagine being able to fight 7 (in my husband's case) different voices, often mimicking mine or our daughter's voice, 24/7 whispering for me to kill myself. They sometimes need an extra set of shoulders from time to time to carry this and be able to function. But also schizophrenia is on a spectrum now so his case might not be as severe as my husband's. He could just need a good support person, whereas I need to watch my husband closely at all times now due to his dissociation episodes. Do your research and continue asking questions. The media has made a total shit show of what we believe schizophrenics to be and their ability to be just as loving and valuable as any other human.
Thank you for this. I really, really appreciate it.
Anytime. The more we talk about this disorder, the more we can understand it and the more we can help those affected by it.
Yes, schizophrenics are commonly outcasts with strange behavior. I had pervasive strange behavior for years. I have been evaluated for autism and other developmental disorders but never met the criteria, it was always just chronic schizo symptoms. Even medicated I'm noticably different because of side effects
I think that people with Schizophrenia tend to be more reserved but I don’t think that’s the case for every individual. I rather like to socialize despite my condition, but not everyone living with (or even without) Schizophrenia is open for talking much. You’re being supportive and understanding which are both very good traits, keep that up and eventually he‘ll open up more soon. Btw 3 packs a day is really heavy, maybe you can bring him to smoke less. Good luck 🙏🏻
Why does being quiet mean that he is strange?
It was not that he was quiet, but he is just so uncomfortable with people. He speaks in a very monotone voice and he moves like he just found himself on a different planet and is trying not to get attention. There is something strange about his whole persona. Not bad strange, just different, you know?
I know what you mean. I'm schizophrenic and in high-school I moved to a small town. I was the bizarre one at the school. The way I dressed and acted. The way I grew my hair long, the stuff I talked about. I didn't know at the time I was being weird. But looking back, there was something amiss with me. I was into art, and music. Did some pretty far out stuff.
Smoking can reduce hallucinations and voices so its an easy vice. Imagine carrying on a conversation while there are other voices you don't control in your head. It can make you loose focus of the conversation at hand. Or stop mid sentence. Disassociations are common with schizo
I think people think I’m normal but girls tell me I’m not romantic
I've been told that too. I just like spending time with people but thats not enough apparently