missboots wrote:
Very occasionally I will have auditory hallucinations or I'll see a blip in my peripheral vision. But I've never had any long lasting hallucinations/delusions.
Then you can't qualify for diagnosis of schizophrenia. According to DSM 4, the delusions and hallucinations have to be persistent, and they have to last for at least a month.
missboots wrote:
I'm 22 years old nowadays. So it wasn't too long ago she gave me that diagnoses.
I am surprised you got diagnosed then. I mean, 14 years ago they already knew not to over-diagnose schizophrenia. What you describe sounds more like a problem back in 60-s.
By the way did they give you any medications? Were you given shock therapy? Were you hospitalized?
The meds for schizophrenia are horrible. Neuroleptics are designed to block nerve endings. Now they are not "smart" so they block ALL nerves, not just the ones responsible for hallucinations. In other words, the point is to simply ruin your brain so it won't have enough energy to hallucinate. Just like if you computer says 2+2=5 why not just smash it with a hammer, so it won't be able to say anything at all, including 2+2=5.
Shock therapy uses similar philosophy. There is nothing magic about electric shock other than the fact that it ruins your brain. I would say that shock therapy is worse than meds, at least meds can wear off while shock ruins your brain permanently.