On Family Estrangement: A Personal Dilemma
It’s very common for Schizophrenic & Psychotic people to struggle with their families—there’s even a clinical term for the negative attitude loved ones of Psychotic people often show, “Expressed Emotion”. Expressed Emotion is associated with poorer patient outcomes, and treatment for Schizophrenia/Psychosis often focuses on reducing it (de Mamani et al, 2021). Many Psychotic people also have Trauma histories that date back to childhood (Davis et al, 2016). From my personal experience having worked with this Community for several years now, Familial Estrangement of some form honestly seems more common than the opposite.
Atypical Antipsychotics & Weight Gain: My Experience
Trigger Warning: Discussion of Weight, Eating Disorders, Suicidal/Self-Harm Ideation, and Abuse
“Whose body even is this?” I remember the horror dripping through me as I looked at the angry purple stretch marks lining my protruding stomach. My mother had referred to my arms as “ham-hocks” and I could no longer get comfortable easily from the way my skin folded.
I had gained weight— lot of it, and very quickly
Schizophrenia, Family Estrangement, And The Holidays
It’s a dreadful time of year, for me at least. I’d had have to say the last time the holidays were really at all enjoyable I’d have to have been 9 years old, and I’m 24 now. As my family has fallen apart and I have had to distance myself from my “loved ones”, the season has lost its charm and become a time of grief and volatility. While the Holidays are not pleasant for many people, my Schizophrenia has played a specific role in my family’s disintegration, and that adds an extra layer of bitterness.