Any schizoaffective people?

[la15andmary]

Hello I recently had to leave my job and have a lot of time on my hands. I love the show, schizoaffective is so weird because I feel so normal then when I get stressed or have a death in the family I go into psychosis. The longest I went is 8 years without a hospital stay. I was even off meds for 5 years. Not trying to be a narcissist but just curious if any body else went a long time without a relapse. Thanks

[ScottMentalPod]

What's up? I was only hospitalized once when I was 20. I was on Lithium for about 4 years. I never heard voices or had visual hallucinations. I struggled with hypomania until I hit about 32 when I started taking B12 and fish oil. The thought, "hmmm... I think I'm feeling Bipolar" that I would get every couple month simply disappeared. Now that I'm 46, I think maybe I might have had a B12 deficiency. To this day I still do the same healthy habits I started doing in my 20s and 30s. I even wrote my own person eBook about all the things I would do. It's pretty much what's in the Bipolar in the Bipolar Survival Guide book with a few additional things.

What I do: Solid sleep with Benadryl if necessary. These days I used melatonin and cut blue light at night. I very careful about the amount of sunlight I take in throughout the day. I wear polarized sunglasses "magically thinking" it helps reduce mania. I live a very low-stress lifestyle thanks to my wife. I work a good paying full-time job. I take B12 and fish oil. I meditate. Doing this helps me realize if I have any stress I need to take care of. Last year I take started taking Zoloft as needed for certain social situations. I drink about once a month. I don't smoke pot but I might start when after I retire. I use a sunlamp from Nov to Feb because I get slightly depressed. In my 30s I did South Beach and lost 20 pounds. Now I'm able to keep it off going low-ish carb. Now I'm getting into weightlifting.

I recently discovered: "The findings of this study argue that glial cell dysfunction may be the basis of childhood-onset schizophrenia,”
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/news/sto ... renia.aspx

Then I discovered B12 and fish oil help support glial cells.

My general feeling is your mental health is fluid. Our brains change over time. We need to do everything we can to support our brain's health. I've also learned to listen to multiple doctors and getting better is a journey with a lot of trial and error.

I'm extremely grateful Mental Health Happy Hour exists and the brave people talk about their deeply personal journey. The podcast educates and gives us hope for a better tomorrow.

[la15andmary]

Hey thanks I haven’t been on the site for awhile. I have a terrible diet and don’t exercise. I do take fish oil but I will add the b-12. And I have got to motive my self to exercise and eat better because I am really depressed and it hard to find an med for that. It’s seems like after I come out of psychosis (2 years ago) I get manic and have grandiose ideas. Then go into depression. But hey it could always be worse. Thanks for the info and the show is great. We are not alone