postivity for schizo-spec and psychotic folks

correct people when they misuse the word "psychotic" (as in if they use it in any other way but a serious disconnect from reality, delusions or hallucinations)

correct people when they use the word "schizophrenic" as an adjective (its not!!! its a severe and persistant mental disorder)

correct people when they call people "crazy" aka "shes been acting crazy lately" (they likely dont actually mean it and this word is thrown around a lot, but as a schizophrenic im asking you to not use this word to describe people since this has been tied to me and my fellow psychotics for ages)

do not assume that a psychotic person is dangerous in any way (psychotic people are more likely to be the victims of abuse than be the abusers)

when talking about mental illness or the mental illness community as a whole consider, does this apply to psychotic and schizophrenic people as well? (if not, youre not talking about the whole community! its that simple)

do not purposley trigger someones paranoia aka telling people that theres someone after them (this is always harmful and potentially life threatening, its not a joke and never was)

dont assume schizophrenia is "just hallucinations and delusions" (its much more than that, it has negative and cognitive symptoms as well, which for some people is much worse than the positive symptoms of hallucinations and delusions)

dont make lobotomy jokes aka "lobotomize me" jokes (these procedures were used to turn schizophrenics into "pets" so that other people could better deal with us, its not a joke)

dont act "crazy" for shock value aka wide eyes, rocking back and fourth, shaking (our mannerisms arent for you to pretend to be crazy with, this is who we actually are, im looking at you rock bands)

dont fear the people on the street talking to themselves aka calling the cops on them (these people are suffering, these people need help, them being psychotic doesnt make them any more dangerous than anybody else)

dont use the word delusional for every idea you dont agree with aka "that conservative politician is delusional!" (delusions specifically describe strongly held beliefs outside of reality, not just beliefs outside youre specific world view)

dont expect people to express emotions the same way you do aka "why arent you reacting?" (many schizophrenics stuggle with flat affect and cant change it, it doesnt mean we dont feel things, just that we dont express them the same way)

dont expect us to be able to do the same amount of, or intensity of work you do aka "i work 5 days a week, you have it easy!" (executive disfunction is very common in schizophrenia, it doesnt make us lazy, we are just disabled)

dont post derealization without tagging it or TWing it as such aka that post with a fake european country saying that americans dont even know what country this is (we already struggle enough with figuring out whats real and whats not we dont need "pranks" or "jokes" trying to fool us without any TW)

dont assume schizophrenic and psychotic people cant see your post or view your media or anything else (we are real people interacting with the world just like everybody else, we can see your jokes about us, or your media portraying us as dangerous, we arent fictional characters)

dont assume youre superior to, or smarter than us (once again we are real people, we deserve the same respect as anyone else on the planet)

dont call someones delusion stupid aka "obviously youre not the reincarnation of kurt cobain thats stupid" (you have no idea how real these are for us, they dont always make sense to you but they do to us, please respect that)

dont ask if were hallucinating right now (its none of youre business! and if we say yes youll likely ask where it is, and if we show you youll likely look in the direction of the hallucination which is dangerous, it blends the real world with the hallucination and its already hard enough for us to tell the difference)

dont stop trusting us and what we say just because were psychotic (we still deserve to be listened to and trusted just like everybody else)

learn about less talked about symotoms like catatonia, avolition and word salad (these are just as common as the talked about ones, but just less talked about cause i guess it doesnt make for an intresting horror movie)

learn more about schizophrenia and psychosis from actual schizophrenics and psychotics (a great example is the podcast Inside Schizophrenia, scrolling through this blog, looking up students with psychosis)

dont call us gifted or psychic or anything like that (its not a gift! most of us arent happy we have it, plus you could easily trigger a delusion like this)

dont compare hallucinations or catatonia to sleep paralysis (ive had all three, and they are very different)

dont watch or film "public freakouts" (these people may being going through the worst time of their life, its not funny)

for the average apsychotic (not psychotic) person psychosis would be a brand new experience. psychosis for an apsychotic person can be very concerning.

No. You really don’t

"what do I do if I shouldn't call 911?"

well "I'm sorry I'm in a rush" is a pretty good option or "I can't talk right now, sorry" and then move on.

psychotic people, ultimately, are people. they are just as human as you are and the vast vast vast majority of the time they're not interested in hurting you.

when you're approached by a psychotic person ranting about delusions or hallucinations (and possibly speaking with disorganized speech) they are just looking for human connection, that's all. they might not have many people around to talk to and it gets lonely. when someone talks to you about a secret society of mind readers out to kill them they are just trying to connect with people and sometimes process the fear they're experiencing (because a secret society of mind readers out to kill you is rather scary!)

things like mania can also make you very talkative and very social.

someone coming up to you to talk about being the second coming of Jesus isn't trying to hurt you. they just want to talk. if you have time then have a conversation, most of the time you don't even need to say much. you can politely nod and go "wow that's crazy" and "that's so scary" and it might be one of the kindest things someone does for them that day. if you don't have time just say you're in a rush and leave.

I'm not sure what country you live in, but I'm USAmerican so that's what I know, and I'll answer based on those laws (or you can send another ask to clarify your country).

Employment: your employer or potential employer cannot legally discriminate against you based on a schizophrenia diagnosis. You have no obligation to even tell them. Some places require doctors notes for proof that you have to take time off for an appointment, but even then your personal medical information like a diagnosis does not need to be disclosed.

Housing: your potential landlord/apartment manager cannot legally discriminate against you based on a schizophrenia diagnosis. Once again, you don't even have to tell them.

~other legal stuff I'm adding~

Adoption/Fostering: you do have to disclose any diagnosed mental illness when applying to adopt or foster a child. But a schizophrenia diagnosis doesn't automatically disqualify you. You would just have to prove that you can successfully manage your mental illness, and will be a safe and reliable parent.

Military: the US military will not let you apply if you have any sort of psychotic disorder.

Involuntary care: anyone potentially can be put into psychiatric care involuntarily if they are a threat to themselves or others. Anyone potentially can also be put into a conservatorship if they can't manage their finances or can't make medical decisions. These decisions are not made because of a diagnosis, instead they are made due to the actions of the person and their safety.

For me, my diagnosis has led to more understanding of myself and more accurate and helpful treatments that changed my life for the better.

Also, I just don't tell most people and they would never know. Even when I had to stay in a psych ward a few years back, I told my employer I had to take medical leave and never specified my diagnosis.

We are real. Our mental illness doesn't invalidate our identity. Our identities aren't the reason we are mentally ill.

Panel one: "HARD TO LOVE" simple drawing of a cat curled up on a cane "DISABILITY AND CATS"

Panel two: "SOMETIMES, I THINK I'M HARD TO LOVE" drawing of a person with shortish hair sitting on the ground facing away from the viewer "MY BODY DOESN'T WORK LIKE IT'S SUPPOSED TO"

Panel three: drawing of the same person hunched over what looks like maybe a calendar with their head in their hand and question marks over their head "I FORGET THINGS" "I MOVE SLOW" drawing of the same person walking with a bag and a cane. Drawing of the same person hunched over to grab something off the floor with their hand on their back and lines indicating pain coming off of them "IT HURTS TO DO THINGS MOST PEOPLE DO EASILY"

Panel four: "MY CAT'S BODY ALSO DOESN'T WORK LIKE IT'S SUPPOSED TO" drawing of a cat with part of one ear missing sitting up and looking at the viewer

Panel five: "HE DOESN'T REMEMBER THINGS" Drawing of the same cat looking at the ground with question marks over his head indicating confusion with what looks like a food bowl in the background. I think this is meant to be the cat having trouble finding the food bowl. Drawing of the same cat falling gracelessly on his face. "HE'S CLUMSY" "HE CAN'T DO THINGS THAT OTHER CATS CAN DO" drawing of the same cat stretching up towards what looks like a counter. I think this is meant to be the cat having trouble getting up on to the counter.

Panel six: "AND I LOVE HIM SO MUCH" drawing of the person holding the cat up, touching their faces together. there is a heart symbol above their heads likely indicating fondness, affection, or love

Panel seven: "SO MAYBE" drawing of the person with the cat in their lap, petting him, facing the viewer this time "IT'S NOT TOO HARD TO LOVE ME"

"I often talk about reality checking and going along with it when helping someone deal with delusions, but I felt as if I didn’t really make it clear to what I meant when I said it.

Recently I saw a post similar to “how to sneakily give your delusional friend a reality check when they told you not to” and honestly, that’ll just make us lose trust for you. Because we can tell when you do that."