"I didn't think I was Schizophrenic"

[@LivingWellAfterSchizophrenia]

Thanks for having me Kody!

[@SchizophrenicHippie]

Thank YOU! I appreciate your insight! I’m looking forward to posting our other interview Friday!

[@pyenygren2299]

I love hearing you two talking. 🥰

[@gaggablagblag9997]

We love you

[@lindadickey5164]

Kody I want to compliment you big time. My son is 32 yrs old with schizophrenia and to see you and nice, calm, and “cool” looking young guy. Very helpful for my son instead of seeing all older psychologists telling him what to do. You guys are both an inspiration to me as a mother to advocate and educate others! Thank you both!

[@hellcatt488]

I have borderline personality disorder, and severe anxiety disorder. I feel like I have this sometimes. Sometimes I feel like there isn't anything wrong with me. I have had delusions and paranoia that lasted for so long and if anyone were to try to convince me they weren't real I wouldn't believe them.. once I'm out of that place I can look back and see it more clearly. It's strange how differently you can see things once you're not in it. And yet still find myself back in it again and not realizing, until I'm out of that state. It's kind of an exhausting cycle.

[@jandesupportgroup]

I have schizoaffective bipolar type. I run a free peer support group. We LOVE your videos. We watch them in group and discuss. Thank you so much for sharing your journey and story. You are an inspiration, and we need more voices in the world to help end the stigma.

[@laureeeee]

I admire both of you! You both do great advocacy!

[@jimm4260]

Thanks to both of you! 👍

[@layotheleprechaun]

Love this collab! Lauren does amazing work 😁

[@SchizophrenicHippie]

Absolutely! We have another interview posting Friday as well!!

[@layotheleprechaun]

@@SchizophrenicHippie exciting stuff

[@kayleighgroenendal8473]

YAY I love both of you!!!! I'm excited to watch 😍😍😍😍

[@Ailishification]

My son was raised with a father who is bipolar (possibly schizoaffective) and his education did eventually overcome his anosognosia and allow him to seek diagnosis, but it still took a couple years. However, without that education about the illness, he may have never sought treatment until he reached the point of hospitalization.

[@dagifelner9298]

I also thought I was schizophrenic. Turned out I was autistic and had lots and lots of Trauma and experienced narcissistic abuse

[@glitterspray]

So dicey to diagnose Especially with autism and the lack of knowledge by the medical community. I know many autists who had to do their own research and self diagnose. ☹️

[@avosquirrel231]

My father lived with schizophrenia/ ocd without treatment for 86 years, he only was put on pills once after his work forced him to see a psychiatrist. He ghosted and the persecutory delusions kicked in when I was 14 and the social workers, psychiatrist, and psych hospitals started getting involved in my life.

[@glitterspray]

We bipolars are notorious for going off our meds, typically as we’re entering a manic episode. So I can definitely relate!

[@ASMR-XI-ZUI]

This is so true. However when u have been taking bipolar meds long term for many years u cannot just go off them cold turkey. It is very dangerous n the withdrawals r gonna be very difficult. Fortunately even when I'm drifting into manic episode I can nip it in the mud. I'm more cautious maybe bcoz it started with ocd at age 10. Also my dad has schizophrenia so seeing him relapse make me stay on my meds. As much as I don't like it the side effects.

[@Seegie16]

@@ASMR-XI-ZUI Do you think shes going throiugh an episode now. She quit her meds because she fell for wooo wooo diet

[@MRBallSlapper-gy1lr]

I feel very confused right now I wish I had someone who could tell me it is just a temporary thing and it is not going to be forever.

[@williehornung]

Interesting video, thank you!

[@BlairPittams]

A lifetime of this symptom, It's a self protection. My main issue now is emotional, due to the social hatred from my countrymen A lot of cultures aren't as accepting as the American

[@mookie34545]

Its hard to reject perceptions that feel real or not out of the ordinary. Even when I'm being told repeatedly voices for example arent real it doesn't convince me

[@precognation]

I have been off meds for two years and have been fine. Then one day I experienced high stress and nosedived back into obsessing over memories which I believe happened to me and could have happened but sound unbelievable and improbable to others and crying hysterically about it. So I don’t know if this is trauma or an illness.

[@blinkinglightbeacon7704]

I'm just wondering HOW she went off her meds. Gradually or cold-turkey? I'd like to know because there is a school of thought that it's the rebound effect from going off meds that causes psychosis (and trauma that birthed it to begin with). And there are a lot of success stories online of people who were able to reduce (sometimes over years) and then eliminate the meds. It makes me wonder if they were all misdiagnosed or have milder, manageable versions of MI. The last time I went off meds, I did it as advised, very slowly with no recreational substances, and ended up psychotic and back in the hospital. As far as I'm concerned, that's the last time I do that experiment (I'm in my 40s and it takes forever to recover). But it was still very important for me to have done it because like many people, I hate the idea/fact of being on these meds for the rest of my life and I needed to know that I really need them. So for selfish reasons it would help me to know if she did it the "right" way.

[@DannyD-lr5yg]

I think a major part of her going off her meds was her also adopting a ketogenic diet. Of course you know everyone is different and this is NOT medical advice, but, there’s been many documented cases of people with severe schizophrenia being able to come off all meds with a strict keto diet. Again, these cases were overseen by doctors, and I don’t recommend attempting this shift on their own. But once case that sticks in my mind was a 70yo woman who’d suffered from schizophrenia for 50 years, and was so severely afflicted that she had a court appointed caregiver because she couldn’t care for herself - despite being on multiple meds. Upon starting a strict keto diet, this woman was able to get off all meds, and live alone without a caregiver. The few times she resumed normal eating, symptoms returned. When the study revisited her 10 years later, she was still keto and med-free and symptom-free. All to say: for SOME people, it seems schizophrenia could be an issue of either inflammation or metabolism issues in the brain. Lauren might be one such person. Don’t forget she’s gone off meds before and also ended up in the hospital - so her dietary changes are likely a crucial part of her success this time.

[@jdmmg4904]

👍👍👍

[@Seegie16]

I think shes going through it now with her keto diet and going off the meds

[@larryknight6592]

🍍 schizophrenia