• Recovery,  Schizoaffective Disorder,  Schizophrenia

    If I had a second chance at my first year with schizoaffective disorder

    Close your eyes for a moment. Think of a difficult time in your life. What do you feel? Do you feel like you did your best or do you have regrets? Or maybe a combination of both? If you had a second chance and could go back and change the decisions you made or the way you acted, would you? When my mind wanders back to my first year living with schizoaffective disorder, I think I did the best I thought I could. But I don’t think I made all the right choices. If I could go back to standing in 17-year-old me’s worn out converse shoes, there are some…

  • Schizoaffective Disorder,  Schizophrenia

    The Secret to My Success with Schizoaffective Disorder

    I’m often asked how I’ve done so well with schizoaffective disorder. I’ve graduated from a high level university, held down jobs, have never stopped taking my pills, and have never been hospitalized in the 12 years that I’ve been living with schizoaffective disorder. So how did I do it? What’s the secret to my success? Well, it’s a handful of different things, but not all of them were healthy. The day of my diagnosis, I told my mom that I would not let schizoaffective disorder define me. While I did, and still do, firmly believe that I am more than just my illness, this thought process contained a layer of…