Once I was determined to have a mental illness I felt afraid. I was afraid of being labelled as an abnormal individual who needs to live life shunned by others. I went through different diagnoses and came out with a current condition of schizoaffective disorder which, today, I treat with an orthomolecular schedule of supplements.
First of all, I’d like to comment that I regularly use medicine recommended by a doctor. These include antidepressants, anti psychotics, occasional anti anxiety, and sleep aids. As far as symptom management goes, these medicines help quite a bit. Also, to not play the role of a doctor, I’m simply giving an opinion and as innocently as I can.
Dealing with mental illness is difficult. I can easily state that it really is a life changing thing. These days, I have a hard time making decisions/prioritizing activities. And my mind is often not clear. I don’t feel grounded. Avoiding stress is important to me and I take steps to do that every day. I feel better now that I’m on an orthomolecular treatment plan that includes nutrients that strengthen my physiology. It may be that I am on a number of nutrient supplements for a few years, or maybe longer. It’s supposedly a way of balancing imbalances evident in cases of schizophrenia. Scientists are understanding more and more what causes schizophrenia and I’m still wondering, myself, what its cause is and how I can change my situation.
Living while managing my mental illness is getting easier with the nutrient supplements because they’re based on certain deficiencies found by targeted blood tests and known to be found in me, and people with schizophrenia. How it has helped is: clearing my mind of fog/fatigue and providing natural energy and stability. A specific example from recently, is that I no longer had thoughts which seemed to be foreign to me, for a whole day. I credit this to the supplements I use. On a normal day I think a thought which, like music stuck in my head, has a property of the sound of another person’s voice. And also, the thought may be of a sentence which I find unusual. All that being said; it’s getting better and better to not have unclear mental status more often and as time goes by. There’s not much more I can hope for based on my condition and treatment. I’m pretty much living a normal life, with a disabling disorder as opposed to struggling like I used to; with my state. Think of it this way: you’ve been diagnosed with schizophrenia and you have a choice to seek help, or to seek care. Orthomolecular is like helping your physiology and drugs are like the care you need to get through your current issue. I’m just saying: if there is no cure for the disorder, then it makes sense to help yourself or, in other words, not rely/lean on a doctor/others.
So far I am only slightly at an inconvenience to take these supplements. As I said, I’m taking a number of supplements daily and with every meal. It could be a hassle to take a bunch of capsules, but the healing provided helps feeling good, when I tried it. I just made a rhyme out of that.
Anyway, this is a personal opinion and I’d even go so far as to say a suggestion. If you find the cost of drugs to be too high then you could spend a lot less and have these supplements and augment your recovery plan. In my opinion, you shouldn’t leave out your drugs, though. Consider getting the help you can from an orthomolecular practitioner. It does work for me. And to close, I’ll provide some history on my health condition. It’s been 6 years since I, my family, my friends, and my doctor realized something was a little “off”. I’ve been hospitalized once for mental illness. I’ve used vitamins and supplements for maybe 3 years. I take drugs in pill form. I don’t use illegal substances.
Try the orthomolecular treatment if you want. Combined with drugs, it works for me.