Schizoaffective disorder/schizophrenia and dealing with a crisis can be challenging. My brain is always making up crises. I can’t turn them off even though I know they are part of my schizoaffective and general anxiety disorders. After an initial psychotic episode, I was first diagnosed with schizophrenia, and then re-diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. Schizophrenia involves serious, but treatable, delusions and hallucinations. Schizoaffective disorder is a type of bipolar disorder, with milder symptoms of schizophrenia and a lot of anxiety that so often accompanies bipolar disorder. I make crises out of situations that are certainly uncomfortable but not “the end of the world” in reality. So, as people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, how do we deal with real crises when our brains are used to making every little thing into a crisis?

Many high-functioning people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder have jobs and schizophrenia in the workplace is a real issue. Jobs that they get up and go to and where they work alongside other people. You might work alongside a person with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and not even know it. Don’t worry, we don’t bite (Are People With Mental Illness More Violent?).

Schizophrenic voices on Thanksgiving are not fun. People with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder aren’t the only people who may dread the holidays. In When Harry Met Sally, Harry (played by Billy Crystal) tells Sally (Meg Ryan) that he wishes he could just skip the weeks from Thanksgiving through New Year.

Having schizophrenia is bad enough but having schizoaffective disorder or schizophrenia during the holidays can be daunting. It’s simply terrible that these illnesses often strip us of our ability to enjoy times that are supposed to be joyous occasions, times like the holidays. All the shopping in crowded malls and all the parties crowded with people can be torture (Mental Illness Can Overstimulate your Brain). Here are some tips on celebrating the holidays even with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

I never thought that exercise could help my schizoaffective disorder. Now I know better. I’ve been running every day for a little over two months, and it has drastically cut down on the breakthrough episodes I have with voices. I knew exercise helped with anxiety and depression, but I didn’t know it could strike back so effectively at those nagging schizophrenic voices but it turns out that exercise can help schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

People with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder are no strangers to medication changes (Mental Health Medication Changes Require a Doctor's Input). Maybe the medicinal cocktail prescribed isn’t relieving symptoms or the medication is causing too much weight gain. Or maybe you’re getting headaches all the time. Medication changes are a big part of having schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

As if dating isn't already tough enough, schizoaffective hypomania makes dating and love even harder. Those of us with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder have a lot to deal with when dating. For example, there’s the stress of being on a first date and wondering when would be a good time to tell your prospective partner you have one of the most stigmatized mental disorders. But perils extend beyond that point and include schizoaffective hypomania triggered by the excitement of a first date. Which begs the question, how, exactly, does someone with schizoaffective disorder differentiate between hypomania and the perfectly normal things one feels when falling in love?

Developing schizoaffective disorder is not thought to be an effect of sexism. But for me, the depression that would turn into my bipolar disorder that would turn into my schizoaffective disorder was fueled by sexism. I felt ugly and alone--and some have said that loneliness is the seed that grows into mental illnesses like schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.

People with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder are particularly susceptible to suicide, and I am no exception. But I have people in my life to live for, especially my husband and family. I make ways to remind myself of what I have to live for to get me through hard moments. With suicide, one hard moment can be all it takes to end a life. And 10% of people with schizophrenia and another 10% of people with schizoaffective disorder die of suicide.

People with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder are no strangers to taking medication. Often, they take multiple medications, like me. I take so much medication I have trouble keeping track of it. But I take medication for my schizoaffective disorder, because it’s part of my treatment plan and it means I can live a full life.