Triggers

Some friends and I were discussing scary movies the other day. They asked me if horror films or scary stories are triggers for me. Those of you who don't know, a trigger is something that can cause my symptoms to become worse. Bacon may make someone with high cholesteral have higher cholesteral. Talking about large noisy crowds may upset someone with a social phobia. Talking about frightening things may cause someone with psychosis to have hallucinations. My answer to them was this:

I have some triggers. Some scary movies may make hallucinations worse. Others may make paranoia worse. It doesn't have to be anything scary though. Certain animals, certain people, or certain places can also cause it. Being alone can also cause me to become depressed and even make me pay more attention to hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia. Last night, for example, I was home alone. I heard something come up the stairs. What ever it was then went into my room and into my closet. I picked up my knife and opened it. I opened the closet door with the knife pointed in front of me and turned on the light. Nothing. Nothing was there except for boxes, clothes, and suitcases. Luckily, my logic wasn't too far gone and I was able to talk myself down. I'm not always able to do that. 

Sometimes even talking about my schizophrenia can seem to make it worse, but I don't know for sure. 

I just wanted to share something because I haven't done so in a while. I hadn't been feeling so great the past couple weeks. 

                                                                           Love, a schizophrenic