Holidays and mental illness
Holidays can be a tough time for anyone, but for those of us living with a mental illness it can be harder.
I live with schizoaffective disorder. A serious mental illness that combines symptoms of schizophrenia and a mood disorder, in my case bipolar.
Even though I'm well medicated I still can get symptoms especially when I'm stressed and the holidays can be stressful.
I have a hard time making eye contact due to feeling like people can read my thoughts, this makes people think I'm being rude if they don't understand. This can make socializing very tough and uncomfortable for me. One way I deal with this is to say in my head "if you can hear me blink twice" this reassures me that they can't read my thoughts because they never do what I ask them to.
Another symptom that makes holidays gatherings tough is I have auditory hallucinations. In crowded places it can be hard to tell the voices in my head from the chatter of the room. This is harder to deal with for me, but I find if I focus completely on one person talking I can quiet the other chatter both in my head and in the room. Another thing that helps is to step outside.
When I get anxious or overwhelmed just stepping away to the bathroom helps I usually splash my face with cold water to ground me and bring me back to reality.
Also, having a plan helps when getting ready for holiday get togethers. I plan how long I'm going to stay, bring my as needed meds in a pill case so they don't stand out if I need to take one, and know where I can "escape" to like knowing where the bathroom or back yard is.
What are some ways you cope with holidays?
#SchizoaffectiveDisorder #schizoaffective #schizophreniaawareness #Anxiety #Holidays