Afraid of becoming schizophrenic...

Hi,

My name is Shannon. I'm 24 and have had anxiety/depression for, what seems like, my whole life. Everyone with anxiety has that one thing they're afraid of and mine is becoming schizophrenic. I have pretty bad anxiety though I am able to go about my days without too much trouble. However, the thought that is constantly in my mind is "I'm going crazy!". I have visual disturbances due to a car accident which doesn't help. To make things even better...I just found out today that my cousin was recently diagnosed with schizophrenia. I am terrified. I could use some insight on this issue and how I can determine the early stages of schizo from the symptoms of bad anxiety. They really seem to overlap! : )

Thanks in advance.

Hi Shannon - Welcome to the forum.

I have definitely heard of this type of fear before. And I even wondered at one point if I was becoming Schizo. But honestly, it's the people who don't realize that they are becoming delusional or psychotic, that are the ones truly inflicted with it. I mean, not all the time, there are definitely people who can feel if they are becoming psychotic. But the nature of psychosis, is that you believe it's real, and do not believe it's a psychosis.

Sometimes, irrational anxiety can seem like we are experiencing early warning signs of paranoia for example. I had some really strange irrational fears, paranoid fears, that made me think "oh my god, is this schizophrenia?". But it wasn't. It was a fear that was related to anxiety. If it was a psychosis, then I wouldn't be thinking "am I schizophrenic", I would be too preoccupied with believing my fears and thoughts were real.

I'm not a professional by any means, but these are simply my thoughts on the difference between anxiety and early forming schizophrenia. A lot of the early warning signs, resemble anxiety and depression a whole lot. So much so, that I've never heard of someone diagnosing Schizophrenia due to the early symptoms, because the early symptoms are too much like depression/anxiety. So, my view is.. you probably just have severe anxiety or depression. And part of your anxiety, is of course, stressing about "going crazy".

I don't know if this helped or not - I know how strong these types of fears and thoughts are. Are you seeing a therapist that is perhaps helping with your anxiety?

- EGD.

Don't be afraid. If you do have it you can get the help you need for it and continue living life. The worse case scenario that can happen out of this is you do have it, but don't seek help. Mental health treatment has gotten much much better. I would get it checked out if it is bothering you. Just stay positive and remember it isn't the end of the world if you have it.

I don't think you should fear anything, ever. Not even death. Accept that whatever happens happens for a reason, no matter how bad the actual outcome. There is no reason to be afraid - it doesn't make anything better. Probably best to actually see a therapist to determine early symptoms.