- Feb 16, 2007
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I just wanted to share something with all of my fellow Christians suffering schizophrenia that might give you some hope.
I have schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type (or basically schizophrenia and bipolar disorder combined). Years ago, my doctor told me to quit my part time job and get disability benefits. She felt she had exhausted every treatment option, and there was no alternative but to keep me with someone at all times, away from anything that could be used as a weapon, and to spend my days avoiding stress. She had given up on me. I tried to kill myself multiple times. I hallucinated horrible things. The voices would scream at me the most vile words imaginable. They'd show me corpses. I could even smell them. I couldn't sleep at night, and I couldn't function during the day. I nearly lost my home and everything I own.
Fast forward nearly a decade. I landed a full-time job making good money doing something I love, my marriage is in great shape after many tumultuous years, and I follow God after having spent a long time as an atheist. Why? Because God gave me a psychiatrist and a therapist who cared. I started working again part-time, my wife and I struggled with our marriage but managed to survive, and I tried (and often failed) to keep the faith. My psychiatrist eventually found a cocktail of medications that work, and my therapist helped me through finding a job and not letting nihilistic atheism eat me alive. And finally, the call came: I had real gainful employment. All of my financial woes virtually disappeared, and I realized God had rescued me from schizophrenia.
That's not to say I no longer hear voices. If I'm extremely stressed, they sometimes scream at me, though I have learned from my therapist how to deal with it when that happens. They constantly chatter in the background, though again with coaching, I have learned to tune them out and go about my day. Nobody could tell just by looking at me that I have schizophrenia.
My point is that you can never give up, and the best thing you can do for yourself is to trust God and let him work through your doctor, your therapist and your medication. It doesn't always work, but remember that God never puts us under so much strain that we can't handle it. Don't give up fighting. Don't give up hope. It can get better. It did for me, someone who spent nearly a decade trying to escape after being told there was no hope left. I'm not trying to brag. I'm trying to show you that it is possible. Get the help you need, and if you don't get it from one doctor, try another. God doesn't want this for any of us. Take that to heart and let him help you!
I have schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type (or basically schizophrenia and bipolar disorder combined). Years ago, my doctor told me to quit my part time job and get disability benefits. She felt she had exhausted every treatment option, and there was no alternative but to keep me with someone at all times, away from anything that could be used as a weapon, and to spend my days avoiding stress. She had given up on me. I tried to kill myself multiple times. I hallucinated horrible things. The voices would scream at me the most vile words imaginable. They'd show me corpses. I could even smell them. I couldn't sleep at night, and I couldn't function during the day. I nearly lost my home and everything I own.
Fast forward nearly a decade. I landed a full-time job making good money doing something I love, my marriage is in great shape after many tumultuous years, and I follow God after having spent a long time as an atheist. Why? Because God gave me a psychiatrist and a therapist who cared. I started working again part-time, my wife and I struggled with our marriage but managed to survive, and I tried (and often failed) to keep the faith. My psychiatrist eventually found a cocktail of medications that work, and my therapist helped me through finding a job and not letting nihilistic atheism eat me alive. And finally, the call came: I had real gainful employment. All of my financial woes virtually disappeared, and I realized God had rescued me from schizophrenia.
That's not to say I no longer hear voices. If I'm extremely stressed, they sometimes scream at me, though I have learned from my therapist how to deal with it when that happens. They constantly chatter in the background, though again with coaching, I have learned to tune them out and go about my day. Nobody could tell just by looking at me that I have schizophrenia.
My point is that you can never give up, and the best thing you can do for yourself is to trust God and let him work through your doctor, your therapist and your medication. It doesn't always work, but remember that God never puts us under so much strain that we can't handle it. Don't give up fighting. Don't give up hope. It can get better. It did for me, someone who spent nearly a decade trying to escape after being told there was no hope left. I'm not trying to brag. I'm trying to show you that it is possible. Get the help you need, and if you don't get it from one doctor, try another. God doesn't want this for any of us. Take that to heart and let him help you!
