Living With Psychogenic Polydipsia

Schizophrenia often involves an altered sense of embodiment, an experience In describe here. My experience with altered embodiment in Schizophrenia has been heavily focused on the brain and skull, which led me to think about how this might affect other Symptoms, particularly Thought Insertion and Thought Broadcasting. I explore some of my thoughts on the topic here, I'd love to hear what you think in the Instagram comments for this episode or in a private message!

I've always been interested in the ways different diagnoses relate, and was fasdcinated at how similar the description of developmental remediation was in a book I have been reading for Borderline patients as it was in my experience for DID & Schizophrenia. Personality Disorders & Schizophrenia have interesting areas of overlap & similarity, and here I sharte my reflections on how re-parenting in Schizophrenia is similar to Personality Disorder Therapy when both are using Psychoanalytic elements. Kernberg, O. F. (1984). Severe personality disorders psychotherapeutic strategies. Yale University Press. Perona-Garcelán S, Carrascoso-López F, García-Montes JM, Ductor-Recuerda MJ, López Jiménez AM, Vallina-Fernández O, Pérez-Álvarez M, Gómez-Gómez MT. Dissociative experiences as mediators between childhood trauma and auditory hallucinations. J Trauma Stress. 2012 Jun;25(3):323-9. doi: 10.1002/jts.21693. Epub 2012 May 15. PMID: 22589015.Schultz, H. E., & Hong, V. (2017). Psychosis in Borderline Personality Disorder: How Assessment and Treatment Differs from a Psychotic Disorder. Current Psychiatry, 16(4), 24–29.

We've talked about social alienation & Social Defeat, but what does that do to your relationship to yourself in the context of a Psychotic condition? Feeling alienated from yourself & others is normal for Traumatized people, but how does this manifest in someone with Schizophrenia (and DID, as my case was)? Here I explore some of my thoughts & hypotheses on Self-Alienation in Schizophrenia/Psychosis, and my experiences in Recovery/Stabilization from this state. Further Reading: Bailey, T., Alvarez-Jimenez, M., Garcia-Sanchez, A. M., Hulbert, C., Barlow, E., & Bendall, S. (2018). Childhood Trauma Is Associated With Severity of Hallucinations and Delusions in Psychotic Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Schizophrenia bulletin, 44(5), 1111–1122. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbx161Davis, J., Eyre, H., Jacka, F. N., Dodd, S., Dean, O., McEwen, S., Debnath, M., McGrath, J., Maes, M., Amminger, P., McGorry, P. D., Pantelis, C., & Berk, M. (2016). A review of vulnerability and risks for schizophrenia: Beyond the two hit hypothesis. Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, 65, 185–194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.03.017Selten, J. P., van der Ven, E., Rutten, B. P., & Cantor-Graae, E. (2013). The social defeat hypothesis of schizophrenia: an update. Schizophrenia bulletin, 39(6), 1180–1186. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbt134

Polydispia is a rarely-discussed symptom of Schizophrenia, but it is incredibly intrsuive to live with. Polydipsia is the experience of excessive thirst and craving for water, even to the point of physical injury. I have experienced Polydipsia from a young age and it has been a struggle for me. Here are some of my reflections on the experience.

I used to not be an animal person, but since I got my Parakeets (Budgies, Birdies) last Fall I've found myself falling in love with these little happy fluffballs. My Budgies came to me sick and underdeveloped, and out time together has been a journey of mutual healing and trust-building. While some people think Schizophrenics shouldn't have pets, this isn't true; my Budgies help me manage Negative Symptoms like Avolition and Anhedonia, in addition to helping with my loneliness and withdrawal. We are not dangerous to our pets and having pets can be very helpful to our wellbeing.

I thought it might be useful for me to talk about some of my early childhood experiences. Early onset Schizophrenia/Schizotypy is considered rare, but in my experience working with the Psychosis Community I believe it is actually wildly underdiagnosed. This podcast episode is purely informational, but I hope it can help shed some clarity on either your own experiences or those of a loved one. I'm happy to talk on my Instagram if you have any specific questions.

Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), formerly Conversion Disorder, is a Somatic Symptom Disorder that causes psychogenic symptoms that would typically be caused by conditions labeled Neurological. I struggled with FND for about a year and a half, from early 2017 to late 2018, and the experience left an impression. Having FND severely stigmatized me and added an excruciating layer on to my already misunderstood Schizophrenia. Recording this hard podcast was very hard, and my emotions are evident in my Speech symptoms (just a heads up). While the idea of another FND episode looms in preconscious regularly, remembering just how awful the active illness was was a little much.

Antipsychotic medications are known to cause infertility in a subset of patients, especially patients assigned female. What is it like to be one of these patients? How do you find out about this side effect, and what is it actually like to through. In this podcast, I discuss my experience with Antipsychotic-indiced infertility, as well as the social atmosphere around Schizophrenia and reproductive rights.Link to essay: https://www.psychosispsositivity.com/blog/reproductive-ethics-and-antipsychotic-medication

We all know that trauma can be a cause of Psychosis, but what does chronci/developmental trauma do to someone with Schizophrenia in a practical sense? What is it actually like to live with? How can it be approached by clinicians? In this episode, I share my experience with chronic trauma/PTSD and Schizophrenia, share how it was differen than what people normally think of PTSD, and what was done right in my psychotherapy.

I recovered from Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) over three years ago now--what are my thoughts? How has it affected me? What emotions does the the story bring up? How did this diagnosis relate to my Schizophrenia stabilization? While it was a harrowing journey at times, I am overall grateful for the experience and I believe it was formative for my current path.