Posted by Tomatheus on February 14, 2015, at 23:05:17
In reply to Re: Depression vs. 'negative' psychotic symptoms, posted by Christ_empowered on February 14, 2015, at 22:25:21
Christ_empowered,
I think that you made some good observations in your post here, as you usually do. I definitely agree with you that schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder seem to be poorly defined, and I do think that a lot of overlap exists between schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar I disorder with psychotic features. Another thing that I find odd is that the descriptions of the "negative" symptoms all seem to be from the perspective of those who observe patients with psychotic disorders instead of from the perspectives of the patients themselves. With other disorders, such as the mood disorders, the symptoms listed describe how the patients feel, but with symptom descriptions like "reduction in goal-oriented behavior," "affective flattening," "poverty of speech," and even "social withdrawal," we don't so much (at least in my opinion) get a good idea as to what "negative" symptoms feel like. Maybe part of the reason for this is that "negative" symptoms may involve a lack of feeling, but I think it would be nice if the descriptions of the "negative" symptoms would be more from the perspective of the patients themselves than they currently are.
And I agree with you that high-dose antipsychotics are best to be avoided, if that's possible. With the problems that I have with energy and concentration, much more than my low dose of 5 mg of Abilify becomes intolerable to me. I do contend with more psychotic symptoms than I did when I tried higher doses of Abilify, but I would say that my symptoms are basically under control, as those around me wouldn't describe me as delusional, and I don't take what the "pseudohallucinations" tell me too seriously (it seems like they often try to deceive me, which makes me take them even less seriously).
Thanks for your post,
TomatheusHas long-standing difficulties with energy and concentration, as well as psychotic and cognitive symptoms
Taking Abilify & supplements including vitamins B3 & D3
poster:Tomatheus
thread:1076218
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20150129/msgs/1076658.html