What to expect when you’re not expecting

I have not been blogging much lately due to my depression, but I had a few things I wanted to say so I figured I would write a new post. You see there’s very few things that you can expect to happen when you are diagnosed with Schizoaffective disorder bipolar type. You can expect mood swings and you can expect they will cycle when you least expect them to. I haven’t had a depressive episode this lengthy since undergoing ECT. I had a manic episode during our move brought on by stress but it subsided and I was pretty much stable.Then it happened I woke up and couldn’t function one morning. I couldn’t get out of bed. I just slept for 3 days basically. I knew what was happening and spoke to my doctor quickly about my symptoms and so began the process of trying to pull myself out of it.

I began taking my Zoloft and adjusted my medication and I have been mostly successful with fighting off the thoughts of self harm and voices that tell me I’m worthless. However there are some delusions and paranoia that have been creeping up again that scare me to death. You see my mood swings are easily dealt with but they tend to trigger other symptoms if I am not careful. I don’t expect to be cured of anything but you also sometimes don’t realize the symptoms of schizophrenia to creep up for no apparent reason. And if you aren’t careful and paying attention they can quickly spiral out of control into a psychotic break.

So what should you expect when you’re not expecting. Relapse and possibly hospitalization. Fortunately I was paying attention and have avoided my biggest fear, losing touch with reality. I wake up every day and give thanks for not being in that place for as long as I have. I know it’s not possible to completely be symptom free but at least I can hold onto my life with the steps I have learned over the years to avoid losing myself to my thoughts .

Just remember you can’t believe everything you think. And always be expecting the unexpected.