Risk of developing Schizophrenia/Psychosis - some help please

[johnram]

I am trying to understand my risk of developing schizophrenia/psychosis, given my mother had it. I have had a lot of trauma, hence the ask.

So for context, my mother had post natal after i was born, but that later became schizophrenia. It has stayed with her since (over 30 years) and has mostly used Depixol to treat it.

Now, we had a traumatic childhood and more trauma beyond, and have gotten through all that. I am now 37 and given the following factors i dont think i have a risk but just want to check and understand:

- my mothers family doesnt have schizophrenia, it appears very situational (bad arranged marriage, first time leaving her home country)
- my father doesnt and neither does any of his family
- my brothers and i have had a traumatic upbringing and that hasnt posed a risk
- i have done lsd twice, and didnt impact me, also did some weed, my brother did some other drugs and was fine
- Have gone through depression and addictions myself and come out ok
- my age is much older than when a man should get it (i am 37 and i believe nearing the drop off for no risk?)
- I dont have any symptoms etc
- her circumstances were specific

hope that sets a scene, and appreciate any guidance. as i have had my own mental health journey, this is just one thing i want to understand given i feel i have moved forward a lot.

thank you kindly

[Tee]

Not a doctor or therapist or anything but I am in school and have recently taken abnormal psychology.  Schizophrenia onset usually happens in late adolescent or early twenties. According to the text books for my classes. Obviously there are other factors but there is also usually a highly genetic factor as well.

Hope this helps.

[Kizzie]

Hi JR, just wanted to suggest you see your physician or therapist about this as we can't diagnose or even talk about something like schizophrenia/psychosis b/c we don't have any lived experience/background/training except with CPTSD. I will say I've haven't come across either in the academic literature about comorbid physical/psychological illnesses/conditions though.

[johnram]

Not a doctor or therapist or anything but I am in school and have recently taken abnormal psychology.  Schizophrenia onset usually happens in late adolescent or early twenties. According to the text books for my classes. Obviously there are other factors but there is also usually a highly genetic factor as well.

Hope this helps.

thank you, that is my understanding too

[johnram]

Hi JR, just wanted to suggest you see your physician or therapist about this as we can't diagnose or even talk about something like schizophrenia/psychosis b/c we don't have any lived experience/background/training except with CPTSD. I will say I've haven't come across either in the academic literature about comorbid physical/psychological illnesses/conditions though.

I have talked to a couple of therapists, and they said that i didnt display factors that would give them concern, however the thought came back up hence the ask

[Boatsetsailrose]

Hi John ram
I understand these types of fears and I've had them over the years... Fear of developing schizophrenia, fear I have bi polar etc.. I don't have these fears anymore. For me it was good to explore the research, speak to others and I did at one point go to a psychiatrist for assessment around bi polar...which I didn't get diagnosed with. Its a horrible fear to have that I could have had something else on top of cptsd which as we know is quite enough... Thank u v much. So for me there came a point when I decided to let the fear go and trust that none of the other diagnosis would knock at my door. As someone who also is now addiction free my risk is so much lowered.
Fwiw.. As an ex psych nurse the majority of people diagnosed with schizophrenia who come through services are in their 20s..

[woodsgnome]

I think the risk might come down to how all the messes fit together as a whole within the person's general makeup and subsequent actions. One reputable scholar I read also pooh-poohs the idea that parental indicators of schizophrenia are not likely signs that their children will develop it as well. While his research seems sound, the evidence varies.

One reason this topic rings a bell for me stems from my initial assessment with my current T over 3 years ago. A big part of my life had revolved around a form of improv acting. Interestingly, this seems to have saved me in allowing me to access my 'true' inner character better than I could manage in 'real' life at that time. There's lots more, but to spare the details, my T later told me that she made a note after our first session, wondering if I might be schizophrenic, one reason relating to the giant importance the acting seems to have been for me.

After the second session, she decided 'no way' was I schizophrenic, at least on the surface. What the acting bits were doing was accessing my inner core, my true (or at least more 'real') persona/spirit. And I went at it hard, developing a strong character portrayal that, secretly, was less acting and more 'see the real me'.

I was well aware, and glad of, the difference in how I 'did' life at that point. Especially in retrospect, I can see how the role play worked almost like an inner deep core 'self-therapist' (one writer calls this "the soul's code"), but I never heard distinct voices and/or any of the other clues that can indicate schizophrenia.

Bottom line -- I remained aware of and felt like I was a whole person, but without the baggage (for a while) of the early stuff formed during various traumas. Yet, those got hidden in the process, and the harmful impacts have since resurfaced. But any notions that schizophrenia was in play were apparently 'false' indicators.

That's just one anecdotal slice from my own experience, but relevant to the topic (I hope  ). In what you write, Johnram, you seem well aware and cognizant of how this concerns you. But that awareness, in itself, suggests that you really haven't dropped off into the tell-tale signs of full blown schizophrenia.

Again, though, just my untrained observation.