Schizoaffective Disorder Online Support Group

Does anyone here struggle with self-injury on top of the scizoaffective symptoms? I have struggled with it and had 4 1/2 years without until 2 weeks ago when I started it up again to try and calm the voices down. I feel like it keeps the big self harm at bay when I have little amounts of injury, but today I really had to reign myself in because there was part of me that wanted to hack my entire arm...it is very habit forming and I fear that it has replaced the drinking I used to do...traded self-injury for drinking 4 1/2 years ago and now traded drinking for self-injury...I can't seem to escape self-medicating no matter how I try.

The closest I have come to self harming myself is when I get a sensation of worms crawling under my skin. I want to scratch or cut them out. Probably not the same as what your going through, but I felt close enough to at least mention.

I hope that you can soon get past these feelings because we need you here.

Robert

Sorry if this is late. I use to just go and walk and not know where I was going. I walked one time like fifty miles or so cause I was hurting so bad inside. I wore work boots that were really tight and it was the middle of winter. I wanted to walk until my feet fell off. I had such bad blisters on my feet and could feel them in my shoes,but didn't care. Somehow the authorities got hold of my parents and they brought me back to their house. My feet were so messed up and swollen and I didn't care. I wanted to walk some more. I did it again a few times and ended up being taken to the hospital. I still walk but not that far anymore and I made a promise I wouldn't go off and just walk like that anymore. I still walk though around my place I live and I find myself pushing myself and so I back off and try to look in the distance and just enjoy the outdoors.

I have some experience with self-injury...I haven't done anything in a long time, but in my teens I used to cut, and have a few scars from burns from a red-hot lighter. I also have very bad scars from a suicide attempt where I really messed up my wrists, but I don't want to go into too much detail about the damage I did...

Last time I cut was maybe 8 years ago, and it was bad enough to scar. I guess my meds help cause I only have done these things while unmedicated...I hope you find a way to stop too.

i used to cut myself when i was a teenager too. but not badly. good luck with you. take care.

I ended up going inpatient for about 1 1/2 weeks while my pdoc upped my meds into a therapuetic dose. I am back home and feeling better.

Glad you are feeling better and I hope you are able to keep taking your meds as needed, take care of yourself and be well

Thanks I am hoping to maintain some sort of balance so that I can stay out of the hospital for more than a month. I am planning on keeping up my meds and starting therapy through the county mental health center.

That's great