Going on vacation with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder is mandatory for those of us with the disorder. We can't just leave it at home. We bring it along. But that doesn’t mean you can’t unwind, relax, and have fun while on vacation with a mental illness. Sure, there will be tough moments, as there always are with any illness. When you vacation with a chronic illness like schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, the key is to focus on the fun times and not expect everything to be perfect.

Stress and mental illness is difficult to deal with for everyone, but possibly more so for those of us with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. For those of us who do live with these disorders, stress can escalate other schizoaffective disorder symptoms that increase anxiety.  This is what it’s like to live with stress when you have schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

Schizoaffective, schizophrenic voices are a nuisance, to say the least, but schizoaffective, schizophrenic voices can say good things. I usually try not to listen to them, but sometimes my schizoaffective voices are so loud even music can’t drown them out. And sometimes, as other people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder may know, the voices say good, or even helpful, things. What’s up with that?

Some people say that schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder helps them create art (The Positive Side of Schizophrenia). I am a photographer with a Masters in Fine Arts so you might think I would agree. However, my schizoaffective disorder does not help me create art.

Paranoia, extreme anxiety and delusions often go hand-in-hand with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. If a person has schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type (like me), paranoia can attack with extreme anxiety, another offshoot of schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type. Here’s what it’s like to experience paranoia, extreme anxiety and delusions with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

Schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder are often accompanied by binge spending. It feels therapeutic but, remember, you’re not thinking clearly due to the illness. And if you have schizoaffective disorder in particular, you might be in the middle of a manic high. Here’s what can happen with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder when you pull out the credit card for a round of binge spending.

Many people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder don’t know what to do when it comes to having children (Impact of a Parent's Mental Illness on Children). If you want to have kids, that’s wonderful. You know that having and raising them is challenging for anyone and more so if you have schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. I have schizoaffective disorder and no kids; here’s why.

Having schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder in college is really hard. Getting a master’s degree is really hard, too. Dealing double duty can be a real challenge. I got my master’s degree in photography while coming to terms with my diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder. Here’s what it’s like to be in college while battling schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

People with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder become very familiar with the term “functioning.”  Many mental health professionals I’ve worked with say this means you can get out of bed in the morning, shower, and pay the rent. As a person with schizoaffective disorder (a combination of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia), I think life should be about more than just bathing every day and paying the rent. Functioning with schizoaffective disorder means something else to me.

I have schizoaffective disorder, meaning, simply, that I have a combination of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. And I experience auditory hallucinations, even on Easter. I accept hearing voices, but I don't like that it happens. It’s hard to say what brings them on. Sometimes it’s a mix of anxiety and overstimulation; sometimes it’s one or the other. But, whatever the cause, as anyone who hears voices will tell you, hearing voices is not fun. It's difficult to accept hearing voices, but sometimes that's the only way to cope.