Opening up to friends & loved ones about your diagnosis

[emmygw14]

Hello! My name is Emmy and I was recently diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, a combination of schizophrenia and a mood disorder. I've been having a hard time the past few months opening up to others about my diagnosis, and wanted to hear from others on this forum...

I wanted to see if anyone on here would be willing to share their own stories and experiences about how they opened up to their families, friends, or loved ones about their schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. How did people initially react? How did you feel about it? It can be either positive or negative, just sharing an experience from which others on this platform can learn and grow from it, as well

Thank you so much! Stay safe!

 

[Purpleplum]

I recommend not opening up. People look at it differently based on the little information they know and tv and movie portrayals.

 

[Purpleplum]

Dogs hide it when they're sick because they're pack animals and the pack would abandon them if they showed sickness.
Humans aren't much different.

 

[emmygw14]

The whole point of this post was to help people become more accepting of themselves and their illnesses that they have to live with every single day, not to shove it down and pretend that it'll go away to make others feel more comfortable... but thank you for your opinion.

 

[FlowerBox]

I'm not sure how to feel, I've opened up to a few people lately and it feels good in the moment but at times I still have moments where I really regret it. They've been supportive but I worry that I will eventually have to cut them out of my life because of trusting them less and less (they "know too much")
But then again sorry to be negative this just may be because of the nature of what I'm dealing with...it's definitely a good thing to get it out Somehow..if you have people you trust who will be supportive, go for it I'm trying to ignore the regret of opening up...

 

[FlowerBox]

I think I've only told one friend what actual diagnosis I've been given though, the others I just talked a bit while I was in a frantic irritable state of mind because of "delusions"

 

[JessisMe]

The whole point of this post was to help people become more accepting of themselves and their illnesses that they have to live with every single day, not to shove it down and pretend that it'll go away to make others feel more comfortable... but thank you for your opinion.

Only my parents know about my illness.
My parents refuse to tell their extended family for fear that they will stigmatize me and reject me.
I don’t tell anyone because I do not want their false assumptions to be projected on me. Not everyone chooses to be open and expressive when it comes to discussing what is a personal and medical matter with everyone. Different people have different levels of comfort with things and that should be okay.

 

[Purpleplum]

The whole point of this post was to help people become more accepting of themselves and their illnesses that they have to live with every single day, not to shove it down and pretend that it'll go away to make others feel more comfortable... but thank you for your opinion.

I'm not saying not to be accepting of yourself. I'm saying that many others are not accepting of it. Should I lie? I'm speaking from experience and the experience of others I know. Wouldn't you want to prevent others from dealing with that?