A Story about Schizoaffective and Alcohol Addiction is a true account of my struggle with schizophrenia and bipolar illness. It has been a life of acting sane and medicating with alcohol. I usually tell people that I went on a twelve-year drunk.
It was only after I got sober, seventeen years ago, at a treatment center, that the mania began to show. I was actually hypomanic and functional at work until 1999. By this time, I had long sold the van, and was finally faced with homelessness.
I was actively psychotic for four years and was hospitalized four times. I am currently in remission, but I have to be careful. This is my prescription: 1) take your medication, 2) see a psychiatrist, 3) see a therapist, 4) don’t drink or drug, 5) work on yourself every day.
It is reported that one in two hundred people have schizoaffective disorder. Probably half are addicted to alcohol or drugs. Little is known about this disorder and people don’t like to talk about it. Rather than this approach, I am exposing my life to provide insight and reduce stigma of all people who are afflicted by this devastating illness.
