I think I might be schizophrenic

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I'm not sure but I've always had symptoms of schizophrenia as far back as I can remember. I don't know if it was just my childhood imagination or something else. I remember having an imaginary friend who talked to me in my head all the time. There was actually a group of them and they all wore black suits with sunglasses. But he didn't introduce me to them until I was in about 2nd grade. Note that I had this imaginary friend until I was 14 and then he just kind of phased out. I also had an encounter with Satan's son. That was one of my imaginary friends. He put me through tests where I had to take a steaming hot bath and the next day a really cold bath. He put me through tests that I didn't enjoy but I felt I had to do them. I remember riding in the car and him telling me that he didn't want to be bad. I think my first imaginary friend (He revealed himself as Sirus in my teen years) came about when I was doing chores around the house. He said something about knowing god and he could teach me what he knows. I do though have a faint memory of the guys in black suits being in my front yard when I was about 5 years old. Note that these were not visual hallucinations but just seeing them in my head. I also had experiences where I thought that I could broadcast my thoughts to people.

Anyways, as I got older I started showing some of the negative signs of schizophrenia. In my teen years I started withdrawing, lacked personal hygiene, felt disconnected from people, and I preferred being alone. I just wanted to close myself off in my room. Which I guess is normal for a teenager but I didn't even want to be around my friend.

Now that I'm in my 20s, I sometimes have delusional or paranoid thoughts. Like one time I thought my step mom was in the CIA and she was giving me experimental drugs. But I wasn't 100 percent sure....I just kind of suspected. Sometimes I'm not sure if the things I hear are real even if I have never to my knowledge experienced a hallucination.

So I just wanted to get your thoughts on this. Is it possible to have schizophrenia without hallucinations? I've read the criteria and it seems that I meet it.

Schizophrenia is a spectrum too, and since u r my age when symptoms in females usually occur (18-25), the best thing to do is to get urself psyc. examination....dont wait till symptoms errupt, and u r mentioning u have had imaginary friends till 14, and the age when 'imaginary friends' usually go away is 7, and they usually don't make u take a hot bath and they are usually named Mark, Jo, Ema , Duffy the Duck or sth like that.....one of my colleagues is on schizophrenia spectrum (not paranoid sch) and to be sure, the best thing u can do is visit ur psychiatrist, psychologist or gp.... u can't prevent it, but u can start treatment earlier....wish u all the best

Judging by what I've recently read on the subject, it would seem very likely that you have some form of schizophrenia. You must have delusions/hallucinations, negative symptoms, and something else, but I cannot remember, and you had to have only had two out of the four. Considering you have all three of the ones I listed, it would be more than likely that you had it. Want to get checked out ASAP before anything gets worse.

Bear in mind that you want to talk this over with a doctor (psychologist/therapist or psychiatrist) and not just get an opinion from your friends here at WP. We're not all doctors, but we can surely point you in the right direction, considering pretty much all of us have SOME form of mental illness and can tell you what it's like to have it.

Good luck, I hope you find peace of mind soon

~SDR

The symptoms of schizophrenia and ASD sometimes overlap, especially the negative symptoms, so in order to tell whether you are just a very odd Aspie or have something on the schizophrenia spectrum I think you'll have to go to a psych specialist.

As people previously mentioned, you're at the age where full-blown schizophrenia often appears so it is in your best interest to get checked out as soon as possible, before you could get worse and lose insight into your condition.

Could be also still schizotypal personality disorder, but if I were you, I would go to a psychiatrist to get tested.

Thanks for the responses. I see a psychiatrist so maybe I will bring it up to her.

I would deffinetly bring it up, because the negative symptoms of schizophrenic spectrum disorders can get worse over time and require medical treatment.

Like autism, schizophrenia affects everyone differently. Honestly I do not know if what you are describing is normal for most people or not. I can give some insight though. I have been diagnosed schizoaffective which is schizophrenia with bipolar symptoms. I have been taking my meds consistently for a couple years now and a lot of the symptoms have resided but I some of the ones I noticed were trouble thinking clearly, complete loss of emotion, and a strong sense of derealization (which feels like dreaming while awake or being in a computer simulation). I have also had unusual experiences which most psychologists would describe as delusions and hallucinations. However this is because psychology has not yet explained what schizophrenia really is. I believe it is awareness of extra sensory perception that most people are unaware of and do not understand. Schizophrenia is an overactive awareness of these things and because other people cannot sense it they label it as "crazy". The other disabling symptoms are a side effect of ESP gone haywire.