Have you noticed, while suffering from your schizophrenia symptoms, that they tend to be cynical in nature? Studies have shown that schizophrenia patients have increased social cynicism. In my personal experience, my symptoms tend to make me extremely cynical. The feelings cynicism give can be a powerful drug. As a result, engaging in cynical thoughts can be an alluring activity.
If you know anything about Tony Robbins or any other motivational gurus/coaches, you’ll know that mindset is everything. At least, when it comes to living a more optimistic and empowered life. I personally scoff at this style of cheerleading and self-back-patting. Conversely, that’s mostly because I possess the toxic masculine trait of refusing to get help. This is something I go into more detail about in my YouTube video about getting disability supports ASAP. But, I digress.
Engaging in cynicism make delusional schizophrenia symptoms difficult to manage
My point is this. In my experience, when you actively engage in a cynical mindset, bad things happen. You end up giving your paranoia and delusions more fuel to disrupt your life. I can be actively cynical about real-world things. As a result, my paranoia and delusions use those cynical thoughts. In turn, they make me paranoid and delusional thinking far more believable. When symptoms are a believable part of your natural thought patterns, you end up tumbling down the rabbit hole.
When I actively limit my cynical thoughts, I find that my paranoid and delusional thinking gets more fantastical. I often have delusions that the 1% of the wealthiest people on the planet are actively seeking to exterminate me. Even though articles like this one from the Cato Institute help me dissuade those feelings, delusions can be fickle to manage.
However, when I become less cynical about what I don’t have and what others do, my symptoms change. Instead, my delusions become more fantastical. I begin to think about zombies and aliens. These are based more on fantasy, rather than the real world. Thankfully, this makes delusions much easier to manage.
Use this powerful tool to reduce cynicism
Turn off the newscast. Permanently. This may be controversial for some. They may say that it’s burying your head in the sand. Without a doubt, it is burying your head in the sand. To that, I say, “Who fucking cares?” Is the world really going to be any worse off if a paranoid schizophrenic isn’t giving themselves a panic attack every time they turn on the television?
This is the sad and disgusting reality of contemporary journalism. News that elevates your heart rate and increases your blood pressure makes them money. Their business model is built entirely around scaring the shit out of you. This is obviously my opinion, so take it with skepticism. However, I think you’ll be hard-pressed to prove me wrong.
My point is, news media wants you to be scared. Being scared makes you stressed. Stress increases your schizophrenia symptoms. This knowledge is schizophrenia 101. One of the first things I ever did to effectively manage my schizophrenia was by turning off the news. It put my mind at peace and finally gave me the patience and presence of mind to begin healing my mind.
News media is inevitable
Once you make your best efforts to avoid the news, there will inevitably be news reports that you cannot escape. Such as the COVID-19 pandemic, or the never-ending scandals coming from the Trump presidency. In my post where I recommend becoming analytical with your symptoms, I give some advice. When it comes to the news that you can’t avoid, think selfishly. Say you live in the Americas and you hear about the USA and Russia are having a proxy war in Syria. Even if you’re a United States citizen, it really is not your problem.
Of course, with news like the pandemic, you can still think selfishly. People dying are not your concern — outside of your civic duty to wear a mask in order to protect others. Think selfishly. Protect yourself. Avoid crowds. Wear a mask. Practice good hygiene and sanitize your hands. Sheesh, all this paranoid behavior — it seems like people like us are well-suited to this!
