Plain-language, educational articles on schizophrenia, psychosis, antipsychotic medications, and lived experience — by ColdAI.
Antipsychotics can affect fertility — most often through prolactin. Most fertility issues are reversible with the right medication adjustment and time.
StoryI left Brooklyn for a town of 1,800 people in upstate New York. The quiet was the medicine. Access to care was the cost.
Culture and faithJewish communities range from secular to ultra-Orthodox and bring distinct strengths and challenges to schizophrenia care. This is a guide to resources, ritual considerations, and where to find help.
VocationalSchizophrenia frequently emerges during the college years. Supported education programs are designed to help young people stay in school — or return to it — when symptoms have interrupted study.
How-toSSDI is a federal disability program for workers who have paid into Social Security. Schizophrenia is one of the conditions for which SSA has a clear listing — here is how to apply.
SleepMany people on antipsychotics struggle with the opposite of insomnia — sleeping 12 hours and still being tired. Hypersomnia has causes worth understanding and options worth trying.
RecoveryIndividual Placement and Support — IPS — is the most studied employment intervention in serious mental illness. Across more than 25 randomised trials, it consistently doubles competitive employment rates.
LAIZyprexa Relprevv is the long-acting injectable form of olanzapine — and the only LAI that requires three hours of in-clinic observation after every injection. Here's why.
MedicationQuetiapine and olanzapine are two of the most-prescribed atypicals — both sedating, both metabolically heavy, but with different efficacy and very different roles in practice.
PreventionA 2010 fish-oil trial suggested omega-3s could prevent psychosis in at-risk young people. A larger replication failed. Here is what the science actually shows now.
Differential diagnosisTrauma is common in people with schizophrenia, and PTSD symptoms can mimic — or amplify — psychotic ones. The two conditions need to be addressed together.
GeriatricAntipsychotics in older adults work — but dosing, monitoring, and indication all have to change. The Beers Criteria and FDA boxed warning shape every prescribing decision.
MythsThe blanket idea that people with schizophrenia shouldn't have children carries echoes of eugenics and is not supported by modern evidence on parenting or genetics.
State guidesPennsylvania uses HealthChoices behavioural-health Medicaid managed care alongside a county-administered system overseen by OMHSAS. This guide walks through the structure and the 302 commitment process.
FitnessTai chi is gentle, low-impact, and accessible to people with limited fitness. A growing body of trials suggests it can help with negative symptoms, balance, and stress in schizophrenia.
DisparitiesAsian American adults use mental health services at the lowest rate of any major US racial group. The gap is not about lower need — it is about stigma, family expectation, and a workforce that rarely matches the patient.
Substance useVaping looks safer than smoking on most measures but is not without its own risks. For people with schizophrenia, the answer depends on whether vaping is replacing cigarettes or adding to them.
Legal & FinancialMedicaid is the single largest funder of schizophrenia care in the United States — but every state runs its own program with different rules. Here's how to navigate yours.
BehaviorsImpulsivity in schizophrenia has many sources — symptoms, medication side effects, sleep loss, substances. Knowing which one is driving today's behaviour changes the response.
InternationalAustralia pioneered early intervention in psychosis through EPPIC, built the world's largest youth mental health network in headspace, and funds psychology through Medicare. Here's how the system fits together.
InteractionsCombining SSRIs with antipsychotics is one of the most common decisions in modern schizophrenia care. The decision is rarely binary — it's about which SSRI, at what dose, with what monitoring.
HallucinationsTactile hallucinations are touch sensations with no external source — from feather-light brushes to the unforgettable sensation of insects crawling under the skin.
DelusionsReligious delusions sit on the most sensitive boundary in psychiatry — the line between sincere faith and a belief that has become symptomatic. Both deserve respect.
CopingWhen you are distressed, you cannot remember everything you know. Coping cards put your best advice to yourself in your pocket — short, clear, and ready when you need them.
StoryI spent fourteen months sleeping outside in Phoenix during an untreated psychotic episode. This is what got me back inside, and what it took to stay.
StoryI am 38 and I spent ten years refusing to apply for disability. This is the story of why I finally did, what the process actually looked like, and how it changed my life.
StoryI spent three years at my company before telling anyone. When I finally did — partly out of necessity, partly out of exhaustion — almost nothing about my job changed. Here is what the conversation actually looked like.
StoryIt took three psychiatrists and seven years for someone to use the right word for what was happening to me. This is a composite story of life with schizoaffective disorder.
CaregiverCalling 911 during a psychiatric crisis can save a life — and can also lead to outcomes that make things worse. Here is how to think clearly about which option to use.
Special populationsPeople with schizophrenia are dramatically over-represented among the homeless. The path out is not mysterious — but it requires committed housing, not just shelters.