[realizer]

Hello,

I am diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder but I am not sure it is correct.

I have problem understanding people and I fear people. I try to avoid direct eye contact with people because it makes me feel unease. There is some kind of fear I have when I look at people's eyes directly so I try to look aside.

I also do not understand people. I have tough time at work because when people explain to me something I have trouble understanding them. I hear them, but their words do not stay. When I am given directions at work and there are several things to remember, I forget them right away. I can hear them but cannot focus on what they are saying.

Also, often I do not hear correctly what people say to me so I have to re-ask once and even twice. If I still do not understand them, it makes me feel very uncomfortable and I do not bother to ask again. I fear people will get angry with me asking them constantly. So I just tell them "Understood!" even if I did not understand because I fear the embarrassment. I tend to avoid such situations and I tend to stay away from people because I do not want that embarrassment to happen.

Due to what I said above, I am unable to work. I had to quit my job recently after working 1 week.

Can anyone tell me what is wrong with me?

Thanks.

[MickeyCheeky]

Unfortunately we can't tell you what your diagnosis may be, @realizer, as we're not Mental Health professionals! What makes you doubt your current diagnosis? I feel like that's something worth discussing with your Pdoc or your Therapist! It does seem like you may be suffering fomr some Social Anxiety, but like I've said, I'm not a professional, so I really can't tell you for sure, so definitely don't quote me on that if you want to find out what you're struggling with! Definitely talk this thing through with them! They're there to help you after all! Feel free to PM me anytime when you need advice and support. I am SURE plenty of others will also GLADLY and WONDERFULLY help you as well! Sending many safe, warm hugs to BOTH you, @realizer, your family, your friends and ALL of your Loved Ones! Keep fighting and keep rocking as much as you possibly can like you're already WONDERFULLY DOING ALL AND ENTIRELY ON YOUR OWN!

[possum220]

Like MickeyCheeky said talk it over with the professional who are handling your care. They know you better than any of the rest of us and they are qualified to make an assessment. If their treatment is helping you the label is not so important. Mental health diagnosis can sometimes vary within a profession. One psychiatrist diagnosed me as schizoid then years later I have another 'label' from a different psychiatrist. Sheesh. There are also times when a person will have a number of issues that affect their mental health not just one.

I also struggle to retain information too and am in the habit of saying I understand when in reality it is like the other person is speaking in a foreign language that I don't understand. When I do need to remember I will write it down. That also saves on the embarrassment of re asking a question over and over.
Other times I will ask my T to send me an email with the key points in our sessions. I have recently taken to using my phone to take pictures of what I need. For example I took a picture of many books so I could get the authors names I did not have a pen and it was quicker.

I have also asked that my psychiatrist write down important things for me to remember down so there is a prompt for me.

I hope that you can clear things up with the professionals. Maybe there are other jobs that would suit you better in the future.

[realizer]

Thanks guys. I wonder if there are others with same symptoms as me and how do they cope with them.