Keep Hearing Voices and Can't Study

I'm planning to head back to school this summer and I'm worried I can't make the grades because I keep getting mad at the voices I hear from being schizophrenic. It's really irritating and provocative. I'm currently on Risperdal for the voices, but is there any medication that can help me sit still and focus so I can study. I get stressed out easily. I constantly want to move or do leisurely things because I can't concentrate. I'm easily disturbed. I'm dysfunctional, but I can't live this way or else I'm going to get in a lot of trouble in my older years. I'm currently 30 years old and am trying to pursue a college degree. How can I study better and tune out the voices. The voices purposely try to irritate me, although I don't believe in anything they say. Any advice? Thanks!

hi jcgrace
well, i question whether risperdal is the right med if you are still hearing voices, or if you need a higher dose. the purpose of taking an AP is so that the voices go away. i would go to your dr and basically tell the provider what you said here and see what can be done. welcome to psych central. you will find we have several forums where you can post about your concerns and receive feedback from other members. you will get a lot of support here. again, welcome

It sounds like you may need a more sedating AP. Call your dr. Are you in therapy at all?

Congratulations with pursuing a college education. I have been in some disturbing situations a year ago where I was pursuing a degree and had to go on medical leave. I kept waiting for the dean to email me to return to the school, but she never did and I did not have the confidence to follow up with her.
I remembered that I could not focus on the words on the page. I was also hearing voices. It was during that time that I was not taking my meds. It was a very disturbing time and I ended up being hospitalized. I missed paper and test deadlines. It was horrible. The hospital prescribed me risperdal, but it gave me bad side effects.
Are you in therapy? What is your counselor telling you? What are you going back to school for? I was trying to make it in social work, but it was very systems oriented and I found it hard to concentrate. I later found a link with my thinking and concentration. The hallucinations and delusions that I had got in the way of my concentration. It was a block. As a result, I still find it hard to concentrate and have memory problems. I just had to accept that this is something that will not simply go away. Now, with medication and psychotherapy, I am staying the course. Good luck

Music helps a lot...

Welcome to Psych Central. Sorry you are struggling with voices.

One thing I try is a breathing exercise to focus on breath instead of fighting with the thoughts.

Breathing exercise with natural breathing do not force.
If you are feeling very anxious or angry or just want to calm down, you can try a breathing exercise that takes the attention away from the trigger of anxiety to a simple tool of counting breaths.

Find a comfortable position seated or laying down. Begin to relax your breathing. Silently count 1 on the inhale, and two on the exhale. Then silently count 3 on the inhale and 4 on the exhale. Continue up to 10 or until you lose the count then return to one. No judgement. I sometimes end up at 18 then smile and return to 1. The idea is to focus on the breath and the counting and not get sucked into the anxiety or anger trigger. Also works to quiet the mind.

I have to watch what I eat because foods I eat can stabilize my moods or exaggerate them. A high protein low carb diet with snacks or meals every 3-4 hours will over time reduce my swings. I also avoid alcohol and recreational drugs because those can really increase depression.

Other lifestyle changes that help me are doing yoga, exercises, mindfulness, calm music, and being active on Psych Central.

Glad you are joining us here. There are lots of compassionate people here that can make the load lighter by sharing and caring. Feel free to participate actively at Psych Central.
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Please feel free to private message me or any of the Community Liaisons by left clicking on the name in blue to the left of their post) for questions or just to share.

Hello and welcome to Psych Central jcgrace6oz!!! It's nice to meet you. You have joined a community of warm and caring members who will want to offer you support and advice. Yours is welcome as well.

Please feel free to contact any community liaison or moderator if you need help navigating the forums. It will take some time for your first five posts to appear as they are being evaluated and then you will be able to join chats.

I have to agree with kali in that you may need a slight adjustment in your medication. I've also found that a low dose anti anxiety prescribed by my psychiatrist helped me a lot with intrusive thoughts. A very low dose to avoid fatigue and drowsiness.

I look forward to seeing you around!!!

i second this. music helps A LOT. i am also going back to school.
i usually listen to instrumentals. trip-hop or post rock, yep. that helps when studying. helps me anyway.
you also may need an adjustment in your risperdal. so yeah, all options covered in this thread. hope you find what works for you and good job in not letting your MI get in the way of your life aspirations.

welcome to psychcentral.

Hi, I feel empathy for you. I have been through the same road. In my case I would try relaxing with friends/family before attempting any endeavour requiring concentration later. Anyway, if the disturbances persist with the voices, try not to blame yourself or feel guilty because you can't concentrate. Tune out from work and patiently allow that tornado(crisis of voices) to pass. It will eventually subside in its time. It may take days, weeks or more... The important thing is to stay positive throughout and not allowing yourself to feel guilty for the time/opportunities lost. Everything shall be fine.

I second or third the music suggestion. I always study with music.

There's a possibility you have comorbid ADHD. You at least have inattentional, and hypereactivity issues when your'e trying to concentrate, and ADHD medication might be helpful. I have a friend with schizoaffective who's hallucinations got worse, or weirder, I should say (lots of 10 foot tall bunnies), when she was put on adderall which is a stimulant, but a non stimulant ADHD med like Strattera, or possibly even Wellbutrin (although that's not helping my attention at all) could help your attention and ability to focus without worsening the hallucinations. Hallucinations often get worse on stimulants.

ive found recently that the voices work in relationshipal ways, and use things like fridges and air conditioners. I have created object blocks and grounding methods along with mental disconnections and actually tonight found the voices are linked to my frontal shins (lower leg).
oddly as i pinched my left leg, the frisge clicked along with it, as i pnched harder, the fridsge made odd sounds.

It may appear to you to be that way but those are psychosis thought patterns. Not rational ones.

Ive had too much experience getting the audio i hear to react to my expirements to believe in the simple lies of pharmaceutical drug dealers explanations.

I'm no pharmaceutical sales person. I'm just a rational person. (Right now at least) I did a degree in analytic philosophy and have an eye for rationality. Has nothing to do with pharmaceuticals or psychiatry. I know there are lies within both of those systems but I also know how to recognize psychosis as I live it too. I just rationalize the voices and visions and perceived patterns as products of a mind that is working in an unusual way. I find my psychoses interesting from a scientific standpoint and try not to get caught up in believing what the psychosis would have me believe.

Abilify has helped me with my hallucinations. My dose was increased earlier this year.

I'm so sorry that you are dealing with this. I know what it's like.

It's weird because I've never heard voices or seen anything that's not really there, but my moods are still messed up.

And you have schizoaffective not bipolar?

Risu, I doubt if it is adhd. I was in the same situation that grace was in with trying to study and couldnt get a single thing accomplished. I spent 6-8 hrs, on an almost daily basis. I was so interested in the material and I wanted wanted to learn. I was so interested in the material.However, my memory problems were off the charts and I did not retain much information.

Grace, I understand what you are going through. I made it through grad school being on 8 mgs of the Risperdal. My mind was fuzzy. There were times I did not know what was going on. I certainly had problems concentrating. Eventually, the Risperdal exacerbated my symptoms and gave me horrible side effects. I probably heard voices maybe once a week at the time, but I was even more paranoid. This was back in 2004. What got me through graduate was a lot determination. I was fully dedicated to my coursework. It was way high on my priorty list.

I had a psychotic break in late November of 2013. However, I did not think it was out of the ordinary from what I was going through since getting my diagnosis. I was slated to pursue another graduate degree for the spring semester. I was unraveling. I was having all these delusional thoughts that would not go away. They took over my mind and thought processes. I would be in the library thinking that I was a conductor of a band and the students played a symbolic musical instrument (their coursework). I was controlling the flow of things in the library. I switched locations so many times, thinking that a different environment would help me to concentrate. That did not help. At the time, I was on the Abilify and it also gave me bad side effects. Sadly, I did not graduate. I ended up being hospitalized for more than half of the spring semester and did not submit important coursework on time. The school was not even sympathetic to my situation. At the end of the semster, I spoke with the dean and explained to her my situation. Luckily, I read before seeing her that I can take medical leave, which includes mental illness as a reason. I asked her if I can take 2 years off, but she settled on only 1. I got the feeling that she never wanted me to return and she never did contact me to do so. My loans were already maxed out regardless.

Since then, I have been on the Olanzapine and Geodon. You can ask your psychiatrist about these medications. They did not give me horrible side effects. I also am in the process of applying for disability. I am working on taking care of myself, my sanity and mental health during this time.