what is happening to me?! SOMEONE HELP please?

[Joe]

okay here's the situation. For the past month or so, i've had this strange thought that keeps popping up and its stressing me out a ton! i was diagnosed with anxiety three years ago so i don't know if that will influence what you say. well the thought is this "what if the world is set up so that i'm like a research project" or "what if im being seen by cameras" like i keep having these stupid thoughts that are basically like conspiracy theories against me. i don't believe these thoughts just as you don't believe all of your thoughts as well. but this is driving me NUTS. does anyone know if this is just an obsession similar to what people with OCD have? or is this something else? how do you treat this? thank you!

[Kayleigh]

Well yes, this is an obsession. Unless it is giving you feelings of nervousness, or constantly on your mind and causes lack of sleep, stomach/ chest pains, etc.- it isn't directly linked to your anxiety. Like most obsessions, it could be treated through therapy, and the underlying reason of what is causing this thought can be found. So I would definitely suggest seeing a therapist if you really want to put it to an end. Good luck!

[Helpful Guy]

Here is what you or others will notice about you if you have schizophrenia...

CHARACTERISTIC SYMPTOMS OF SCHIZOPHRENIA:

1. DELUSIONS - false beliefs despite evidence proving they are false:

a. Paranoid delusions (also called delusions of persecution) - you believe people are "out to get you," or people are doing things when there is no evidence of it… (“Martians are trying to poison me with radioactive particles delivered through my tap water.”)

b. Delusions of reference - you believe things seem to be directly related to you even though they are not, you believe people are talking about you or special personal messages are being communicated to you through the TV, radio, other media or objects.

c. Somatic delusions - false beliefs about your body: you believe a terrible physical illness exists or that something foreign is inside you.

d. Delusions of grandeur - you believe you are very special, or have special powers or abilities (thinking you are a famous rock star, or that you can fly).

e. Delusions of control - you believe that your thoughts or actions are being controlled by outside, alien forces:

Thought broadcasting: (“My private thoughts are being transmitted to others.”)

Thought insertion: (“Someone is planting thoughts in my head.”)

Thought withdrawal: (“The government is robbing me of my thoughts.”)

2. HALLUCINATIONS:

a. Visual (seeing things that are not there or that other people cannot see)

b. Auditory (hearing voices or sounds that other people cannot hear)

c. Tactile (feeling things that other people don't feel or feeling something touching your skin that isn't there)

d. Olfactory (smelling things that other people cannot smell, or not smelling the same thing that other people smell)

e. Gustatory (tasting things that aren't there)

3. DISORGANIZED SPEECH/THINKING - Disjointed or rambling speaking where a person seems to be talking to himself/herself or to imaginary people or voices.

a. Loose associations: (rapidly shifting from topic to topic with no connection between one thought and the next).

b. Neologisms: (made-up words or phrases that only have meaning to the patient).

c. Perseveration: (saying the same thing over and over).

d. Clang: (meaningless use of rhyming words)… (“I said the bread and read the shed and fed Ned at the head.")

4. GROSSLY DISORGANIZED - difficulty in goal-directed behavior leading to difficulties in ADLs (activities of daily living), unpredictable agitation or silliness, social disinhibition (lack of restraint), or behaviors that are bizarre to observers, inappropriate reactions (laughing at a funeral).

5. CATATONIC BEHAVIOR – a decrease in reaction to the surrounding environment, being motionless and unaware, having rigid or bizarre postures, or useless excess motor activity, passing suddenly from a state of stupor to a state of extreme excitement (shouting, pacing, violence toward themselves or others).

6. NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS OF SCHIZOPHRENIA - the lack of important abilities:

a. Alogia: (difficulty or inability to speak): slowing or blocked thoughts, or short, empty replies to questions.

b. Affective flattening: (the reduction in emotional expression): including facial expression, voice tone (lack of normal intonations and variance), eye contact (person seems to stare, has a blank, blunted facial expression, doesn't maintain eye contact in a normal way), not able to interpret body language or use appropriate body language, or having flat physical movements.

c. Avolition: (the reduction, difficulty, or inability to initiate and continue goal-directed behavior): not interested in going out and meeting with friends or activities that the person used to show enthusiasm for, no longer interested in much of anything, inability to make friends or keep friends or not caring to have friends, lack of interest in life, low motivation, low energy, sitting in the house for many hours a day doing nothing and sleeping much more than normal, social isolation (spending most of the day alone or only with close family).

COGNITIVE SYMPTOMS OF SCHIZOPHRENIA:

1. disorganized thinking

2. slow thinking

3. difficulty understanding

4. poor concentration

5. poor memory

6. difficulty expressing thoughts

7. difficulty integrating thoughts, feelings and behavior

Schizophrenia is a disease of the brain. You are powerless over your disease. There is nothing to be ashamed of. There is only one way to be well... TREATMENT. You can't do it by yourself. One treatment is going to a hospital that specializes in treating schizophrenia. You will live there for several weeks to several months. Another treatment is what is called an Intensive Outpatient Program, or IOP. Another treatment is going to a psychiatrist. A psychiatrist can prescribe medication for you. So, three treatments are: a hospital, an IOP, or a psychiatrist. Please pick one.

[Midwestgirl]

1) Stop watching the Truman Show
2) Calm down
3) yea you probably have compulsive tendencies. If it was true OCD, it would be more intense and probably would manifest in other ways as well.

Up and/or switch your medication. Obsessive thoughts is a side effect of some drugs.

[Nick M]

Your not the Truman character...please know that no matter how many thoughts you may have, you must have love within you. Have hope and faith and don't give up please. God loves you and has a plan. Anxiety is not good for a person. Please try to pray and meditate.