Plain-language, educational articles on schizophrenia, psychosis, antipsychotic medications, and lived experience — by ColdAI.
First-episode psychosis after 60 has its own name — very-late-onset schizophrenia-like psychosis — and a presentation that's distinct from both classic schizophrenia and dementia.
Early onsetVery-early-onset schizophrenia (VEOS) is rare, often misdiagnosed at first, and demands a careful, multidisciplinary work-up before any diagnosis is made.
MythsDecades of long-term research show that recovery from schizophrenia is real and common — even though clinicians and the public often assume otherwise.
State guidesFlorida combines Medicaid managed care, a network of FACT teams, and the well-known Baker Act for emergency examinations. This guide explains how it all fits together.
FitnessExercise is one of the few interventions in schizophrenia care that improves symptoms, cognition, and physical health at the same time. Here is what the evidence actually shows.
DisparitiesBlack Americans are diagnosed with schizophrenia at three to four times the rate of white Americans — a gap driven less by biology than by clinician bias, structural racism, and how symptoms get heard.
Substance useSmoking rates in schizophrenia are stubbornly high — but not for the reasons popular culture suggests. The biology is real, the stigma is unhelpful, and effective help exists.
Legal & FinancialSupplemental Security Income (SSI) is the federal safety-net program for people with disabilities and limited resources. Applying with schizophrenia takes preparation — but the path is well-trodden.
BehaviorsA quiet weekend alone is rest. Three weeks of not leaving the bedroom is a warning sign. Knowing the difference can change what you do next.
InternationalThe NHS care pathway for schizophrenia is built around early intervention teams, community mental health teams, and structured care planning — here's how it actually works.
InteractionsAripiprazole is often described as a 'milder' antipsychotic, which can lead to assumptions that recreational substances are safer with it. The pharmacology says otherwise.
HallucinationsAround 70% of people with schizophrenia hear voices. Here's a clear, non-stigmatising guide to what auditory hallucinations are, why they happen, and how to cope.
DelusionsPersecutory delusions — the unshakeable sense of being watched, followed, or harmed — are the most common delusion in schizophrenia and often the most distressing.
CopingDistraction is one of the oldest and most effective ways to take the edge off distressing voices. Here are the techniques with the best evidence and how to use them well.
StoryMarcus and I met on a psychiatric unit in Cleveland. Six years later, he died by suicide. This is what that loss has taught me about staying.
StoryI am 51 and started clozapine after thirty years of schizophrenia. This is what nobody warned me about, what was easier than I expected, and why I wish I had started it sooner.
StoryIsolation crept in long before the diagnosis. Coming back out of it was the slowest, most rewarding work of my recovery year.
StoryI was a 20-year-old sophomore when my mind stopped feeling like mine. This is a composite account of what a first psychotic episode in college can actually feel like — and what came after.
CaregiverWhen someone you love is in active psychosis, instinct says to argue them back to reality. That almost never works. The LEAP method offers a better path.
StigmaStructural stigma isn't about individual prejudice — it's about how laws, insurance rules, hiring practices, and zoning codes quietly discriminate against people with serious mental illness.
Special populationsMany people with schizophrenia now live into their seventies and eighties. The illness changes with age — and so should the care.
Co-occurringObstructive sleep apnea is several times more common in schizophrenia, often misread as antipsychotic sedation, and capable of worsening cognition and mood when untreated.
LifestyleA 2010 trial suggested fish oil could delay psychosis in high-risk young people. The follow-up trial didn't replicate the effect. Here's the honest story of where the evidence sits.
LifestyleThe Mediterranean dietary pattern has accumulating evidence in nutritional psychiatry — not as a cure, but as a meaningful complement to antipsychotic treatment.
CrisisPeer respite houses are voluntary, home-like, non-clinical settings staffed by people with lived experience of mental illness. For some people in crisis, they are the difference between a setback and a hospitalisation.
HospitalVoluntary admissions and involuntary holds look similar from the outside but operate under very different legal frameworks. Understanding the difference matters for patients and families.
TherapyWorking with delusions in CBT does not mean trying to talk someone out of a belief. It means building trust, exploring meaning, and gently widening the range of possible explanations.
MedicationPaliperidone is the active metabolite of risperidone. The two share most properties — but pharmacokinetics, prolactin effects, and long-acting injectable options separate them in practice.
MedicationQuetiapine is one of the most-prescribed off-label sleep aids in the United States. The reasons are understandable — and so are the concerns. Here's the honest picture.
MedicationHaloperidol is one of the oldest and most widely used antipsychotics in the world. It is potent, predictable, and affordable — but its side effect profile demands respect.