Plain-language, educational articles on schizophrenia, psychosis, antipsychotic medications, and lived experience — by ColdAI.
REM sleep — the dream-rich phase of the night — is altered in schizophrenia in measurable ways. Understanding REM helps explain dreams, medication effects, and cognition.
MedicationZiprasidone is among the most weight-neutral atypicals — but it requires food for absorption and demands attention to cardiac safety.
PreventionPsychiatric genetic counseling helps families understand inherited risk for schizophrenia honestly — without overpromising or fuelling unnecessary fear.
Drug interactionsMost antibiotics combine fine with antipsychotics — but a few common ones can sharply raise drug levels, prolong QT, or cause unique problems with clozapine.
WorkplaceRemote work helps many people with schizophrenia stay employed — fewer sensory demands, more sleep control, less daily disclosure stress. It also has real costs. Here is how to think through both.
Crisis modelsThe CIT model — born in Memphis in 1988 — trains a subset of patrol officers in mental-health crisis response. It is now in over 2,700 US communities, with mixed but meaningful evidence of impact.
Negative symptomsAsociality is a reduction in the drive to seek social contact. It is not shyness, not anxiety, not preference for solitude — and the difference matters for treatment.
Rare presentationsFolie à deux describes the rare but real phenomenon of one person's delusion being adopted by someone they live closely with. Treatment usually involves separation and care for both.
StoryAfter my third hospitalization, my discharge nurse said: 'A routine doesn't have to be impressive. It just has to be repeatable.' That sentence saved me.
GeriatricAn older adult with new hallucinations or delusions might have late-onset schizophrenia, a dementia syndrome, delirium, or a medical condition. Sorting it out matters enormously for treatment.
Early onsetSeveral antipsychotics are FDA-approved for adolescents with schizophrenia. Choosing one is a careful, family-centred conversation about benefits, side effects, and monitoring.
State guidesNew York has one of the most developed public schizophrenia systems in the country — the OMH, HARP plans, OnTrackNY for first-episode psychosis, and Kendra's Law for assisted outpatient treatment.
FitnessYoga has been studied as an add-on to medication in schizophrenia for over two decades. The evidence is modest but real — particularly for negative symptoms and quality of life.
DisparitiesLatino Americans with schizophrenia are less likely to be diagnosed early, less likely to receive specialist care, and more likely to face language and immigration barriers — even when insurance is available.
Substance useNicotine replacement therapy is the most accessible cessation tool for people with schizophrenia — and the most commonly underdosed. Here is how to use it well.
Legal & FinancialSSDI is the disability insurance you paid into through payroll taxes. If you worked enough years before schizophrenia disabled you, the benefit is usually larger than SSI — and the rules are different.
BehaviorsHoarding in schizophrenia is rarely about love of objects. More often it reflects paranoia, executive-function difficulty, or symbolic meaning attached to specific items.
InternationalCanada's universal health system covers schizophrenia treatment, but services vary widely by province. Here's how Early Psychosis Intervention programs and other supports actually work.
InteractionsAntipsychotics block dopamine. Stimulants release it. Combining them is not always wrong — but it requires a clear clinical reason and careful monitoring.
HallucinationsVisual hallucinations occur in roughly a quarter of people with schizophrenia, but they are also a hallmark of several neurological conditions. The cause matters.
DelusionsGrandiose delusions can feel exhilarating from the inside and devastating in their consequences. Here's a careful look at why they form and what helps.
CopingReality testing is a core CBTp technique for working with strong beliefs that don't match what other people see. Done well, it is curious — never combative.
StoryI left a town of 4,000 people in Wyoming to find a psychiatrist who would actually answer the phone. It worked, but it cost more than I knew how to count.
StoryI am 36, I have two kids under ten, and I take an antipsychotic every night. This is what an ordinary week looks like — without sugar-coating and without despair.
StoryThree antipsychotics didn't work. Clozapine did. Here is what the first year of weekly blood draws, drooling pillows, and quieter mornings actually looked like.
StoryAfter eight years and four medications, my psychiatrist suggested clozapine. This is a composite story of what it actually looks like to start it — the blood draws, the drooling, and the quiet return of an ordinary life.
CaregiverWhen the parent who has lived with schizophrenia all your life starts aging, the caregiving role often shifts from sibling or partner to adult child. Here's what changes — medically, legally, practically.
CaregiverSchizophrenia is a marathon, not an emergency. Here is how to support a loved one steadily over years — without burning out or losing yourself in the process.
StigmaFrom horror films to evening news, the media's image of schizophrenia is dramatically narrower and more violent than the reality. Those portrayals shape policy, hiring, and self-perception.
RecoveryThe Clubhouse model, founded at Fountain House in New York in 1948, has built a global network of communities where people with serious mental illness work, belong, and recover.