Life Insurance.....they think that we do not need it!

Just as with heart disease, cancer, or diabetes--try to get qualified for life insurance with a major psychiatric disease such as schizophrenia, bipolar or major depressive. It's tough! Being a responsible human being, and holding down a full time job while juggling a mortgage, two year old son and a marriage--all while afflicted with schizophrenia has its challenges. To add to the debacle, getting qualified for something like life insurance, which I am currently trying to do, is really a challenge.

In contrast, my wife is able to qualify for non-smoker preferred rates that are 15 times less for the same coverage in terms of premiums. That is to say that since she does not suffer from a brain disease and does not smoke, she is eligible for much better rates. Considering that I probably will not get approved for any coverage, I feel like I got a raw deal.

A Break from Symptoms, at Long Last

So it has been at least three weeks since my last symptoms and I am loving it! I feel like I can actually function at work, home and play for the first time in a while. While some have constant symptoms of the illness, I feel that my disease plays out in a cyclical fashion. For instance, every four years since 1999 when the illness first came onto me, I have had an episode. And by episode, I mean a constant set of symptoms that does not go away and causes temporary disability for two weeks or more.

But since I am feeling well now, I have no reason to think that it will happen again in another three years (since my last episode was in 2007).

Dreams, Normal or Schizophrenia-Based

I am not, by any means, a dream expert--but I need to say that I have always had an extraordinary imagination. This quality in me has proved to be both a blessing and a curse.

For instance, last night I had a dream last night that I woke up and could not move. However, when I woke up, I was still in the dream, and it was in that dream that I could not move or scream or respond to anything around me--in my dream. After getting past how disturbing it was to experience this, I came to realize that not being able to move or scream when you would like to, is not an uncommon experience in nightmares.

Once I came to accept this fact, and read some innocuous magazine, I was able to fall asleep without further incident or dream sequence.

A Cure is Not As Far Away As You Think

Scientists and Researchers are hot on the trail of curing many different disorders and malodies, and they could come up with a cure for schizophrenia in as little as 10-15 years. Imagine state mental hospitals becoming a thing of the past, or the prospect of someone with schizophrenia living on the streets now--and soon becoming gainfully employed!

Well, I am not sure if the picture is all that rosy, but it is certainly promising that the people in the know have a timeline to shoot for. Even if they could virtually stop all of the symptoms for 50% of those that suffer from serious mental illness, that would be a feat.

For now, though, we still need to rely on our current treatment programs to manage our illnesses--and each case is different. So if you are getting help and have a program to follow, good. If not, see a professional psychiatrist as soon as possible.