Combating the fear of schizoophrenia

I've posted this elsewhere before. For me, it's the best way to end the obsession.

Most people here, like myself, on the one hand have an intense fear of developing schizophrenia, and on the other know that they won't.

However consistently reminding yourself that you're not insane does little to help matters, in fact it often just intensifies your fear, your constant affirmations of your sanity only serving to reinforce the view in your mind that schizophrenia's such a "big, bad" problem.

Sure, you might rationally know you're not gonna go mad, but your still scared stiff by the possibility.

So what you need to do is lessen the fear itself instead of just avoiding it.

The best way I've found to do this is to diminish the perceived severity of the problem. Say to yourself - even if you may not really, at first, believe it - "schizophrenia wouldn't be so bad - you can lead a normal life with it on meds", or "I wouldn't really mind having it, actually - I wouldn't be aware in any case".

You may not, right now, "want" to think like this. In my own case, I even harbored feelings that I'd tempt fate and "make" myself schizo by thinking in this way. In the long run, however, at least for me, it's greatly helped, and allows me to forget the problem entirely.

I've even got to the stage where I think it will be kind of amusing going schizoprenic. Of course, it wouldn't be at all, but thinking this way stops me from dwelling on it.

Diminish the fear and you learn to forget and move on. Give it a try.