Schiz and Giggles

College/University is a tough time for anyone, but it’s especially tough when mental illness is involved: specifically, schizophrenia spectrum disorders. So, this week on the podcast, Kody and Kit tackle each of their college experiences and the roles their disorders played. Kody speaks about how living with schizophrenia in college challenged him, and Kit discusses her battle with schizoaffective disorder and how it challenged her.

Enjoy the show!

Negative and cognitive symptoms are some of the worst parts of schizophrenia spectrum disorders but not everyone knows about them! This week, Kody and Kit are here to change that, to explain what negative symptoms are, what cognitive symptoms are, and talk about what each of those looks like.

For example, both do experience a lot of similarities! Kody (who has schizophrenia) talks about his struggles with memory and Kit (who has schizoaffective disorder) shares her experience with the same issue! But it’s more than that, and that’s what this episode is about.

Peer support is a topic that has come up a few times on the podcast so far, and it’s important to actually bring up what makes someone a good peer support person! So, this week on the podcast, Kody and Kit go over their top green flags that let them know someone is a great and supportive peer. Kody talks about how peer support from those also with schizophrenia was a huge thing for him. On the other side of the coin, Kit talks about how many of her peers don’t have schizoaffective disorder and how that’s worked for her.

The green flags Kody and Kit mention might be new to you, or they might not. Either way, let us know! And if you have one of your own green flags that is different than the ones mentioned in the episode, drop it in a comment!

It’s been a few weeks…AND WE ARE BACK! This week on the podcast, Kody and Kit return to discuss burnout, but also self-care from two perspectives. The first is self-care when it comes to being mental health advocates and the second is just… from the viewpoint as people who are mentally ill! One of the hardest things about preventing burnout is knowing when not to do things, to slow down and try to relax, and finding that balance is hard. And self-care does play a massive role in managing the symptoms of schizophrenia spectrum disorders and life in general. So, today’s episode is about all of that, and hopefully you enjoy it!  

This week on the podcast Kody and Kit talk about travelling while managing mental illness, specifically medications, sleep, and other preparations. Kody has done many domestic flights within the US, and has found fantastic success with long-acting injectable (LAI) medication to manage his schizophrenia on frequent trips. Kit on the other hand, still takes all her medications orally so she talks about how she manages that while travelling internationally with schizoaffective disorder. Kit talks about time zones and how they affect her treatment, and Kody speaks on how he used to keep track of medication on trips before starting an LAI.

Sleep is also talked about, as sleep plays a major role in keeping symptoms under control, specifically if someone has bipolar symptoms like Kit! Together, they tackle what it’s really like to travel with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder to give those listening hope that they can do it too!

TW: Discussion of harm reduction, drug addiction, alcoholism, and self-harm--but know it's all about the recovery from each. If that's not something you're comfortable with hearing/watching, we have other episodes you can listen to! This week on the podcast Kody and Kit tackle addiction and recovery through a harm reduction lens. Harm reduction refers to policies, programs and practices that aim to minimize the negative health, social and legal impacts associated with drug use, drug policies and drug laws in addition to other forms of addiction. Harm reduction is about meeting people where they are at, because this is the real world and recovery is different for everyone. Kody talks about his experience being addicted to drugs, and Kit talks about her struggles with alcoholism and self-harm. It then shifts to how harm reduction plays a role in both Kody and Kit's lives and how recovery has been a big deal for both of them. This is an open conversation that is a tough one to have, but talking about these things is important.

So join Kody (a schizophrenia advocate) and Kit (a schizoaffective disorder advocate) as they talk about addiction, recovery, and harm reduction and what that's meant for each of them.

Sources for this episode and resources to learn more: Kit's statistics about supervised consumption facilities came from this: Ramprashad, A., Burnett, G. M., & Welsh, C. (2022). Harm Reduction: Not Dirty Words Any More. The Psychiatric clinics of North America, 45(3), 529–546. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psc.2022.04.005A more general paper on how harm reduction is used in drug addiction and alcoholism to facilitate recovery: Chan, C. A., Canver, B., McNeil, R., & Sue, K. L. (2022). Harm Reduction in Health Care Settings. The Medical clinics of North America, 106(1), 201–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mcna.2021.09.002A FANTASTIC document on the state of harm reduction on a global scale. This one is really, really, cool and puts into perspective where we are as a society with the concept of harm reduction when it comes to addiction and recovery. Lots of statistics and colorful visuals. https://hri.global/flagship-research/the-global-state-of-harm-reduction/the-global-state-of-harm-reduction-2024/ Happy reading! 

In this week's episode of the podcast Kody and Kit tackle oral vs long-acting injectables (LAIs) when it comes to psychiatric medications. Kody—someone who takes an LAI—shares the reasons why this form of medication works so well with him and his lifestyle and speaks on its profound benefits. On the other hand, Kit has no personal experience with LAIs and instead has been taking oral medications for close to 12 years with incredible success. Both Kody and Kit find value in the form of psychiatric medication they take, and discussing the similarities and differences is what this week's conversation is all about! 

This week on the podcast, Kody and Kit have a frank discussion about mental illness, dreams, and how both learned to live with their disorders. Living with a schizophrenia spectrum illness is hard enough, but when dreams aren’t supported, it can be even more difficult. However, as you’ll learn… that’s also not always the case either. So, join Kody (a schizophrenia advocate) and Kit (a schizoaffective disorder advocate) as they talk about two opposing experiences that show that it isn’t just schizophrenia that has a spectrum.

Enjoy the episode, and tell us what you think!

In this episode join Kody and Kit as they explore the concept of insight when it comes to mental illness. A lack of insight, often called anosognosia, is something that a lot of those with schizophrenia spectrum illnesses deal with, especially before they get help. Both Kody (who lives with schizophrenia) and Kit (who lives with schizoaffective disorder) have dealt with anosognosia, but in different ways, which is what this episode is all about!

So enjoy this fun exploration of two different experiences and let us know what you think!

This week on the Schiz & Giggles podcast, your hosts Kody Green (a schizophrenia advocate) and Kit Wallis (a schizoaffective disorder advocate) explore the differences between schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. While the two mental health conditions have a lot of similarities, there are key things that separate them and Kit and Kody have a conversation about just that!
We apologize for the delay on posting. This podcast will now be posted weekly on Fridays at 12 pm CST, going forward!

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