Talk:Schizoaffective disorder

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[edit] Schizoaffective.org

Comment on the link just removed:

It seems interesting enough to include. That it is anti-psychiatry doesn't deem it uninteresting, no? Preferable would be to write next to the link: "This page is anti-psychiatry", as they boost this themselves. So can we give people the possibility of making their own opinion instead of censoring for them.

I will reinsert the link as soon as the page starts working, if no one objects.

I think that it is good to hear both sides to this. There are pros and cons to medicating a person with schizoaffective disorder.

--Fred-Chess 05:56, 26 May 2005 (UTC)

I am concerned that this link, with a generic name like schizoaffective.org, might be considered an authority on the disease. This site is strongly and pervasively preaching a message of "don't see your doctor" and even "don't take your meds." This is a very dangerous message for most people suffering from a psychotic disorder since it is the continued use of their medication that allows them to make intelligent decisions. I think if you want to include this strongly POV link in an otherwise NPOV article, you need more than a few words of disclaimer. But I would welcome other opinions. Shoaler 08:39, 26 May 2005 (UTC)

Shoaler, I hope you're not seriously suggesting that the non-medicated mentally ill can't make intelligent decisions. Francesca Allan of MindFreedomBC 04:20, 1 December 2005 (UTC)

Certainly not as a generalization. But some forms and degrees of mental illness can seriously impair a person's ability to accurately evaluate their environment. They read malice where none exists and evaluate average daily situations as threatening. It is very difficult, if not impossible, for persons such as this to make a knowledgeable decision. For many of these people, a specific medication or group of medications can help them be nearly asymptomatic. In such a situation, they are much more capable of evaluating their world accurately and making a knowledgeable decision -- BUT in the absence of symptoms, and if the medication has unpleasant side effects, it is easy to believe that you are no longer sick and to discontinue the medication. Especially when persuasive people tell you that you don't need your doctor or your medication. For people who have worked hard to find the right medication and for whom medication has allowed them the first real chance at living a semi-normal life, telling them not to take their meds or not to work with their doctor, I believe is cruel and abusive. –Shoaler (talk) 19:22, 1 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Cannabis

Should this growing section be moved to the talk page until a consensus is reached? It appears that there is currently only a single contributer (User:71.241.143.23) who is advocating for cannabis use for this illness, while both Shoaler & I have tried a couple of different tact's so far regarding it's inclusion. The current state of this section of the article seems to be verging on original research, and has the potential to flare-up up into an all out edit war. As a matter of fairness I have invited User:71.241.143.23 on his talk page to weigh in on this. -- 63.226.38.196 14:24, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

I have seen claims on the internet of the efficacy of cannabis in treating schizoaffective disorder. I have seen far more discussions of the problems of trying to sort out the symptoms of a patient with both schizoaffective disorder and cannabis abuse. I think that the use of cannabis in treating SA is currently just a footnote and deserves no greater treatment in the article. –Shoaler (talk) 15:01, 14 March 2006 (UTC)
I am new to wikipedia but quite familair with this disorder from all sides. As this article is to be a NPOV article, any unproven or controversial studies can be cited but should not take up 30-percent of the article (i.e. Cannabis). I agree with Shoaler that if Cannabis is to be included it should be nothing more than a footnote or link to another source. Having it in the article is irresponsible. Both students (young and old) and individuals (caregivers or people with the disorder) will rely on the information in this article. You accept a HUGE responsiblility when editing these articles since your insert of POV or unproven information can have a far-reaching, negative impact on many lives. 24.95.36.22 16:39, 1 April 2006 (UTC)DJG

I have reduced this section to a level more appropriate to the degree to which cannabis plays in treating SA. Much of the details of how cannabis is purported to work should be covered in the article on medicinal cannabis since SA is one of many disorders for which a claim of cannabis efficacy is made. I have also added citations to support the paragraph. –Shoaler (talk) 19:03, 2 April 2006 (UTC)

I actually have schizo-affective disorder and although I am pro-marijuana, it does makes my psychotic features worse.Species2112 04:05, 14 October 2007 (UTC)

I agree with what you did. Thanks for fixing this. -- Argon233 T @ C  U ∠  23:33, 5 April 2006 (UTC)


I condensed the cannabis section for more encyclopedic wording, npov, the removal of uncited speculation, and consistency with cited sources. I've tried my best to report in a neutral manner what has been proven, what is speculative, and clear distinctions between the two. I think I've been even-handed. 21:06, 15 October 2007 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Addisonstrack (talk • contribs)

[edit] Signs and Symptoms

I removed the warning message that 70.49.59.224 added to this section because, basically, I couldn't understand the point that s/he was making, and the reference din't help. Schizoaffective disorder is a diagnosis made by a mental health professional, frequently a physician (psychiatrist). The DSM is just a collection of diagnoses with numbers so the professional can communicate the diagnosis to other professionals (and to insurance companies). The DSM does not diagnose anything itself. –Shoaler (talk) 13:02, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Clarification

From the article's intro:

Bipolar schizoaffective disorder is more similar to bipolar disorder than schizophrenia.

Does that mean BSD is more similar to bipolar disorder than to schizophrenia, or does it mean BSD ismore similar to biploar disorder than schizophrenia is? AxelBoldt 18:46, 29 January 2007 (UTC)