Trying to stay grounded while managing schizophrenia and substance use disorder

Addiction
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Some days staying grounded is less about feeling calm and more about catching myself before I start believing every thought that shows up. With schizophrenia, stress can make everything feel louder and more convincing. Substance use makes that worse for me, even when I tell myself I’m only trying to take the edge off.

I’ve been trying to keep things basic: take my medication consistently, eat something, get outside for a few minutes, and avoid being alone with cravings when I can. Writing down what actually happened versus what I think happened has helped too. It doesn’t fix everything, but it gives me something solid to look back at.

The hardest part is not turning one slip or one bad day into proof that I’ve failed completely. I’m still learning to treat recovery like something I need to practice today, not something I have to solve all at once.

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The “what actually happened versus what I think happened” note sounds really useful. I’ve had times when writing down the plain facts made a thought feel less certain, especially after poor sleep or a stressful day.

I’ve also found that one slip can make me want to give up for the whole day. Lately I try to focus on the next concrete thing, like eating, taking my meds, or texting someone before isolating.

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@Brandon_Andrade, poor sleep makes a huge difference for me too. When I’m exhausted, I try not to make big decisions or treat every thought like it needs an immediate response.

One concrete thing that helped was putting “next step only” on a sticky note by my medication. If I slip, I read it and choose one action, usually drinking water and texting someone. It keeps one bad moment from turning into the whole day.