I was diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder in 1996 when I was 19. It was following 3 years of occasional marijuana abuse, and one year of chronic marijuana abuse (2 joints a day), that was 1996. I was established on resperidone (6mg) which I maintained until 1999. I stopped taking this drug late 1999 and suprizingly my psychotic symptoms improved after stopping. I had no voices off this drug, however while taking it I had many. Then in 2000 like I hadn't learnt my lesson, I began using marijuana again. I had multiple admissions till October 2002 when I stopped smoking marijuana and was established on seroquel. Previously my shrink had prescribed me olanzipine which caused me weight gain, so much so that I refused to take it regularly. However it wasn't until I stopped smoking marijuana that I really got better.

Although much about schitzophrenia is diverse comparing case to case, somethings are very alike.
Please let me know if you disagree or agree.

Many verbal hallucinations are derogratory to the person afflicted.

The way I dealt with this was to change these thoughts as they happened. This took a long time because I was generally interested about how these thoughts ended up as voices and why they were in my head. Eventually I understood that that didn't matter and the fact that these voices were distressing me was enough to want to let them go. I attributed them to my own self image as I was growing up and particularly to what I thought other people thought of me, what I thought other people were saying about me (I never knew for sure, but depending on what had happened, I would create what I thought might have been said about me). What this came down to was my own inability to stand up for my own actions. I was very afraid of others opinions.
I changed this thinking to: ""I don't care what others think about me, if someone has a problem with something I have done and they don't come to me about it then thats their problem. My opinions are valid and important to me. I do not have to agree with everyone."" Please let me know if this is a help to anyone.

Also many delusions by persons affected involve the person in someway being attacked or harmed, and generally the person affected sees others around him/her as threats to his or her safety.

The only way I can explain how to get through this : 1. antipsychotic medication does help this
2. the person afflicted should try to identify what they are fearing then rationalize this(this is where I find that anti-psychotic medication can put the person afflicted in a better position to rationalize this) usually the fears are completely unfounded.
** take this example. I was very psychotic. I was driving my car trying to escape from a man I think was visiting me spiritually in my caravan, and blowing the smoke from the drug ice in my face so I would fall into a coma. After I fell into the coma I thought this man would have sex with me and then bury me alive. What actually happened was I was pulled over by the police, taken to a mental hospital and established on seroquel. It took roughly a month for these huge delusions to settle. Marijuana was an influence in this situation.

I have written this in hope that it may be helpful to someone who has just been newly diagnosed and is having trouble understanding what is happening to them.

Well put, I can relate to everything you've said in your post. Are you currently taking antipsychotic medications?

Did you also hear your own thoughts but in someone else's voice?

Yes, I am currently taking seroquel 600mg daily. I find this quite a good medication.

Yes I have in the past heard voices in my head that sound like other peoples voices. I still however attribute this to me thinking thats what those people are saying about me. I have a photographic memory and can replay sounds in my mind as well.

You know its like thinking that you are psychic and imagining that what you are hearing or thinking is true, instead of just thinking -why am I worrying about this? and I don't give a damn what these people think of me anyway. Like empowering yourself by saying to yourself -it is ok for me to stick for myself- and I don't have to listen to this rubbish in my head any longer. Rephrasing your thoughts from -I am so afraid to leave the house because I can't bear to be seen in public just in case someone thinks I look weird or I walk funny or I'm overweight to - I have as much rights as anyone else to be right here right now and leaving all those worries because they just take up room in your thinking, room you could put to much better use.
It has taken me 9 years to become this well.
Initially I would block the negative thoughts and if I head voices I would not get angry or frustrated that they were there. I would not dwell on what they said. I would hear them, and let them go.

I also have a 'photographic' mind, or should I say 'audiographic'. I can EASILY get a song playing in my head, most of the time I don't even have to try I just wake up in the a.m. and bam there it is. This morning it was radiohead http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

nice post....... my ilusions are religious in nature........ and medication helped for a while but now it got kinda bad even on the lowest dosage.

I dont live in a america so I dont have access to all the new drugs available.

I use Stelazine

I use to be 200 pounds now I am 270

and when I dont take the drug I cant sleep