College student with signs of schizophrenia, I'm scared please help

[8377]

:( This is long, so bear with me. For the past few years I have realized that I exhibit odd behaviors compared to everyone else. I discovered that I may have schizophrenia when I was researching paranoia, as I seem to have that also and they said that it is often a symptom of a more serious disease such as schizophrenia.

Should I see a professional with these symptoms:

-blank vacant facial expression
-sleep disturbances
-hypersensitivy to criticism/insults
-recurring bouts of depression and feelings of hopelessness
-low motivation/energy/enthusiasm
-inability to form relationships
-social isolation
-increased withdrawal
-becoming lost in thoughts and not wanting to be disturbed by people
-replaying and rehearsing conversations outloud (sometimes I don't even      realize that I'm doing it until someone else has already noticed)
-lack of goal directed behavior
-deterioration of academic performance
-inappropriate emotional responses: I laugh at sad or scary events/memories
-frequent moves/walks that lead no where and serve no purpose
-ruminating thoughts
-becoming incoherent when trying to speak (only happens when I feel nervous)
-difficulty expressing thoughts verbally
-difficulty focusing/concentrating
-very poor memory
-Obsessive compulsive tendencies
-overpowering feeling that people are talking about me or watching me
-feeling that I am being watched spied on with electronic devices
-thinking that people can read my mind
-delusions of granduer
-erotomania (not with famous people but often with professors)
-I have experienced visual hallucinations twice in my life: once within the last few months and the other when I was about 10 yrs old


I know this is quite a list of symptoms. I feel like I've gone about this with a level head and I certainly did not add symptoms that are not present. I am completely oblivious to most of these symptoms most of time.

The warning sign that really made me think that I may have a mental health problem was the other day: I feel I have very mild erotomania in that I always feel that my professors are attracted to me, like I mentioned. Anyway the other day my professor wore a sleeveless dress that exposed part of her back. I felt as though she wore it just for me. I also thought that as she was walking back to her desk, she was looking at the reflection in a glass cabinet to see if I was checking her out and looking at her exposed back.

I wrote this in my journal and realized that there's something not right about the way I'm thinking. I've had feelings like this with other professors also. So that's what prompted my researching possible causes of this kind of thinking.

*sigh...I don't even know why I wrote this. I guess I'm just scared. I know with a list of symptoms like that I'm probably going to need to see a professional. It's just embarrassing and I was hoping I could talk to some other people on here about it. Not that I think anyway would read all the way down to this point...

[sss2727]

Look up Schziotypal personality disorder.

[8377]

Thanks guys, I'm just really scared about it. I'm planning on seeing a psychologist soon anyway for my depression, so I'll talk to her about these symptoms too.

[drifter0213]

you seem depressed and paranoid don't be embarrassed all of us here have schizophrenia or knows someone or a family member who has schizophrenia. i joined medhelp the week i found out i had schizophrenia and sinced then i have joined the community i've researched alot about the illness and have got alot of support from others on here it's a great web-site. see a doctor ok :)

[rudicollis]

Those are possible signs of something similar to schizophrenia, and I do suggest you see a psychiatrist.  Most likely these things can be managed with therapy and medication.

I'm diagnosed schizophrenic and was experiencing many things you're describing when my illness first became apparent.  It is possible that these things could get worse with time and you might experience psychosis.  I suggest highly that you see a professional, it's the only way you'll start to feel better.  

I know it is scary, and I didn't see anyone about it until it got really bad.  Please don't let it get to that point before you see someone.  The earlier it's caught the higher chance you'll be able to manage it.  

I wish you the best of luck.

[ILADVOCATE]

Yes much of what you described could be symptoms of schizophrenia and some of them I myself experienced before my current recovery from schizoaffective disorder (schizophrenia with a mood disorder) such as paranoid ideations, social withdrawal and other symptoms but the best thing to do would be to discuss all this with a psychiatrist as only a psychiatrist could provide a conclusive diagnosis. However since you described some symptoms that cause mood disruption as well it would be worthwhile to use the Mood Tracker here and print out the results for them as there are many variations of psychosis and mood disorders such as schizoaffective disorder and bipolar with psychotic features but only a psychiatrist would understand this in full.