Was I misdiagnosed with Schizoaffective disorder?
I struggle with OCD and Asperger’s syndrome, and I have been in pharmacological treatment for over a year now. Currently I am prescribed lamotrigine and risperidone. Recently I visited a psychiatrist who additionally diagnosed me with schizoaffective disorder. Before that, I had a diagnosis of delusional disorder.
Since childhood I have experienced delusions, but they were not very frequent. They were mostly about feeling like someone was watching me or reading my thoughts, to the point where I would unplug electronic devices because I was afraid I was being monitored. Over time it became more of a habit, so I did not worry about it as much. It did not make me anxious at one point.
OCD has been a huge problem for me. I feel like most of these delusions are actually caused by my obsessive compulsive disorder. I have not really experienced much mania, but I have had and still have severe depression. Since starting medication, things have improved a lot overall, although my OCD thoughts are still there and intense.
What concerns me most are the delusions. Some of them have faded, but I still have one where I feel the need to cover my face in photos. But I can live with that, it does not affect my life. The real problem started when I tried to stop taking my medication on my own, especially risperidone. After two days I had terrible, extremely realistic dreams, and I started to believe I could not take the medication because God was trying to show me my true self. I was afraid someone was watching me the entire time. It was horrible. When I got back on my meds it had stopped.
When my girlfriend broke up with me, I fell into what felt like a manic episode. I believed I was perfect, that it was her loss for leaving me, and I felt the urge to do everything at once and act impulsively. We are back together now, and since then I have not experienced manic episodes.
I feel like I do not actually have schizoaffective disorder and that these symptoms are caused by my OCD. I also feel like the delusional and manic like states only happened because I have been on medication for a long time and it changed my brain chemistry forever. I only blame my meds for that. It only happens when I stop taking my medications.
How do you tell the difference between OCD related symptoms and schizoaffective disorder? Please help because I am losing my mind at this point.
I have this urge to stop taking meds just to see my true self again.
Posted Jan 7, 2026, 2:56 PM UTC