I’m 65 and I’ve had schizophrenia since I was 19, I figure I got a good ten years left if I keep doing what I’m doing. I guess (not really sure) that most people on here know that the life expectancy of a schizophrenic is less than the average non-schizophrenic. The life expectancy of people with schizophrenia is 10-20 years less then the general population which has a life expectancy of 77-80 years old.
There are concrete reasons for this, many schizophrenics live sedentary lifestyles, not exercising. Also many are overweight and thus more prone to get diabetes and heart disease, and in relation to that many have poor diets. The 10-20 years less is an average of the population. unfortunately the suicide rate is higher which is factored into the life expectancy figures and since some of us die early it brings the whole average down. The good news is that we can beat the statistic if we make the right choices.
I know that the changes necessary to live a longer life are beyond the grasp of many schizophrenics but if we have a good diet, exercise, stay on our medication, adhere to treatment and also get regular checkups we can beat the odds and conceivably live into our 70’s and 80’s.
Personally, I have diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure and I am overweight but my diabetes, cholesterol and blood pressure are controlled by medication and in the last two years I’ve lost 93 lbs. I roughly follow the Mediterranean Diet which is often ranked as the number one healthy diet on lists of diets. I eat a lot of salmon, chicken, non-starchy vegetables, low fat dairy, nuts, healthy fats and make sure to get whole grain bread and pasta. I cut out almost completely stuff like cookies, cakes, ice cream and other sugary desserts and I don’t eat processed meat or processed food in general. I’m hoping this will help me stay healthy.
It’s never too late to make changes, I started eating like this since I moved into my studio a year ago. I limit fast food to once a month but I’m trying for less. I’m not perfect, I still have symptoms and make mistakes but I think when it comes to my health I’m doing a lot of the rights things. My nutritionist and dietician are both trying to get me to exercise, the goal is to walk for 30 minutes three times a week at the minimum and use my free membership at the YMCA to work out once a week.
Like I said, I’m far from perfect but I’m trying to beat the odds and when I can I encourage other people with schizophrenia to eat right and go to the doctor for regular checkups, if I can be an example of a person with schizophrenia managing their health it would help me and them.