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Schizoaffective disorder is a diagnosis of a very poorly understood mental illness, so how long treatment lasts depends on what little mental health professionals actually know. Not much. But the symptoms they look for to arrive at that diagnosis are a very specific subset of the DSM-5 menu, and they have to be observed over time in particular ways.Once the schizoaffective disorder diagnosis is established, it’s assumed to be permanent (or at least until research reveals some way to stop or reverse the illness) and typically progressive. I’m using qualifiers such as “assumed” and “typically” because, in the absence of brain tissue samples or exploratory surgery, doctors cannot be certain of the cause or variety of a mental disorder. They do have pretty solid grounds on which to base their vague assumptions, including scans and autopsy data that show brain tissue atrophy at a statistically high level in victims of schizoaffective disorder (and schizophrenia generally). Current research points toward inflammation as a culprit, but nobody knows why, yet.Medications treat the symptoms; there are no proven drugs or therapies that cure schizoaffective disorder at this time, and claims of such things are mostly bogus. There is a growing body of evidence that early intervention is critical for any treatment to stop or reverse the progression of these illnesses, but it appears that medication is only a small factor of many. In practice, a schizoaffective patient without treatment will get worse and worse; they will not get better. A patient on antipsychotic drugs will still get worse and worse, but the symptoms will be muted—though it can take a lot of trial and error (and time and money) to achieve an optimal treatment regime. So, treatment can (will) change, but it lasts until the patient quits, the patient dies, or a cure is found and applied.That may feel bleak, but focusing on treatment to slow down the illness is hopeful, and it’s better than doing nothing. Treatment duration also depends on your definition of treatment. Medications often come and go for the same patient, initially while determining the most effective one(s), and later as the illness progresses. Therapies, a frequently neglected part of overall treatment, can also vary in duration as patient behaviors morph.Besides finding and maintaining good medication and therapeutic treatments (both!), there are other things one can do to help:Stay educated about mental health so you can navigate health care without being taken advantage of, and so you can educate other people to reduced social stigma, advocate for yourself, and raise awareness (fund research!).Support mental health by supporting physical health. This is at least as important as sleep, especially if current theories are correct about inflammation as a root cause of (some) mental illnesses. For example, eating foods that are converted directly to glucose (sugar, starch, etc…) is known to trigger systemic inflammation. Stop eating those things and you will reduce inflammation. It may or may not slow a degenerative mental illness, but you will feel better.Exercise for fitness, but for mental health, too. Stress is a main trigger of psychotic behaviors, so anything that reduces stress will help with treatment.Still on that topic, get plenty of good quality sleep to support physical fitness and reduce stress and (yes) inflammation. This means being mindful of what ruins good sleep (excess light, noise, and heartburn—probably from eating carbs), and what promotes good sleep (a routine, certain sounds, spiritual pursuits…).Journal. Treatment relies on data, and data require keeping records. Keep a log of diet changes, med changes and habits, symptoms (headaches, pain, hallucinations, cramps, vision, behaviors, anything…). Many people find that writing things down is itself therapeutic, but this also provides excellent clues for causation and treatment, as well as forecasting mental health.Advocate for change. The cost to society of mental illness is very high, but attention on the problem ebbs and surges with public trends. Become active by addressing the stigma of being mentally ill. Other health problems have received more attention by problem-solvers when people affected by them have stood up and made demands; tobacco abuse and HIV/AIDS for example. Write letters, support fundraising and educational campaigns, go to college yourself to become part of a solution if you can. I repeat: mental illness is a big mystery in need of solving. That means it’s an opportunity to make a difference.As you can see, treatment is critical and unending. However, if you have been diagnosed with a mental illness, try not to let the diagnosis or its treatments define who you are. Instead, let them define what you do, at least partly.

I will share with you the steps I took that allowed me to successfully publish my book The Hot Guyde.1. Choose your market.I recommend thinking of your book like a startup company, and like any business, there is one and only one necessary and sufficient condition for your business's success: a paying customer. Your first step is to identify this customer.Try to describe your customer in as much detail as possible. When I set out on writing The Hot Guyde, I wasn't sure who I was writing for. My first conception of the book involved being a generic self-help book that contained basically everything I know. There would be chapters on social skills, finance, psychology, and basically everything anyone would ever need to achieve some generic concept of "success."Ultimately I decided that I should start by focusing on a specific niche. What sort of customer do I understand very well? What frustrations does this customer have? What products currently exist that address these frustrations? How do these products fall short?When I thought along those lines, I decided that my market for my self-help book would be single straight men who struggle in dating. Having once been a member of this market, I understood what these sorts of guys needed, what products tried to help them find it, and how those products fell short. I would therefore make sure my book satisfied in the ways other books and coaching services did not.2. Interact with your customers.One of the ways I felt most of my competition fell short was in a lack of verifiable scientific evidence supporting their advice. I wanted to make sure my advice was on as solid ground as possible. I therefore began reading a great deal of literature about human attraction and social skills. Chapters 1 and 2 were set to be "the science of physical attractiveness" and "the science of emotional attractiveness" respectively, probably with sexier titles.In order to make sure I was moving in the right direction, I posed questions on Quora and in other forums inquiring how much people were interested in this sort of thing. The response was overwhelmingly negative. They didn't think trying to alter their personalities to coincide with what "market research" suggested was attractive would be helpful dating advice at all. And they were absolutely right. This was one of many course corrections I made in my writing thanks to people within my target market reviewing some of my material and letting me know it wasn't what they were looking for. Don't assume you know your customers better than they know themselves. Interact with them as much as possible and share your work as you develop it.3. Outline your book.One of the most common compliments I've received about The Hot Guyde is how well-structured it is. I developed most of that structure before I wrote a single word. Once I understood what my readers wanted, I determined what specific topics I wanted to cover and broke those topics into chapters. I then organized those chapters according to how vital I felt they were for dating success.4. Research.With my topics outlined, it was now time to make sure I knew what the hell I was talking about. Since I knew overcoming low self-esteem was a problem, I began devouring books on low self-esteem to determine what methods were the best means of overcoming it. Once I knew what those methods had data demonstrating their success, I began reading books and scientific literature on how best to execute those approaches. I then researched how these methods could best be converted into a self-help program. This research became Part I of The Hot Guyde. I went through similar procedures with each subsequent topic.As you research, make sure to take very detailed notes including citations. Having a detailed bibliography or citations page will add a great deal of credibility to your work and will be a boon to anyone hoping to research your topic further. It's a pain in the ass while you're working, but it will save you a lot more pain when you're trying to put together your final product.5. Write.The part most writers do first is finally here! For what it's worth, there was a lot of overlap for me between steps 3, 4, and 5. As I did my research I discovered things I believed to be true that turned out to be bullshit and thus had no business being in the book. I also discovered new topics that proved incredibly helpful and inspired entire new chapters. In terms of writing, it will often be a lot easier to heavily research a specific topic and then immediately write the chapter while it's fresh in your mind as opposed to researching the entire book and then having to rely more heavily on your notes. When you feel you've mastered a given topic, go ahead and write that chapter. If there is one step you prefer (you might like the learning element of your research better than the writing, or vice-versa), this approach also makes sure you can look forward to the part you like while helping you endure the part you like less.6. Edit.Cut. Cut. Cut. Your book is too long. It is always too long. Be vicious in what you decide isn't essential. Always be looking for ways to say the same thing in fewer words. Assume that your readers are lazy and that they all have ADD. Assume they read at the 8th grade level. Yes, this is difficult, especially when you're talking about complicated topics. Treat it like a puzzle. The truest test of intelligence is how well you can communicate complicated ideas in simple ways.Don't be afraid of re-writing an entire chapter. It's going to happen and it's for the best. I think I went through a dozen drafts of The Hot Guyde before I even put it in front of my Beta Readers.7. Find Beta Readers.When you have a product that you think is about 90% of what you want it to be (and I mean that in terms of quality, not in terms of word count), look for beta readers. You want your beta readers to include a variety of people including the following:Members of your target marketPeople well-versed in the topic of your bookWritersEach of these people will provide you with a different kind of feedback. Your target market will let you know what parts of your book are most and least helpful. The educated readers will let you know when you're writing something factually incorrect. The writers will make you aware of poor stylistic choices.Finding good Beta readers will be difficult. Most of them are going to flake on you. The most reliable ones will be your fellow writers as they will already be in the habit of reading and editing their own work. You will also be able to offer them an equal exchange wherein you beta read their books in exchange for them beta reading yours. The other two will be more difficult. I recommend simply inviting lots of people you trust who are interested in your book and assuming only 25% of them will actually follow through.8. Rewrite your book.Rewrite the whole book according to the feedback you get from your beta readers.9. Decide whether you're going to publish traditionally or self-publish.The remaining steps depend heavily on this decision. If you self-publish, you are truly founding a startup. You will be in charge of finding your own editor, cover designer, marketing system, and so on. Writing the book will prove to only be half of the job, if that. In exchange, you will retain more revenue and control in the book's publication.If you publish traditionally, you add a new party into the mix who will have an interest in your product. They will take care of many of the business elements with which you are unfamiliar, such as distribution, marketing, editing, and so on, but will want some say in the content of the book, how it is marketed, and will take a substantial cut of the money the book makes.10a. Send out your query letters.If you choose to publish traditionally, it's time to start looking for representation. This means sending out query letters and generally trying to find an agent. There are also writing competitions you may wish to compete in as a means of earning some attention. Agents will read a portion of your work along with an initial synopsis. If they like what they read, they'll ask for more. If someone likes your book, they will ask if you'd like them to represent you, and if you agree, they will begin negotiating with publishing companies on your behalf. If not, many agents will give you feedback on how you can improve the book. At that point, return to Step 8. Otherwise, proceed as your agent tells you.10b. Hire an editor.If you elect to self-publish you will need to hire an editor. Do not assume you do not need an editor. Once you get to this point you're going to be thinking your work is perfect and might even feel slightly insulted that another writer could make it better. Humble yourself.I recommend posting an ad with the Editorial Freelancers Association available at http://www.the-efa.org/. I got much better traction and quality of responses through their job board than I did through any other media I attempted. I recommend sharing a 200-500 word sample of your work for them to edit and show you what they're capable of. I also recommend adding some intentional errors into your sample to check and see if they catch them. Your best candidates will be those who catch all your intentional errors, catch unintentional errors, and modify your writing in a way that preserves your own voice. Of the more than 100 people who auditioned to edit The Hot Guyde, only 3 of them were able to pull that off, so be prepared to go through a lot of papers and make yourself a spreadsheet to help keep track of the process.11. Make any necessary changes to your book.Once your publisher's editor, or your editor, has completed their work, you may need to make some final modifications. Indeed, you may need to go through several drafts working with your editor, though I encourage you to minimize this as much as possible, as it will get expensive.11b. Find a cover designer and an author photographer.Find someone to design your cover and a photographer to take your author photo. I personally had great success using upwork.com. You can find some amazingly talented people offering very inexpensive services if you're willing to hire overseas. I encourage you to do so. The photographer, of course, will need to be local.12. Publish.Publish it! If you're self-publishing through Amazon or something similar you'll have to do a lot of work formatting it for kindle, Createspace, and whatever other platforms you mean to publish for. This is a pain in the ass and will take time.13. Promote.Whether you self-publish or publish traditionally you will need to promote your own work. It's up to you how you do this. I'm still figuring it out, so I don't know what to tell you except that word of mouth is king and Amazon’s marketing service is awful.Good luck.

For readers’ reference, the statement was in a comment. It is this:“But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”I have been told that based on basic rules of language, English, etc, that the part that says “healed” MUST exclude physical healing.”The reason for interest was: “I have been told that based on basic rules of language, English, etc, that the part that says “healed” MUST exclude physical healing.I don’t know why. I’ve never heard of a rule that would make that such concrete claim.”Pursuant to your topic of interest as specified, the simple answer is that I see no reason whatsoever for this English sentence alone to exclude physical healing.Pursuant to your question as phrased, the most logical interpretation of these words is that some man (“he”) was punished by beating and whipping (“wounded”, “bruised”, “chastised”, “stripes”; the implied context is punitive) because of (the most logical interpretation of the word “for”) choices which in the eyes of an unnamed actor are bad (“iniquities” and “transgressions” are active choices, but “our peace” implies that some of the transgressions were things left undone which ought to be done, such that the combined context is simply choices in general whether for action or inaction) and the punishment leads to our healing (“and with his stripes we are healed”).That is all very well. However, pursuant to the broader context, I can’t help but notice that this isn’t just some passage, but a direct quotation of Isaiah 53:5 as translated in the Christian Standard Bible. Since you’re asking a question about the meaning of a specific word from a text of non-English source language, it behooves us to take a look at the interlinear translation of this passage directly form the original (in this case Masoretic Hebrew) source. (You’ve asked for a linguistic analysis, and indeed, it’s easy enough to refrain from bringing up any theology.)The word translated here as “we are healed” is נִרְפָּא, nirpa. Here, in the conjugation of the Hebrew verb לִרְפּוֹא, lirpo, you can see that the word as used today means “we will heal (someone)”. In the original text, the person being healed is specified in the next word, לָֽנוּ, lanu. Lanu is just the Hebrew preposition “to”, suffixed with “nu”, or “us”. So, the full phrase which was translated as “we are healed” literally means this in the modern descendant of the original language: “we will heal to us”. This could perhaps be glossed as “we will heal ourselves”, but it’s worth remembering that languages change over time. The Middle English of Chaucer is barely recognizable to the modern Anglophone’s ear, and this text is many more centuries removed even than that.Thus, it’s worth noting two things: one, that the lirpo link says that it’s a “(lit.)” form (that might mean literary/archaic, or it might mean literal. I don’t know); and two, that here, in the conjugation of the Hebrew verb לְרַפֵּא, lerape, you can see that the conjugation for “we will be healed” is נְרֻפָּא, nerupa.Notice how the only difference between nerupa and nirpa is that their diacritics are different. In Hebrew words, the main “letters” mostly only represent consonants. These letters are marked with accent marks to specify which vowels go with these consonants. If English worked like this, we might have a system where ý means ya, ȳ means ye, ẏ means yi, ỳ means yo, and ÿ means yu.The reason I’ve spent so much time establishing nirpa/nerupa as the word meant here is because both derive from a three-letter root, ר - פ - א, whose meaning, heal, is used in a vast panoply of contexts, both literal and non-literal. In Semitic languages, these roots give rise to many different words in many different forms. The root ר - פ - א gives rise to the Hebrew words not just for healing in a Biblical sense, but also for words with thoroughly modern meanings like מִרְפָּאָה, mirpa'a, clinic, or תְּרוּפָה, trufa, medicine or drug.The reason I’m giving you so much context is so that from now on you can look up words on your own. To figure out the linguistics-based usage notes for what any Bible word means in any Bible verse, this is what to do: first, you go to the interlinear page for that verse; second, on the interlinear verse page, you pick which orange English-language word(s) that you want to look up, and click on the blue English-alphabet Hebrew-language words above them to an overview page, like this one, containing all uses of the Hebrew-language word in question (in this case nirpa). You can then compare how this form of this word is used in other Bible passages. If the word in its specific form is common enough, you’ll get a good sample of usages in varying contexts.In this case, we get several examples of nirpa being used in the context of the healing of leprosy. Thus, by pure linguistic and grammatical evidence, I (admittedly as someone who has never been formally taught Hebrew), see no good reason why the term healing in the sentence in question should be construed to explicitly exclude physical healing.———It is worth noting, however, that absolutely nothing that I’ve said can be construed to be evidence that this sentence positively includes physical healing.If I were to say in English “drugs healed me”, this sentence would be true. It would not, however, mean that drugs healed me in all ways. Maybe drugs did heal my lacerations, but didn’t heal the cartilage, leaving me with joint pain. Maybe drugs healed the cancer, but healing the cancer couldn’t restore the kidneys. Maybe the drugs healed my depression, as I hoped, but failed to heal my anxiety, unlike what I hoped. Maybe they healed both my depression and my anxiety, but actively created a new problem with erectile dysfunction. Lots of real-world states can be encoded in this phrase “drugs healed me”, despite the fact that it is describing a settled reality; how many more true meanings, then, can be encoded by a future-oriented phrase such as, “drugs will heal you”?The Bible may very well be the same way. The sentence, linguistically, clearly encodes a broad range of possible meanings; but the broad range of possible meanings does not imply that all possible meanings are meant equally. Human languages can only be properly interpreted by making reference to the understood context of assumptions which contemporaneous speakers would naturally make. Thus, without solid grounding in the assumptions of the time, it’s difficult to say with complete certainty what forms of healing were being positively included. To figure that out would require a deeper literary analysis of the Bible as an ancient document; and you specifically stated that you wanted the analysis to involve rules of language, making no mention of literary or theological analysis.My capacity for linguistics has no more to say on the matter.