Let's see. Yes, I do get symptom flare-ups but this is happening less frequently. I would say that one of the coping skills I required came with a college education. Getting my associate's degree helped me navigate society's opinion on mental health. Next would be that the more that time goes by, the more educated on mental health the public is.
That's small potatoes though. The largest and greatest gift I got as I got older, was I now have a support system. My support system lets me vent when I need to get something out without judging me over my flare-up. They are not like, "Well, that was wild, I think you need help." Instead, they are like, "I'm glad you can identify that that which you just said is a symptom." Now I can get things out without judgment and criticism. Because even I recognize a wayward thought and belief. Sometimes, though, they just listen. They listen to the same symptom over and over again and don't think that you are too far gone for society. Sometimes, the symptom from the get just hangs around and never goes away. What does go away is how I handle it. It gets weaker as time goes on.
I always tell someone who is fighting the diagnosis, that if you can prove it, it is not a symptom. But if you can't prove it, it doesn't mean that it is not real, but if you can't prove it, it must be treated as a symptom for now until you can prove it.
That's the best advice I can give when faced with a diagnosis. If I can't prove it, it remains a symptom until I can prove it. Period. Learning to recognize this is what treatment is all about. Yes, I still have symptoms. But, they no longer lock me up for them.