psychotic-psypport

[psychotic-psypport]

You know how, historically, humans build on each other? How every advancement and discovery has been a jumping off point for every other advancement and discovery? How we wouldn't have lightbulbs without the discovery of electricity? How we wouldn't have vaccines without years of study and experimentation? How instead of just being flat out smarter than the people who came before us, we are just better informed and more educated thanks to them, and that we couldn't be the society we are now without them in our rear view mirror?

I know a lot of people who talk badly of their past selves. I'm guilty of it too, but the same concept applies. Every version of you before this one had less information to work with than the one you are now. Maybe you learned coping mechanisms, figured out difficult truths, realized things that changed you. That doesn't mean you were stupid back then. It means you learned something and made it possible for the you that exists now to be healthier and happier and better than before. You're going to give that same gift to all of the versions of you that come next, the ones you haven't become yet. Be grateful for all of the discovery and advancement and trial and error you went through before, not hateful. You've always been doing your best. You just know now how to make your best even better.

[psychotic-psypport]

every time someone makes schizophrenia or psychosis joke , every single psychotic in the world should get a million moneys as compensation

[psychotic-psypport]

psychotic autistic flag

[psychotic-psypport]

hello i hope you are doing well today!! i had a question and this seemed like the place to ask it

im still recovering from psychosis and since ive been back in touch with reality i have doctors tell me im faking my psychotic symptoms and tell me i just have severe bpd. but ive been hearing things and having delusions since i was a teenager. i was just curious if that’s a “normal” experience for other schizoaffective people? it seems like because im not actively trying to harm myself that it’s just not as serious. ive also had doctors tell me i was lying about being abused in the past and. idk. is that normal in some way? like it’s normal for doctors to dismiss you? i apologize if this is too broad of a question and if you don’t feel like answering i understand!! (/gen) have a nice day!

Howdy!

Honestly, I think most people who experience psychosis get treated like this by at least one medical professional along the way. It's happened to me, too, as a schizoaffective individual. People consistently link ideas of suicide and self-harm with the severity of a mental illness or with the different types. Not all medical professionals are reliable and ready to listen, so I am so sorry to hear that someone went as far as to invalidate abuse that must have been difficult to talk about in the first place. It's genuinely upsetting sometimes that people who are supposed to be helpers and listeners and advocates subscribe to archaic and ableist ideas.

It's not abnormal in terms of experiences, but it should be. I have no doubt that you've experienced the things you've discussed here. It doesn't count for too much and I can't help much, but I see you, I hear you, and you are not alone.

[psychotic-psypport]

You don't have to seek to eradicate "symptoms" that don't cause you distress just because they're "disordered." You're allowed to accept and embrace atypical experiences. Being "normal" doesn't have to be on your to-do list.

[psychotic-psypport]

Shoutout to religious people struggling with mental illness.

Shoutout to all Christian mentally ill folks.

Shoutout to all Jewish mentally ill folks.

Shoutout to all Muslim mentally ill folks.

Shoutout to all Hindu mentally ill folks.

Shoutout to all Buddhist mentally ill folks.

Shoutout to all Sikh mentally ill folks.

Shoutout to all Shintoist mentally ill folks.

Shoutout to all Taoist mentally ill folks.

Shoutout to all Zoroastrian mentally ill folks.

Shoutout to all Shaman mentally ill folks.

Shoutout to all Confucian mentally ill folks.

Shoutout to all Baháʼí mentally ill folks.

Shoutout to all Jain mentally ill folks.

Shoutout to all Cheondoist mentally ill folks.

Shoutout to all Caodaist mentally ill folks.

Shoutout to all Druze mentally ill folks.

Shoutout to all Sarnaist mentally ill folks

Struggling internally and still keeping your faith is something to be proud of. It’s okay to question, waver, and change your mind. Any healthy coping mechanism is a win.

This is not meant to invalidate non-religious mentally ill folks as well! You are also just as valid and loved and worthy.

[psychotic-psypport]

Pls remember that it's okay to take a long time to get better from mental illness. It's not a race and you aren't a failure if other people can do things you can't. We can't all achieve the same things at the same time. Sometimes just getting out of bed or changing a shirt is a big achievement all on its own. Capability isn't worth.

[psychotic-psypport]

if a psychiatric medication dulled your creativity, your “spark”, took away your energy, damaged your personality, your brain, or your sense of self, u are valid. you are not being dramatic, you are not making things up, you are not a “bad patient”, you are not romanticizing mental illness. it’s normal to want to feel like yourself and be able to think clearly.

[psychotic-psypport]

Healing is messy, and that’s okay.

[psychotic-psypport]

I am so ashamed of this but I need to tell someone this, and I am hopeful you will understand. I recently went through my first ever acute psychotic episode. I hear voices of people I know and love telling me they hate me and I need to die. I also have severe OCD and I guess the psychosis warped that as well into making me fully believe that I was a predator and that I had to die to set everyone free. I was so distressed and felt so alone that I met someone online, and that developed into more than a friendship- even though I was married. I saw it as the ultimate out, that once everyone knew what I had done by having an affair, that I could die and fulfill my purpose and make everyone's lives easier...yeah. It still feels real to me. But I'm so ashamed of my behavior and I can't believe I'd do something like this. My wife left me, my friends all hate me, I'm living with my parents and just trying to take it day by day. My wife doesn't seem to believe me that I had a psychotic episode despite what I now see as showing clear signs. Do you have any advice? I feel like the scum of the earth.

Hello there. I'll start by saying I do understand. Psychosis is scary beyond belief sometimes. It can make our brains behave in ways we don't understand. That said, this is complicated situation and I'm going to work through it with a few bullet points that I feel should be emphasized.

This does not make you a monster. People make mistakes. We do things we are not proud of. It happens. You shouldn't have done this, you know you shouldn't have, those are the facts. That doesn't mean you are the sum of the earth and you have the chance now to try and make up for it by seeking help and being better. What you do now still matters and you don't have to be defined by this forever.

You are still responsible for your actions. Our symptoms are not our fault, not by a long shot. However, your actions and how they hurt the people around them are still your responsibility. It doesn't always feel fair, that we are handed more than we can deal with and we have to adjust to hold the weight, but you still behaved in a manner that hurt people. It's on you to learn and move forward to the best of your ability.

You can't force understanding or forgiveness. Your wife and friends may never understand. They might never forgive you. That's something you have to accept. It's a real tough pill to swallow, but they don't owe it to you. If you try to force it, it might hurt those people more and I know you don't want to do that. I assume you've tried to explain yourself and said how sorry you are. Once you've said it, you have to let it lie. After all, those apologies and explanations should be for them, not for you.

This isn't the end of everything. This isn't the end of your life. Things will be different from here on out. Regardless of whether or not things approach your old way of life again, if they forgive you, any of it, there are still things to live for. Don't take this situation as the out. You should keep living and keep going, even if everything changes. There will always be things to live for and goals to accomplish and ways to make your time here worth the pain.

So my advice? Give people space, as much as they need. Let them make their own decisions and don't pressure them. If you take you back, that's wonderful. If they don't, respect it. Go to therapy. Reevaluate. Create coping mechanisms and make plans for what you need to do if things get bad so this never happens again. Don't give up! Keep taking it a day at a time and know that one day, it won't feel like things. It won't hurt like this forever and you can come back from this. It's a tough situation and you are responsible for your actions even if your brain has been unfair, but you are not some irredeemable monster. You're obviously remorseful for what you did and that gives me hope for you. It will be ok.

[psychotic-psypport]

Psychotic people I love you. People who don't respond well to treatment I love you. People who can't afford treatment I love you. People who can't get treatment because of other health issues i love you. People who can't trust others or don't want to be around others I love you. People who always have to be around people I love you. People who are "too needy" I love you. People who will be mentally ill for the rest of their lives I love you. People who hurt themselves I love you. People with personality disorders I love you.

I love you I love you I love you. You are not wrong for existing.

[psychotic-psypport]

ily systems who’s introjects don’t wanna disconnect from their source because it is so entwined with who you are.

ily psychotics who want to keep some of your delusions and hallucinations because they don’t cause you stress.

ily maladaptive daydreamers who don’t wanna quit daydreaming altogether and instead want to keep the aspects that are good and comforting.

ily people who realize that healing isn’t always casting away everything that made you divergent. that sometimes it’s about managing the parts that are bad and keeping the parts that are good.

[psychotic-psypport]

A shout out to psychotic pagans.

A shout out to pagans who have paranoia around thought insertion. A shout out to pagans who have paranoia about being surveilled by gods or spirits. A shout out to pagans who hallucinate demons or ghosts or shadow people. A shout out to pagans who experience messiah complexes. A shout out to pagans who have complex delusions focused around religion.

A shout out to psychotic pagans.

It can be so, so hard to practice when you experience psychosis. The amount of vetting and discernment you need to do can be exhausting. You have to battle through people in the community telling you not to take meds, or fetishising your symptoms because they refuse to see the difference between them and genuine spiritual experiences. Sometimes you have to rule out certain practices entirely, like trying to develop clair senses. Sometimes you might have to take long breaks from your religion or spiritual practice.

All of that is okay. I see you.

[psychotic-psypport]

also hey can we talk about violent psychosis for a sec. cause i really appreciate all the talk surrounding psychosis positivity and stuff but a lot of it is "we're not all violent! sometimes hallucinations can be positive!" like sorry mine are not. im scary psychotic.

im "cant have anything that even remotely could be used as a weapon in the house" psychotic. im "if i miss my meds one day i have to go to the hospital for homicidal and suicidal thoughts that literally aren't my own thoughts but theyre controlling my actions" psychotic. im "im seeing horrors you cant even imagine to the point where i dont exist in the same world as you anymore" psychotic.

im not going to hurt you, i just need help. when im rocking in the corner talking to myself at 3am, remember that i am in a state of terror. im afraid for my life. i either genuinely believe everything is trying to kill me, and i only know one way to deal with it; or something is telling me to be violent or else it will kill me; or i have dissociated so hard that i autopilot myself to violence to try and wake myself up.

some of us are violent, and that's okay, because it has to be, because it's the truth. just get us help.

[psychotic-psypport]

Congrats on coming to the conclusion that you're autistic!! I was professionally diagnosed when I was 12 and you're honestly very justified in not wanting to seek a professional diagnosis yourself

Thank you!! I was always nervous about "faking" a diagnosis even though I've always been pro informed self dx?? So your vote of confidence/validation means a whole lot to me, thank you!

[psychotic-psypport]

Gang I've decided after much deliberation that paying a ridiculous amount out of pocket for a new and official diagnosis as an adult that I'm just going to acknowledge that I'm definitely autistic and not worry about it anymore

[psychotic-psypport]

people with ‘scary’ and ‘weird’ mental issues i love you.

i love schizophrenics. i love psychotic people, i love people on the schizospectrum, i love people with DID and OSDD, i love people with NPD, i love people with PPD, i love people with SPD, i love people with ASPD, i love people with personality disorders, i love people who hallucinate, people who have delusions, and people who have paranoia. i love people who are mentally ill in ways that are viewed as strange and scary by society. 

it is not your fault that you struggle. you are valid. you are deserving of care and you are deserving of love. your issues do not negate any of that.