Psychosis - Blog Posts

I concur with the previous statements and agree that many mental illnesses are unnecessary stigmatized.

Hey if you’re schizophrenic/psychotic I just want you to know that you’re a wonderful person and that you deserve so much better than the demonization, marginalization and stigmatization you face in this society.

he has the same effects on me as a lingering black mold infestation in my house would

alright y'all buckle up i got another rant incoming.

unless you have prior consent from the psychotic person, do NOT reality check them. it may be helpful for some people, but for the rest of us, it is agitating and (at least in my case) makes our psychosis worse.

if curing psychosis (not that curing psychosis is the goal) was as simple as "believe me when i say, what you see/hear/believe is untrue" i would NOT be taking 80mg of antipsychotics each day. i would just believe you. but when you tell me that the belief that is as true as day is wrong, i just feel stupid and angry. i feel stupid (especially if it was said in a patronizing tone) for believing what i believe and i feel angry that you would violate my beliefs like that.

case in point, a couple of days ago my dad and i were having a conversation and he mentioned that i am, whether i like it or not, i am human. he damn well knows that one of my strongest delusions to this day is that i have canine dna that is expressing human proteins, that's why i have a human body. scoffing and telling me that i am human and i'll realize it one day just makes me angry and reinforces my delusion. it doesn't make me believe you.

you can call yourself neurodivergent, but if you ain't normal about psychotic folks, i'll see you in autism hell, bitch.

isn't it insane though how schizophrenic people are viewed as violent and dangerous by the majority of society when in reality schizophrenic people are nearly 14 times more likely to be on the receiving end of violence than to be the perpetrators...

Psychosis is 3x more common in autistic people than in the general population. Why?

This is a question that scientists are trying to answer. There’s not enough research on the comorbidity of autism and psychosis to be sure exactly what all of the reasons are for this overlap, but there are some interesting facts about it that I’ll outline here.

Psychosis is a symptom, which is composed of a constellation of smaller symptoms. Psychosis can be caused by schizophrenia spectrum disorders, but it can also be caused by mood disorders, stress, illness, and substance abuse. And research seems to be showing that autism might be a factor in developing psychosis as well.

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I have always been interested in the connection between psychosis and autism. One of my uncles has a schizophrenia spectrum disorder, which was diagnosed after he went to a psychiatrist to be evaluated for autism- the reason he went in being that he saw himself in me, and wondered if he might be autistic, too. Turns out, he has psychosis.

Within the past few years, I have also been experiencing symptoms associated with psychosis. It would be very difficult for me to accurately identify any “negative” symptoms of psychosis, given that I already experience executive dysfunction, fatigue, sleep & appetite changes, etc. due to my ADHD and physical health problems. However, what I have been noticing are “positive” symptoms of psychosis. Namely: hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia.

My most frequent auditory hallucinations are of my alarm clock, and the cricket alarm on my iPhone. I hear them clearly, as if they’re coming from outside my head, at random periods throughout the day and in different locations, when the actual alarms aren’t going off. Around two years ago, I hallucinated a stranger’s voice calling me into another room. I was extremely confused and disoriented by this, as I got up to look around but nobody was there. I haven’t heard any voices since then, which is good.

I often hallucinate scents associated with significant people, places, and memories, even when those people aren’t present and I’m not in a location where the smell would naturally occur. At first I thought this could be chalked up to migraine aura or something like that, but I don’t get migraines.

I’ve also had extreme “sensed presence” hallucinations where I feel like someone is watching me even though there’s nobody else in the room. At times, this hallucination has fed into paranoid thoughts that there are cameras in my shower drain, etc.

My main delusion in episodes I’ve had in the past has involved the extreme significance of certain numbers and symbols. At the time, I didn’t think anything was wrong. In fact, I was convinced that I was on track to uncover the pattern that organizes everything in the universe, and all of my interpersonal relationships. As part of this delusion I would vocally repeat certain numbers (as a strategy to figure out what they meant), and spend copious amounts of time writing down all of my “findings” in Google documents and notebooks. At one point, I ended up writing down a bunch of dates in a row and adding up all of the digits to discover how they were connected to the numbers 4, 5, and 7, which I had decided were the most important numbers in my life. Looking back on the Google document I stored the data in, I have absolutely no clue what my thought process was at the time.

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So, I’ve been wondering what all of this means.

When I start putting the pieces together to examine my own life, things start to make some sense.

First, as I mentioned earlier, autistic people are 3x more likely to develop psychosis than the general population. Obviously, that statistic is relevant to my situation, since I’m autistic.

But I’m not just autistic. I also have a decent handful of mental illnesses, each of which overlap and carry their own risk factors for psychosis. The main ones I’ll be talking about here are severe generalized anxiety/panic disorder, OCD, and BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder). I consider my OCD and BPD to be ~spicy spinoffs~ of anxiety, because they have the same root cause: my anxious, socially traumatized brain. We’ll get to that in a bit.

For now, here are some statistics:

A study conducted in 2012 found that psychotic symptoms were present in 27% of people with anxiety and/or depression.

A study conducted in 2014 found that people with OCD are around 5x more likely to develop schizophrenia than the general population.

A study conducted in 2017 found that 43% of people with BPD experience hallucinations, and stated that other studies have found prevalence rates of hallucinations in BPD ranging from 26% to 54%.

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So alright, great, I’ve got a lot of risk factors. But what caused me to have those risk factors/mental illnesses in the first place? Let’s look at this specifically from an autistic lens. I’ve already talked about a lot of this in my “Autism and Mental Health” post on our Instagram, but these statistics are worth repeating in this context:

Around 40% of autistic people meet criteria for one or more anxiety disorders at any given time, compared to only 15% of the general population.

Autistic people are 4x more likely than neurotypicals to be clinically depressed at some point in their lives.

Autistic people are 4x more likely than the general population to experience severe loneliness.

Autistic people are 3x more likely than the general population to experience maltreatment (a catch-all term for various forms of abuse).

A study conducted in 2012 found that 63% of autistic children had been bullied, and were 3x more likely to be bullied than their neurotypical siblings.

And what does the research say about the long-term effects of bullying and abuse?

According to a 2012 study, children who are bullied by their peers are at an increased risk of developing Borderline Personality Disorder. And BPD is, as previously established, a risk factor for developing psychosis.

According to a 2014 study, people who were bullied in childhood are 11x more likely to develop anxiety disorders in adulthood, but especially OCD. And, as previously mentioned, people with OCD are 5x more likely to develop schizophrenia.

But the link between bullying and psychosis gets even more explicit than that.

A 2013 study found that children who had been bullied were 2x more likely to experience psychosis symptoms than typical controls, and that children experiencing first-time psychotic episodes were 2x more likely than typical controls to report having been bullied in the past.

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This is not to say that being bullied and abused is the only reason why autistic people sometimes develop psychosis. There are obviously a great deal of different factors, some genetic & biological, that lead to the development of mental illness. But the role of trauma and other social/environmental factors can’t be discounted.

If two people are exposed to the same negative experience, it’s possible that one will become traumatized and one won’t. That’s because one person may have been genetically/biologically predisposed to have heightened fear responses to environmental stimuli, while the other person didn’t have the same predisposition. Yet, the genetically predisposed person would not have been traumatized if they had not experienced the negative event.

I was bullied as a child. I was also abused. Both of those things deeply affected me, because I’m autistic and therefore hypersensitive. The trauma caused me to develop BPD and severe abandonment anxiety, which often feeds into paranoia. My generalized anxiety also morphed into OCD, which caused me to have disturbing intrusive thoughts, and compulsions. All of this predisposed me to develop psychosis. And in the past few years, *surprise*, I’ve started having psychotic symptoms.

When I look back on my life experiences and how they interacted with my autistic brain & positive family history of psychosis, none of this is surprising. It actually makes perfect sense. And because it makes perfect sense, in a way I’m reassured. My hallucinations and delusions fit the pattern, so there’s no need for me to be scared. I know why this is happening. The trajectory is predictable. And if I keep taking care of myself and monitoring symptoms, I know I’ll be alright.

~Eden🐢

Hello hope you're doing good. Question, if you want to answer: what does catatonia feel like for you? I watched a friend have her first catatonic episode last year and she didn't have a good memory of it afterward. I'd like to get some idea of what goes on there. Obviously if this is an unpleasant topic ignore

There are different types of catatonia and not everyone will have the same symptoms; I dont even have the same symptoms every episode. So my experience is just that; mine.

Withdrawn catatonia feels like being stuck inside my body. I can see and hear everything going on, but I can't react to it as normal. It's kind of as if I'm externally inanimate; I can't move (or can barely move), but if you move my limbs for me they stay in whatever position you put me in. I often get stuck in uncomfortable positions because one of the first symptoms I usually get is abnormal or exaggerated movements (and Im hypermobile so its even worse).

It's very hard to describe the actual feeling that goes with it though. It's like being drugged by your own nervous system. My body feels like lead and all my processes feel slowed. Even though I am aware, depending on the episode and trigger I may be confused and/or dissociated.

But I also experience excited catatonia, which is pretty much the opposite of what I described. I cant slow down. I either cant speak or cant communicate normally. I'll repeat things over and over, I'll do the same movements over and over - which usually ends up with me hurting myself. I feel very panicked when I experience this. It doesnt happen as often as withdrawn type, though. And when I do experience it, its usually a severe episode where I flip back and forth between withdrawn and excited.

For me, withdrawn episodes are usually triggered by stress like - dissociation, anxiety, and trauma. Excited episodes are usually triggered by autistic/schizophrenic nervous system overload. Both can be related to/triggered by psychosis, and there's decent overlap between my catatonic episodes and disorganized speech/thinking episodes.

So yeah. If anyone's ever wondered what it might be like, now you know.

Hey I'm gonna be super super vulnerable here. I'm here to say as a psychotic I HATE the representation we get. We aren't scary. We aren't evil. We're dealing with a horrific mental illness it's way scarier to be in then to witness. I want us to be seen as normal people who have lives and passions and families and jobs. I go to school and get awesome grades I'm medicated AND I'm a silly little guy who hates the idea of hurting people for no reason. We are people. I have a somewhat stable life. I want you to help me destigmatize this mental illness and others like it.

not endo but sharing this + also adding on the note that a lot of their posts could be triggering to people with psychosis or paranoia, i checked their blog and YEAH! as a paranoid schizospec person... be cautious guys yeah

i& advise endos to block @ifuckinghateendos , some of their content is upsetting to see . this is not an invitation to harass them , i& assume they are a satirical blog .

stay safe , please !

it bothers me so much when "mental health advocates" are only supportive of the "acceptable" symptoms and disorders...

people who "advocate" for depression but call others disgusting for having trouble showering, or people who "advocate" for trauma survivors but say you shouldnt express your trauma in art or talk about it because its "triggering"...

people who "advocate" for BPD but demonize NPD and ASPD as if they arent in the same cluster...

people "support mental health" until it isnt relatable. people "support mental health" until it cant be romanticized. people "support mental health" until symptoms disrupt life. people "support mental health" until symptoms are noticeable and not easily hidden.

you are not an advocate if you do not advocate for us all. you cannot be a mental health advocate while also talking badly about people with personality disorders, including ASPD and NPD. you cannot be a mental health advocate if you make fun of autistic people who are visibly autistic. you cannot be a mental health advocate if you call the police on someone with psychosis for talking to themselves in public.

if your entire "advocacy" revolves around demonizing more "severe" symptoms or disorders, and romanticizing the "good" and "relatable" symptoms or disorders, you are not an ally. you are feeding into stereotypes.

i have ASPD and NPD. the amount of hate i see in "advocate" spaces is honestly shocking. if your entire advocacy revolves around "helping depressed autistics escape evil narcissists!!!!", you are not an advocate, you are ableist.

people with stigmatized disorders or symptoms should not have to water down the way they experience life and describe their personal symptoms and experiences just to avoid being called bad people. by demonizing some disorders while romanticizing others under the guise of "advocacy", you are spreading misinformation and reinforcing stereotypes. you are worsening the stigma for people who already struggle. you are harming everyone with struggles, because a lot of society does not see a difference of "good" vs "bad" mental illness. to ableist neurotypicals, we are all bad.

you hurt the entire community by excluding your own.

you advocate for all of us, or you help none of us.

My best friend hung herself

3 years ago

I am not afraid to die

Psychosis vent drawing (version 1 is more accurate to how i feel but its a pain to look at lol,,,)

Do not use or post my drawings anywhere.

(reblogs are okay)

Can y'all please stop using words like "delusional", "psychotic", and "narcissistic" as insults. These are terms used to describe mental illness. Mental illness does not make people evil, stop acting like does.

Respect psychotic folk!!!

respect psychotic folk by not assuming they're automatically dangerous or hostile.

respect psychotic folk by not feeding into and/or confirming their delusions/hallucinations.

respect psychotic folk by not calling strangers "delusional" when they disagree with you.

respect psychotic folk by not pseudo-diagnosing criminals as psychotic with barely any evidence.

respect psychotic folk by not interacting with "schizoposting" posted by non-schizo specs.

respect psychotic folk by not showing them potentially paranoia-triggering memes.

respect psychotic folk by not interacting with memes that make fun of the psychotic experience.

respect psychotic folk by realizing that none of the things listed are too much to ask for, and that it takes no effort from your side to not be sanist.

for my fellow psychotics who struggle with thinking someone is in their house, a method I’ve found that really works are these guys:

i put them on my front door and anytime it opens they ring. that way if i think someone has broken in or i see someone who isn’t there i can think back to if the bells have rung, and if they haven’t i can assure myself it’s not real. obviously it’s not fool proof, like if you are prone to auditory hallucinations, but it has really helped me calm down in time to avoid major psychotic breaks. it’s a real lifesaver

nonpsychotics encouraged to rb

What is the difference though? /Gen

so this is coming from what i've learned in hospitals/psych wards/my own experience so it's not perfect but basically, everything with psychosis is rooted in a disconnect from reality while gad is linked to anxiety surrounding the present and future. there is no logical connection with psychotic anxiety and paranoia bc your brain is literally pulling shit out of thin air. bc of that, it is a lot harder to calm down bc you have to find a way to wrap your head around the fact that it isn't real. it can also be practically impossible to do that for some people, meaning the anxiety and paranoia are near constant. the paranoia is often tied to delusions-- so, once again, no reality-- and can be of the wildest shit that don't make sense. for example: someone with gad might be scared someone broke into their house and feel anxious. i get scared that doctors broke into my house to experiment of me and get anxious. same feeling but very different causes. someone with gad might be able to walk around the house and check the locks and calm themselves down. i could do that and still be terrified bc my fear isn't logical.

does that make sense? i can try and explain more if need be!

i have never met an unpsychotic person who knows what it actually means to “not encourage the delusion” …not a single one

What Is A Psychotic Disorders?

Introduction

Understanding psychotic disorders requires or encompassing various aspects such as types, symptoms, causes, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and preventive measures. Psychotic disorders constitute a diverse array of severe mental illnesses characterized by profound disturbances in cognition, emotion, communication, and behavior, significantly impairing individuals’ ability to function in daily life. Despite the gravity of these conditions, advancements in treatment modalities offer hope for recovery and effective management.

Types of Psychotic Disorders

Schizophrenia

This debilitating disorder is characterized by profound alterations in behavior, delusions, and hallucinations persisting for at least six months. It exerts a profound impact on work, relationships, and overall functioning.

Schizoaffective Disorder

Combining features of schizophrenia with mood disorder symptoms like depression or bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder presents diagnostic and therapeutic challenges due to its complex symptomatology.

Schizophreniform Disorder

Resembling schizophrenia but with a shorter duration of symptoms (between one to six months), schizophreniform disorder provides insights into the acute phases of psychotic episodes.

Bipolar Psychotic Disorder

Individuals experience sudden, transient episodes of psychotic behavior, often precipitated by extreme stressors, with rapid recovery typically within a month.

Delusional Disorder

Centered around fixed false beliefs (delusions) concerning real-life situations, delusional disorder significantly influences perception and behavior, persisting for at least one month.

Shared Psychotic Disorder

Occurring when one individual’s delusion influences another within a close relationship, shared psychotic disorder elucidates the complexities of interpersonal dynamics in psychosis.

Substance-Induced Psychotic Disorder

Resulting from substance use or withdrawal, this condition underscores the intricate interplay between substance abuse and mental health.

Psychotic Disorder Due to Another Medical Condition

Hallucinations and delusions may arise secondary to underlying medical conditions affecting brain function, necessitating comprehensive evaluation and management.

Paraphrenia

Although not formally recognized in DSM-5, paraphrenia shares similarities with schizophrenia or delusional disorder and typically manifests in late adulthood, potentially associated with neurological factors.

Symptoms of Psychotic Disorders

Hallucinations

Involving perceptual experiences of stimuli that are not present in reality, hallucinations can manifest as auditory, visual, olfactory, gustatory, or tactile phenomena.

Delusions

These fixed, false beliefs persist despite evidence to the contrary, often revolving around themes of persecution, grandiosity, or paranoia.

Disorganized Thinking

Characterized by disjointed or incoherent thought processes, disorganized thinking manifests as impaired logical reasoning, tangential speech, or flight of ideas.

Bizarre Behavior

Individuals with psychotic disorders may exhibit unconventional or socially inappropriate behaviors, including agitation, catatonia, or unusual motor mannerisms.

Social Withdrawal

A hallmark feature of psychotic disorders is the withdrawal from social interactions and activities, often accompanied by a diminished interest in personal hygiene and self-care.

Mood Disturbances

Psychotic disorders may co-occur with mood symptoms such as depression or mania, further complicating the clinical presentation and treatment approach.

Causes of Psychotic Disorders

Genetic Predisposition

While genetic factors contribute to the risk of developing psychotic disorders, the inheritance pattern is complex, involving multiple genes and environmental interactions.

Environmental Factors

Stressful life events, trauma, childhood adversity, and substance abuse play significant roles in precipitating psychotic episodes and exacerbating symptoms.

Neurobiological Abnormalities

Dysregulation of neurotransmitters, particularly dopamine and glutamate, is implicated in the pathophysiology of psychotic disorders, affecting brain regions involved in cognition, perception, and emotion.

Diagnosis of Psychotic Disorders

A comprehensive diagnostic assessment involves obtaining a detailed medical and psychiatric history, conducting a thorough physical examination, performing laboratory tests to rule out medical conditions, and utilizing standardized psychiatric interviews and assessment tools.

Treatment of Psychotic Disorders

Medication

Antipsychotic medications are the cornerstone of pharmacological treatment, targeting symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized thinking. First-generation (typical) and second-generation (atypical) antipsychotics are prescribed based on efficacy and tolerability profiles, with newer agents offering improved side effect profiles and long-acting formulations enhancing treatment adherence.

Psychotherapy

Various forms of psychotherapy, including cognitive-behavioral therapy supportive therapy, and family therapy, complement pharmacotherapy by addressing psychosocial factors, enhancing coping skills, and improving functional outcomes.

Hospitalization

In severe cases or during acute psychotic episodes, hospitalization may be necessary to ensure safety, stabilize symptoms, and initiate intensive treatment interventions.

Prognosis and Recovery

The prognosis of psychotic disorders varies widely among individuals, influenced by factors such as early intervention, treatment adherence, social support, and the presence of comorbid conditions. While some individuals experience rapid symptom improvement and functional recovery, others may require long-term treatment and ongoing support to achieve stability and prevent relapse.

Prevention of Psychotic Disorders

Although prevention of psychotic disorders remains challenging, early intervention, identification of high-risk individuals, and mitigation of modifiable risk factors such as substance abuse and stress can reduce the incidence and severity of psychotic episodes. Public education, de stigmatization efforts, and access to mental health services promote awareness and facilitate timely intervention.

In conclusion, psychotic disorders represent complex and mental illnesses that profoundly impact individuals’ lives and necessitate comprehensive evaluation and treatment. By addressing the diverse array of symptoms, underlying neurobiological abnormalities, and psychosocial factors, clinicians can optimize treatment outcomes and support individuals in achieving improved quality of life and functioning. Through ongoing research, education, and advocacy, the understanding and management of psychotic disorders continue to evolve, offering hope for enhanced outcomes and reduced burden on affected individuals and society as a whole.

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