Answer: Learn from those who experience it. Schizophrenia and related disorders are the most stigmatized by the public, the media, and mental health professionals.
I just stumbled across this brilliant article, thank you!
I had derealisation most of the time for around a year and a half after experiencing postpartum psychosis and HATED it! Knowing my daughter was so little and that I was supposed to feel super present and didn't... I also had no idea that there was a name for that symptom and felt like I was the only person in the word experiencing it.
I knew three people with schizophrenia growing up and, with all three, symptoms seemed very much under control. I knew it was a serious illness but I never saw it as an awful thing to be scared of. It wasn't until I met someone who kept refusing treatment that I realised how bad things can get.
This is an amazing, helpful and accurate summary of psychosis and schizophrenia. The labels of the DSM are detrimental to recovery. My son had a psychotic break at 14 for a few years and now 8 years later he is stable and has a part time job. Unfortunately he’s still on one medication but I pray his next level of recovery is tapering. So much time has been lost but I’m not ever giving up. I am writing about my experiences as a parent on my substack.
I watch Lauren Kennedy’s videos and have written for Robert Whitaker’s Mad in America - 2 of my go-to resources.
A million times yes! We do well to lift up the voices of those who experience extreme mental and emotional states rather than pathologize them.
Many years ago I was a mental health worker in a state psychiatric system. So much of what happened there seemed so wrong to me. Later I went on to get a graduate degree in cultural anthropology and did an ethnography of people labeled "mentally ill." I learned so so much... If anyone is interested, I can share some of the work that came out of that time, I wrote a Substack post about it. One of the fascinating things I found was that while incidence rates of severe 'mental illness' such as schizophrenia were pretty similar around the world, the recovery rate varied greatly -- pointing to the importance of culture as a factor in integrating the experiencing and also how a society views those who are outside the 'norm.'
Wow. That experience must have been incredible. This: "pointing to the importance of culture as a factor in integrating the experiencing and also how a society views those who are outside the 'norm.'" Yes.
It was incredible… to have the 10 years in psych settings, knowing something was wrong but not being sure how to describe it, to returning to that framework to speak with folks who were resisting the biomedical model. It really opened my eyes.
Sarah, I spent many years working with a cutely mentally ill patience in psychiatric settings, but primarily in the hospitals, which provided them the ability to return home after a full day. In the day hospital programs, they were provided a whole series of group therapy sessions of music therapy, and art therapy And work training to prepare them for life and were even able to get some of them jobs. Of course they were all on medication‘s. As of yet, there is no cure for psychosis. However, symptoms can be controlled. When the symptoms are relieved through medication treatment, they are lovely wonderful people. The psychosis, including schizophrenia or a diseases of the brain and I have confidence that one day real cures will be found. I can honestly say that working with those wonderful people was the most rewarding work I ever did.
And Sarah, maybe I need to write some posts about my experiences with them and with their families as well and with the staff who were also wonderful wonderful people
Sarah, one more thing. I think we have to be no I know we have to be very cautious when we speak about a cure for schizophrenia. Yes there are some people who manage to get better. Tragically there are many more who do not. This is a complicated and daunting illness. So I’m advising and not to take away. Hope just to be cautious.
I learned so much from this! One of my favorite games is Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, which features a main character who experiences psychosis. One of the things I love about the game is that the creators interviewed and got feedback from actual people with psychosis to help inform the game.
I just stumbled across this brilliant article, thank you!
I had derealisation most of the time for around a year and a half after experiencing postpartum psychosis and HATED it! Knowing my daughter was so little and that I was supposed to feel super present and didn't... I also had no idea that there was a name for that symptom and felt like I was the only person in the word experiencing it.
I knew three people with schizophrenia growing up and, with all three, symptoms seemed very much under control. I knew it was a serious illness but I never saw it as an awful thing to be scared of. It wasn't until I met someone who kept refusing treatment that I realised how bad things can get.
Love the brain/tree image. I use it for Of a Sober Mind—so evocative.
Good essay Sarah. 🙏👏❤️
Yes, you do!
This is an amazing, helpful and accurate summary of psychosis and schizophrenia. The labels of the DSM are detrimental to recovery. My son had a psychotic break at 14 for a few years and now 8 years later he is stable and has a part time job. Unfortunately he’s still on one medication but I pray his next level of recovery is tapering. So much time has been lost but I’m not ever giving up. I am writing about my experiences as a parent on my substack.
I watch Lauren Kennedy’s videos and have written for Robert Whitaker’s Mad in America - 2 of my go-to resources.
Thanks again for this amazing compilation.
Wow! That’s amazing. So great you’re telling his story.
Thank you, Sarah. It’s been a road. A big part of who I am is because of him. I am very proud of him.
Sarah,
Excellent writing with informational and therapeutic resources. Thank you so much for sharing your truth, and lessoning stigma.
Christopher and family
Thank you!
A million times yes! We do well to lift up the voices of those who experience extreme mental and emotional states rather than pathologize them.
Many years ago I was a mental health worker in a state psychiatric system. So much of what happened there seemed so wrong to me. Later I went on to get a graduate degree in cultural anthropology and did an ethnography of people labeled "mentally ill." I learned so so much... If anyone is interested, I can share some of the work that came out of that time, I wrote a Substack post about it. One of the fascinating things I found was that while incidence rates of severe 'mental illness' such as schizophrenia were pretty similar around the world, the recovery rate varied greatly -- pointing to the importance of culture as a factor in integrating the experiencing and also how a society views those who are outside the 'norm.'
Wow. That experience must have been incredible. This: "pointing to the importance of culture as a factor in integrating the experiencing and also how a society views those who are outside the 'norm.'" Yes.
It was incredible… to have the 10 years in psych settings, knowing something was wrong but not being sure how to describe it, to returning to that framework to speak with folks who were resisting the biomedical model. It really opened my eyes.
Sarah, I spent many years working with a cutely mentally ill patience in psychiatric settings, but primarily in the hospitals, which provided them the ability to return home after a full day. In the day hospital programs, they were provided a whole series of group therapy sessions of music therapy, and art therapy And work training to prepare them for life and were even able to get some of them jobs. Of course they were all on medication‘s. As of yet, there is no cure for psychosis. However, symptoms can be controlled. When the symptoms are relieved through medication treatment, they are lovely wonderful people. The psychosis, including schizophrenia or a diseases of the brain and I have confidence that one day real cures will be found. I can honestly say that working with those wonderful people was the most rewarding work I ever did.
And Sarah, maybe I need to write some posts about my experiences with them and with their families as well and with the staff who were also wonderful wonderful people
Sarah, one more thing. I think we have to be no I know we have to be very cautious when we speak about a cure for schizophrenia. Yes there are some people who manage to get better. Tragically there are many more who do not. This is a complicated and daunting illness. So I’m advising and not to take away. Hope just to be cautious.
I learned so much from this! One of my favorite games is Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, which features a main character who experiences psychosis. One of the things I love about the game is that the creators interviewed and got feedback from actual people with psychosis to help inform the game.
That’s so fascinating. I’ll have to check it out.