Conference: psychosis as existential crisis

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Tomorrow I have planned to go to a conference. Several speakers and workshops about the topic how extraordinary states like with psychosis or plant medicines are not a sign that someone is sick, but a sign that he/she is in an existential crisis. That psychologists should guide people through these experiences and they should be treated like an opportunity for growth and transformation on an individual and societal scale. And which alternatives to medication are possible.

I am most definitely interested. I tend to see it this way.

But.

I am scared.

I am not sure whether they fully acknowledge the complete destruction psychosis can cause for a person and the people around them.

And I am scared it triggers me. When I start to look at my psychotic thoughts deeply and start to realise there is SOME reality and transformative power in it…which there most definitely was… I tend to slide back into the rather terrifying and destructive “so it ALL was truth”…which is not good.

I want to go. But maybe it is better to just go to the forest, as I planned to do.

Just wanted to share my thoughts, sometimes it helps to type it out and maybe someone has interesting thoughts on it.

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If you decide to attend the conference, pls keep us posted.

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psychosis is hallucinations or delusions

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I will! I already read on their website they want to be careful to not romantize these type of states, just see the potential for growth TOO.

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Of course, but at least in my case the content of my delusions was very much related to my trauma’s, deepest fears and joys, important issues and themes in my life and had the potential to offer some deep insights in things that i and society normally suppress. I believe it is deeply sad that nobody talked and worked with me with the content of my psychosis.

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I don’t believe it’s an existential crisis or an opportunity for growth but I hope you have fun.

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Thanks. I think it varies for each person, I think there are different routes to psychosis and different expressions. For me it was most definitely an existential crisis and I did learn things from it. Psychosis mostly broke things down though, I had rather avoided it.

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I don’t think you can counsel anyone out of psychosis; but being psychotic doesn’t mean you don’t have problems which could benefit from counseling.

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Yeah, it is like saying that someone with cancer is not sick, but is simply in an existential crisis. :grinning:

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I think it’s more a case of existential crisis as a result of psychosis. My existential crisis ended pretty quickly when I started taking effective doses of my meds.

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Didn’t you get the memo? Everything is an opportunity for growth. :wink: :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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Sorry, I wasn’t trying to insult you. I just get upset by people using that word and acting like it means you’re a psychopath.

Marian
November 2 |

Of course, but at least in my case the content of my delusions was very much related to my trauma’s, deepest fears and joys, important issues and themes in my life and had the potential to offer some deep insights in things that i and society normally suppress. I believe it is deeply sad that nobody talked and worked with me with the content of my psychosis. Visit Topic or reply to this email to respond.
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Charla
November 2 |

psychosis is hallucinations or delusions Visit Topic or reply to this email to respond. To unsubscribe from these emails, click here.