I have recurrent psychosis. They have switched back and forth between sz and non-sz psychosis labels. I wondered: is there really a clear line between sz and non-sz? What marks the difference?
I personally tried to avoid the label sz because there is such stigma and hopelessness attached, from doctors too, that it wasnt serving me. All the doctors were telling me i would die of suicide, i always needed heavy doses of meds, EMDR, therapy and lifestyle changes would be useless, i couldnt work, etc.
@anon73478309 I think I have recurrent psychosis too. I have had only 1 hallucination in my entire life. But I have had multiple episodes where I become unconscious but try to harm myself. Also, I dont think docs really understand the condition either. Psychologists may help with CBT but psychiatrists just want to give chemicals that Big Pharma is selling. They learn the âtruthâ about us from talking to us but have already decided that we are deluded when they talk. How can you learn the truth from someone you already consider is imagining everything? I have found peace with my mental techniques, not the meds. I am going to ask my doc to reduce both my anti-anxiety meds next time I see him. See how that works for my mind. Still sticking to my anti-psychotics and antic-onvulsants.
Diagnostically, yes. In terms of objective differences, Iâm not so sure. If you donât meet the diagnostic criteria for sz, but do for another psychotic disorder, you probably donât meet the required duration or the required symptoms for sz.
Cause all they ever tell me is things like: you have sz, because you have recurrent psychosis. Or: you dont have sz, because âyou dont feel szâ or âyou are too coherentâ (they obviously never visited my house).
Basically, I will simply watch my inner state changing as it changes. I will not argue with the voice. I will not beg it to stop. Simply watch. My brain will start going crazy of course. And the voice becomes stronger. Feels like it is gaining greater control. But I will not become afraid of that fear. I will simply be aware of it, watching it. Let it do whatever it wants. Its a very intense, negative and draining experienceâŚbut I havenât lost control of my mind or body ever since I started practicing it⌠It is kinda like meditation. And I discovered the method when I decided to meditate during a psychosis. And at the end, I feel amazing!
Well the way you describe it, it sounds like they didnât diagnose you according to the criteria in the DSM (Iâm assuming youâre from the US), which would make misdiagnosis very possible. But generally, the other psychotic diagnoses are less severe than sz and require fewer or less stringent criteria.