Does anyone have insight after psychotic episodes? I’ve read most SZs don’t have any insight into their delusions. Realizing how sick I am is really hard and I haven’t found meds that stop my hallucinations yet. I was just diagnosed 3 month ago. How long did it take you guys to get on the right meds?
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Mental illness exists on a spectrum, and different individuals have different degrees of insight. Those on the most unfortunate end of the spectrum have no insight at all, ever. Moving along the spectrum you see folks with different degrees of insight. Everyone here pretty much has been diagnosed w sz or a related disorder at some point, and also has some degree of insight. It’s also possible to have insight while not in an episode, but then lose it when in episodes, or even to have mini episodes where your symptoms flare up but you don’t lose full insight.
It’s not always like the movies.
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It took about 3 months for my meds (abilify) to kick in after I was first diagnosed. I stayed on abilify for a year then came off it.
I was hospitalised a few years later completely psychotic.
So I tried almost all other meds and eventually went back to abilify which worked.
Finding the right med can take years or (like in my case) they can get it right first time.
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I think sometimes I exaggerate how well I’m doing just to stay out of the hospital. I have those delusional thoughts at the back of my mind and they occur to me with all the same triggers, but I can ignore them on my current med. Otherwise, they make regular work pretty demoralizing. But I don’t deserve treatment so I’ll just isolate until I get forced out of my home.
I think the fact that I know my delusions proves insight, tho. So I’m probably pretty aware of them. I just don’t fully accept the absolute assertion that I’m delusional. Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean people aren’t out to get you or don’t hate you. It just means your instinctive warnings fire a little prematurely, and thus sometimes give a flase positive.
It takes years. But it’s good your aware of having insight already. No one told me about that when I first got sick
I had zero insight as I abused Piracetam and was hospitalized as I kept going on hours long walks and losing my grip on reality. I even did it two more times a few months apart, with the third causing a violent psychotic outburst that I had to be forcefully detained for. Never again.
Piracetam is not a safe drug.
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