Loss of friends after pyschosis. What now?

Oh that is awesome, how did you make new friends?

Iā€™ve tried but they are all distant and dry.

I made new friends through the county mental health place. Theyā€™re sick enough to be on ssdi too so theyā€™re less likely to judge. Although they donā€™t understand it. I have one friend who is bipolar and she had a psychotic break for about 3 months where she saw maggots coming out of her skin. She totally freaked out and scratched at her face and body until she was bleeding. But she still says she couldnā€™t imagine going through what Iā€™m going through. I think what she went through was really awful too. Anyway, make friends with other people who have a mental illness because they are less likely to judge. NAMI is a good place to try too.

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Miss, If you have experienced psychosis it may well be a temporary breakdown rather than a more long term illness like sz. I hope it proves to be true for you. Itā€™s a good sign when youā€™re engaging with re-building your life again. It takes time to recovery to the point where your stable enough to say your doing fine.

A big hi from me :v: Take a look around: weā€™re a friendly group of people trying to make the best of our diagnosis. Thereā€™s lots of help to be had here, youā€™re most welcome.

I actually never had friends, not even in my childhoodā€¦ probably because of my personality type (INTJ). Itā€™s been 9 years since my first and last episode and 8 years and 3 months since I stopped the ā€œantipsychosis treatmentā€ because of the side effects and because all the symptoms has stopped (after 3-6 months of treatment)ā€¦ I never experienced those symptoms again (in 9 years so far) but I still didnā€™t made friends. Iā€™m a loner but never feel alone by myself. As an introvert, I enjoy my companyā€¦ :slight_smile:

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What side effects were you experiencing on the medication? Also what were your symptoms?

Itā€™s hard going through a situation like that. When I went psychotic and everyone in my college cohort found out they viewed me differently and some wouldnt even talk to me.

Sometimes I hope it may have just been a temporary breakdown due to the dress and trauma I was facing at the time. However, my psychosis lasted for over 6 months and didnā€™t go away until I start receiving Abilify Maintena injections. My initial diagnosis at the start of my psychosis during my first hospitalization was schizoaffective disorder. After my second hospitalization it was changed to bipolar disorder with psychotic features. Thank you for the welcome, been lurking on this site for a while and finally decided to join!

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How did they find out? :disappointed_relieved:

I told someone I thought I trusted and they told everyone.

Youā€™re welcome here, miss. Iā€™ve solved the problem of having friends because I live at an assisted living center for the mentally ill. Iā€™m surrounded by people with the same problems as me. I doubt if youā€™re ready to settle down at an assisted living center yet. Be careful. There are people who will take advantage of anyone who is in any way vulnerable.

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Btw, I was diagnosed (9 years ago) with paranoid schizophreniaā€¦
But I only experienced positive symptoms before the treatment. I only had symptoms of some hilarious paranoia and positive delusions (I felt like a celebrity, I felt like everyone was worshiping meā€¦) and I felt likeā€¦highā€¦ most of the timeā€¦ the colors were brighter/more saturated, Iā€™ve could focus myself much better and think profoundly/analyticallyā€¦ I actually loved the symptomsā€¦ I was feeling fearless, limitless/unstoppable/invincible, extremely confident and much more intelligentā€¦ (the fact that I have an IQ of 145 and Iā€™ve been a martial artist at the time helped)ā€¦ just like in the movie Limitless (2011). I kinda miss feeling like that. xD Never been more confident in my whole life. Then I started the ā€œtreatmentā€. I took Xeplion (also known as Invega or Paliperidone). I stopped taking the treatment after reading the side effects: drowsiness, dizziness, headache, lightheadedness, abdominal/stomach pain, upset stomach, nausea, weight gain, cough, dry mouth,breast swelling or discharge, changes in menstrual periods, restlessness, shaking (tremor), blurred vision, decreased sex drive, impotence, infertility or difficulty having an orgasm. difficulty swallowing, muscle spasms, mental/mood changes, or signs of infection (such as fever, persistent sore throat), high fever, sweating, confusion, fast or uneven heartbeats, feeling like you might pass out, tremors (uncontrolled shaking), trouble swallowing, sudden numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body, sudden and severe headache, or problems with vision, speech, or balance, fever, chills, body aches, flu symptoms, or white patches or sores inside your mouth or on your lips. Sudden death. Increased mortality in elderly patients, Cerebrovascular adverse reactions, including stroke in elderly patients, Neuroleptic malignant syndrome, QT prolongation, Tardive dyskinesia, Metabolic changes, Hyperprolactinemia, Potential for gastrointestinal obstruction, Orthostatic hypotension and syncope, Falls, Leukopenia, neutropenia, and agranulocytosis, Potential for cognitive and motor impairment, Seizures, Dysphagia, Suicide, Priapism, Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, Disruption of body temperature regulation, Antiemetic effect, Increased sensitivity in patients with Parkinsonā€™s disease, Diseases or conditions that could affect metabolism or hemodynamic responses.

I canā€™t say that I experienced many side effects though but I was already feeling 100% alright, like before the symptoms. However, the side effects that I experienced were pretty severe/important to me. As a fit professional martial artist (at the time) the Weight gain came like a shock for me. I put on 20 kg (thatā€™s 45 pounds) after the first month of treatmentā€¦ There was also the decreased sex drive and difficulty achieving an orgasm. (I was having a very high libido before so that was an even bigger shock) I considered that an erectile dysfunction which could have led to impotence and infertility if I continued the treatment. It still took me about 2 years to lose all that surplus weight and have a decent sex drive againā€¦ but I never gained back my initial high libido, so to this day I still regret taking the treatment.

Wow I am sorry, did the even experience you during psychosis?

I am actually looking at independent living homes, the only thing is I am not sure I can afford it on my SSDI checks alone.

They witnessed my isolation and bizarre behavior.

Find new friends.
Maybe if they see you are doing the best you are able to, they might come around, if not,
they werenā€™t worth keeping.

Yeah before my treatment I only experienced the delusions of grandeur. I also miss that part too, now everything is flat and boring as the medicine really suppresses all my emotions.

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They shouldnā€™t have told other people wasnā€™t in their place, sorry that happened.

The thing is I have no car , no job, donā€™t go to school, to meet new people.