So how would you define a psychotic episode for yourself?
How long do they persist?
How would you explain how they come on?
What helps to make them pass?
I would define psychotic episodes as any symptoms of hallucinations or delusions, cognition. By my own definition of it, I’m psychotic daily. With episodes of worsening
I’ve not had a break for over 24 hours in 22 years. I’ve always got some form of mild symptoms. When I have a ramp up of episode, they can normally last 3 days to weeks, before I return to baseline Mild 2/10 symptoms.
Like a dial someone turns up, subtle, then in a flash I may recognize it’s been turned up.
Music, quiet, dark. The least stress the best. My family and dogs, having someone ground me while I’m not doing to hot.
Would love to hear everyone else’s answers.
My psychotic episodes are triggered by stress and anxiety. I used to get very ill very quickly and I would completely lose it and fall down a black hole and have to be put in hospital to come out of it.
They used to persist until treated. I was completely psychotic for nearly a year in 2012 as I evaded treatment and ran away from my home. It was terrible and I have no idea how I finished college. I found some sort of strength somewhere within where I was not going to let it beat me. I had very little insight.
The last few years have been more settled. I persevered with 6 different antipsychotics and other medications and fingers crossed the psychosis is dealt with even though my current med is giving me high prolactin.
I am off work at the moment as I have periodic bouts of stress and anxiety still that cripples me. I don’t quit my meds any more, so the last couple of years my psychosis has remained stable.
My main problem at the moment is dealing with the triggers for my stress and anxiety as even though I don’t get the psychosis part at the moment, it’s still very debilitating when I am trying to work with other people.
On top of that I might have Autism, which means that instead of therapy being a cure, it will be coping skills I have been told.
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My episodes come with stress and are full of anger. The more stressed I am, the meaner I get.
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I am continuously psychotic off meds but episodes of mania or depression normally last around a month.
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To me a psychotic episode can be mild or severe, and it’s basically hallucinations or delusions. Or both.
Up to now in my life, if I’m off meds and they start, they seem to just be continual until I go on meds.
Meds seem to help them pass apparently
They seem to come on from chronic stress, I personally believe for me, it’s also my diet,what I eat habitually, may have an affect. Cos I’m not sure I play it safe and just believe OK yes diet too. Although I’ve still not started gluten and dairy free etc etc I must admit (guilty), I still plan to do that…
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Plenty of one day episodes
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I would define my episodes as believing the things in my mind are real. I know my hallucinations are just hallucinations. Sometimes it’s harder to deal with delusional thinking and i have a little bit of paranoia but i recognize that it isn’t real. As long as i can maintain the fact that it’s all in my head then i’m fine.
Right now i’m dealing with intrusive thoughts from OCD. It would be a lot easier to deal with if i didn’t hallucinate. The hallucinations repeat what my intrusive thoughts are and then they get mad at me when i do have an intrusive thought.
The best thing for me is to ignore them.
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I heard voices everyday for a year, they did stop strangely at 10:30pm most nights which I found strange. They also wouldn’t come until I thought I was in view of a ‘camera’ but towards the end they turned omnipresent. I was lucky at the start and the middle, where they didn’t follow me anytime I left the house. my belief was so strong that I had cameras in the house that I thought they couldn’t see me if I left, and I wouldn’t hear voices. Of course it didn’t take long for them to turn omnipresent. I’m also lucky that I had a med increase around two months after they turned omnipresent. To sum up I heard voices for a full year on and off and was also delusional for the same amount of time
Edit I still hear voices everyday but they are very faint, but they get louder when I get overwhelmed stressed
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I am careful what i feed myself with. Action,thriller or horror movies aren’t good for me. When at all I watch the news or cartoons. I am more careful what i am saying and where. My religion is peaceful, free and sometimes happy.
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The longest psychotic episode I’ve had lasted 3 months and the shortest - 1 month. I’ve had three in total since it all started 4.5 years ago. The episodes mainly consist of delusions and paranoia and I lose my insight. After them I recover very well and am not diagnosed Sz.
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I’m sza rapid cycling mixed.
Stress usually causes panic which causes psychosis. I have prn haldol. ONE time I ended up in the state psych hospital for a month… for psychosis. I was throwing chairs and such.
Most often, today, my prns for anxiety and breakthrough psychosis help somewhat within the hour. Sometimes, it can take more than that, especially if I’ve been sick.
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