Symptoms of Psychosis We Don’t Talk About- A Personal Story!

This post is a personal narrative of my friend, who was not showing any symptoms of psychosis despite suffering from the same. But she became aware of her own psychosis and came out of it.

Soneeta was undergoing a prolonged period of stress. As a result, she quickly slipped into a different zone to find solace and peace. But Soneeta did not belong in this zone and couldn’t get any respite.

She was suffering alone in pain and silence.

She finally admitted that she was not feeling fine and that something was not quite right with her.

So what was it that was making Soneeta go insane?

One fine day, she confessed that she was losing touch with reality and hearing and seeing things that didn’t exist.

“I can feel, hear, smell, and taste things that others around me can’t.

Am I losing my sanity?

I am afraid if I share this with others, they will call me lunatic!” 

There were her exact words.

Was she hallucinating?

Yes, she was indeed hallucinating and showcasing several symptoms of delusions. 

“The voices emerging inside my head are causing me to lose control. Those repeated words and dialogues are making me go mad.”

She knew that she was losing herself and that she needed help. 

Like her, many people in our close vicinity may suffer from depression or psychosis, but they go undetected. And to make it worse, we do not take them seriously. 

You may not know what people are going through or their struggles. People may surround them, yet they may feel alone. They may not even realize they have options.

Sometimes, you may not see clearly when you feel cloudy, perplexed, or even suffer from some mental condition. So, you need others to show you the way!

Mental disorder is a complex subject that needs to be discussed, understood, and taken more seriously. 

So, what is psychosis? What are the symptoms of psychosis? And can you be aware of your own psychosis?

Let’s find out before we continue this story of Soneeta towards the end.

What is psychosis?

Psychosis is a state that alters a person’s thoughts, feelings, and perceptions in abnormal ways. Psychosis is a condition that can cause you to renounce touch with actuality. You might believe in things that are not even real. You might see and hear things that do not exist. You may move your body strangely and become intensely obsessed with specific thoughts.

As a result, the person loses contact with reality. When someone exhibits these symptoms, it is called a psychotic episode- a period when the person’s perception and thoughts are disturbed. The person may struggle to distinguish between what is real and what is not. 

People diagnosed with psychosis describe it as a scary experience as they often question their thoughts and struggle to distinguish between what is real and what is not.

Psychosis is a symptom and not an illness in itself. It is the main symptom of psychotic disorders such as bipolar disorder, depressive disorder, or even schizophrenia.

Who can develop psychosis?

Anyone can develop psychosis, affecting people from all walks of life, but young people are more likely to get it. Psychosis often begins when the person is in his late teens or mid-twenties. 

The exact cause of psychosis is not known! 

However, people with these conditions or situations are more likely to develop psychosis:

1. People with underlying mental health conditions such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, or severe depression are more likely to develop psychosis if these conditions are left untreated or if they are not adhering to prescribed treatments.
2. People with a family history of psychosis are at a higher risk of developing it themselves. So, genetic predisposition can be a cause of psychosis.
3. Substance misuse, including alcohol and drugs, can trigger psychotic symptoms in certain individuals. So, substance-induced psychosis can be a reason for their psychosis.
4. Extreme stress or traumatic events can contribute to the development of psychosis in some people, as these events may overwhelm an individual’s coping mechanisms and trigger psychotic episodes.

What are the symptoms of psychosis?

Psychosis does not happen suddenly. It grips the person gradually over a period of time. Typically, a person starts to show changes in their behaviour before it develops, which their family members can note. Many people ask: can you be aware of your own psychosis?

Here are the symptoms of psychosis and a few warning signs to look out for when suspecting psychosis:

1. A sudden drop in the performance of an individual. Such as grade loss at school or college and lack of motivation at work. 
2. Trouble thinking clearly.
3. Trouble concentrating on work.
4. Suspicious behaviour.
5. Lack of trust in others and paranoia. 
6. Social isolation and withdrawal. 
7. They are spending an unusual amount of time alone. 
8. A person may often complain of strange feelings or no feelings at all. 
9. You can see a sudden decline in their personal hygiene and self-care. 
10. They find it difficult to distinguish between what is real and what is not. 
11. Confusion and trouble in communication. 

These warning signs may indicate that a person is on the way to developing psychosis. 

Signs of early stages of psychosis

People who are suffering from the early stages of psychosis may demonstrate, complain or talk about the following things:

• They taste, see, smell and hear things that others do not.
• They have strong beliefs and thoughts regardless of what others have to say.
• They have poor hygiene and don’t take care of themselves.
• They have attention deficit and are unable to think clearly.
• They often maintain distance from friends and family. 

You may:

• Hear, see, or taste things others don’t.
• Hang on to unusual beliefs or thoughts, no matter what others say.
• Pull away from family and friends.
• Stop taking care of yourself.
• Not be able to think clearly or pay attention.

These are the symptoms of psychosis that may indicate the early stage of psychosis.

Apart from the points as mentioned above, the early stages of psychosis can manifest through various signs and symptoms. These signs are crucial for early identification and intervention.

Here are common signs of the early stages of psychosis:

1. Changes in thinking:

• Disorganized thoughts: Individuals may have difficulty organizing their thoughts and maintaining logical reasoning.
• Suspiciousness: Unwarranted suspicion or paranoia can develop.

2. Altered perception:

• Hallucinations: Hearing, seeing, or feeling things that aren’t real is a hallmark sign.
• Perceptual disturbances: Distortions in sensory perception can occur.

3. Emotional changes:

• Emotional fluctuations: Rapid mood swings, intense emotions, or emotional flatness may be observed.
• Increased anxiety: Heightened anxiety or agitation can be a warning sign.

4. Social and occupational impairment:

• Withdrawal: Social isolation or withdrawal from usual activities and relationships.
• Decline in functioning: A noticeable decline in academic or work performance.

5. Sleep disturbances: 

Changes in sleep patterns, such as insomnia or oversleeping.

6. Physical symptoms: 

Some individuals may experience physical symptoms like headaches or gastrointestinal issues due to stress.

7. Difficulty concentrating: 

Decreased ability to focus and concentrate.

Early intervention is essential when these signs emerge to improve outcomes.

Symptoms of a psychotic episode

Apart from the symptoms of psychosis and the early stages of psychosis, as mentioned above, the person during the psychotic episode may have false beliefs about some things. It is called delusion. For example, a person may believe that they have special powers, are on a special mission, or that some outside forces control their actions. 

Another symptom of psychosis is that the person may often hallucinate about things others don’t see, smell, taste, or hear. 

Other symptoms of psychosis may include inappropriate behaviour, incoherent speech, or sentences that do not make sense. People undergoing psychotic episodes may experience the following things:

• Depression
• Sleeplessness 
• Social withdrawal
• Lack of motivation
• Anxiety, etc. 

What can trigger psychosis?

Psychosis is a symptom and not an illness in itself. It can be triggered by mental illness, injury, substance abuse, grief, excessive stress, and trauma. 

Psychosis can also indicate mental illness like bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.

Psychosis can be triggered by various factors, including:

1. Underlying mental health conditions: Psychosis can be a symptom of conditions such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, delusional disorder, or brief psychotic disorder.
2. Substance abuse: Alcohol or drug misuse is a common trigger for psychosis. The use of certain substances can lead to hallucinations, delusions, and other psychotic symptoms.
3. Physical injuries or illnesses: Psychosis can result from physical injuries or illnesses. Brain injuries, infections, and other medical conditions can sometimes lead to psychotic symptoms.
4. Trauma: Traumatic experiences or significant stressors can trigger psychosis in some individuals. These events can disrupt normal thought processes and contribute to the development of psychotic symptoms.
5. Environmental factors: Environmental factors, such as sleep deprivation or extreme stress, can exacerbate or trigger psychosis, especially in individuals predisposed to the condition.

The specific causes and triggers of psychosis may vary from person to person, and a comprehensive evaluation by a healthcare professional is necessary to determine the underlying cause and appropriate treatment.

So, these are the symptoms of psychosis that everyone should know and be aware of. 

Can you be aware of your own psychosis?

Yes, you can be aware of your own psychosis by being cognisant of a few warning signs. These warning signs can include depression, anxiety, uncontrollable thoughts, sudden drop in performance, cloudy thinking, trouble concentrating, lack of trust in others, social isolation and withdrawal, strange feelings, a decline in personal hygiene, etc.

Another warning sign of psychosis that can make you aware of your own psychosis is that you may hear voices, see people, smell, and taste things others may not feel or see. As a result, you may find it difficult to distinguish between what is real and what is not. 

So, it is possible for a person to be aware of their own psychosis.

However, this is not always the case. There are three scenarios:

1. Some people with psychosis may have a complete lack of insight, meaning that they are completely unaware that their experiences are not real. So, these people are not aware of their own psychosis.
2. Others may have partial insight, meaning they may have doubts about their experiences, but they may still believe they are real.
3. Some may have full insight, meaning that they are fully aware that their experiences are not real. So, these people are fully aware of their own psychosis.

Several factors can influence a person’s level of insight into their psychosis and affect their awareness levels. These include the severity of their symptoms, the type of mental illness they have, and the stage of their illness.

For example, people with schizophrenia are more likely to lack insight than people with bipolar disorder. Additionally, people in the early stages of psychosis may be more likely to have insight than people who have been experiencing psychosis for a longer period of time.

Several things can help people develop insight into their psychosis. These include education about psychosis, medication, and therapy. Education can help people understand what psychosis is and how it can affect their thoughts and behaviours. Medication can help reduce the severity of psychotic symptoms, making it easier for people to think clearly and rationally. Therapy can help people develop coping mechanisms for dealing with their psychosis and develop insight into their illness.

So, can you be aware of your own psychosis? Yes, you can be aware of your own psychosis, which depends on many factors, as discussed above.

What to do if you have psychosis?

If you think you have psychosis or are witnessing any symptoms of psychosis, you should speak to someone and seek immediate medical or professional help.

But before anything else, you should first calm down and be determined to eliminate such a condition by seeking help or medication, managing stress, and keeping a journal of your thoughts.

So, here are a few tips that can help you overcome and treat psychosis:

1. Manage your stress

When you feel uncomfortable, scared, or start losing control, think of things that make you feel better. Practice breathing techniques, take a relaxing bath, listen to your favourite song or call a friend to ease it out. 

2. Keep a journal

Another thing you can do is to journal your thoughts by writing down things that you see, hear or feel. It will help you revisit your writing later, reflect upon it, and think more objectively about what you have experienced. 

3. Avoid substance use

Substance abuse can worsen psychosis symptoms. If you have a substance use disorder, seek help for that as well. Dual treatment for both conditions may be necessary

4. Seek professional help

And most importantly, seek professional help if you think your condition is way beyond cognition and is worsening. 

Coming back to the story of my friend.

She was exhibiting typical symptoms of psychosis, but what was causing her psychotic episode? On close examination and talks, I saw that she was extremely stressed about a few things.

First, she complained about hearing the voices of people she knew, which changed to the voices of people she didn’t know. Then, it quickly transformed into people pointing fingers at her, talking to her aggressively, and even screaming. 

All of this in her mind! 

She revealed that these episodes happened when she was alone and unable to cope with stress and the faults ascribed to her. She said people often blamed her for things and made her feel guilty. And it was causing her a lot of stress and anxiety.

She then said that these were the moments that she couldn’t tackle at first. But then she altered her reality and started to feel lucky about those voices as divine intervention from people who wanted her to do good in her life. And then there were moments she wanted those voices to stop as she couldn’t bear with them anymore. She also felt these strange voices were actually from people who always made fun of her and instigated her. 

To conclude, she felt alternating thoughts about the people and their voices in her mind. 

So she embarked on a journey to find the root cause of her condition and discovered that her prolonged stress made her hallucinate and believe in things that didn’t exist. 

And it is when she decided to keep silent, completely ignore what she was going through, and move forward, thinking it all would be okay with time. 

But this way of dealing with her emotions and denial made her aggressive and combative in her dealings. And to make it all worse, the noises in her head started to haunt her more frequently than ever. But she kept ignoring her delusions and hallucinations, thinking they would stop someday. 

She started entertaining her hallucinations by way of ignoring them! She was not venting her feelings; there was no outlet for her stress and anxiety, worsening her condition. Soon, she realized that her chronic stress and anxiety had metamorphosed into a new thing called trauma that made her more silent. 

The hearing of voices then moved towards seeing shadows following her.

She not only heard voices and felt a shadow following her but also a strange smell. 

It was by now clear to her that something was terribly wrong, and her situation was getting awful with time, and there was no respite. 

“Am I going crazy?” She asked me!

She was afraid of her mental deterioration, where she heard strange voices, saw shadows and smelled something weird. But she was not okay about talking about it to anyone else as she was aware of the stigma associated with being lunatic, crazy, or mentally sick.

But then, finally, she decided to seek help. 

As her first step, she contacted her peer group and friends, including me. She was committed to improving her fast-deteriorating health condition and was determined to come out of it. She wanted to differentiate between reality and delusions or hallucinations. She wanted to let go of the symptoms causing her to hate herself. So, she acknowledged that she was not well and got herself diagnosed. 

The treatment of mental disorders begins with you first. You have to accept your condition and acknowledge that you are suffering. It would be best to talk to people when you suffer from something for an extended time and things you cannot handle yourself. 

When you share something that bothers you, it can actually bring out the best in you. When you talk over and again to one person about your emotions and feelings or condition, you reinforce a pain point that finds an outlet via discussion.

It is not cribbing, whining, or complaining. 

On the other hand, not discussing your symptoms can never make you feel better or good about yourself. Keeping mute can make you feel terrible about yourself as you process and fight your condition alone. 

Therefore, it is always advised to talk about your symptoms, emotions, and feelings to people around you out loud! It is better to visit your reality with others than to wander alone. It is where you will start to make the most of yourself and establish a healthy relationship with yourself. 

My friend did the same thing!

She went into finding what worked for her better by sharing with people without fearing stigma. Once she was clear about what works and what doesn’t, she knew how to get out through treatment, therapy, and tolerance. 

I am very grateful to people who took me seriously, stood with me through thick and thin, and cared enough to be available to me. Because if they hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here now!

Yes, conversation and empathy can be game changers as they create an opportunity for compassion and community. Open communication, empathy, and sympathy can ease and treat several mental ailments. 

So, I encourage you to ask those tough questions to your near and dear ones more often:

How are you? Are you doing fine?

Tell them it is okay to not be okay! And then you should be willing to listen with all compassion. You have all the power to change lives and even save one!

Let’s be available to them!

Together, we can make this world a better place by making open and honest communication sans judgments! 

How to support someone experiencing psychosis? 

To support someone experiencing psychosis, follow these steps:

1. Be available to them

If you have a friend who you think is experiencing psychosis, the first step is to speak to them, assure them that you are there for them, no matter what, and tell them you won’t judge them.

Show empathy and compassion and encourage them to open up. Tell them you can relate to what they are going through. But make sure you give them ample space and time, ensuring they know you are available to speak whenever they are ready.

Do not laugh or be scared when they open up and share their feelings. Instead, show courage and hope to them. 

2. Don’t argue with them

You know they are hallucinating, and their thoughts are not honest. But if you enter into any argument proving this, it won’t serve any good purpose.

All that is required from you is to listen patiently, empathize and connect with them emotionally. Once you connect with them, you can calm them down.

For example, you can say, “That sounds really awful, and I’m sorry you have to go through all this. But don’t worry, you will come out of it. Please let me know if I can help you in any way?”

3. Keep your tone down with them

When you are communicating with them, it always helps to keep your tone down, non-threatening, and argumentative. Don’t raise your voice, act nervous or try to control them in any way, as it can be counterproductive. It can make their condition worse.

Instead, ask them when and where they feel safe and secure and how you help them reach there.

I know it is a difficult subject, but it must be discussed and understood.

So, these are the symptoms of psychosis that you should look around. If you think you or someone close to you have these symptoms, do not hesitate to seek help from people around you. Seek professional help if you think you require it. 

If you like this post about the symptoms of psychosis and think it added some value to your life, do not forget to share the same with your family and friends.

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