PSYCHOSIS DONT LET IT RUIN YOUR LIFE
JUNE 2009
by Stephen
PSYCHOSIS IS A MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE WHICH CAN RUIN YOUR LIFE. PEOPLE CAN BE VERY IGNORANT AND DONT UNDERSTAND. IT ALSO EFFECTS PEOPLE AROUND YOU IE FRIENDS, FAMILY & WORK COLLEAGUES. PLEASE GET HELP ASAP IF YOU EXPERIENCE THE FOLLOWING SYMPTOMS - HALLUCINATIONS, HEARING VOICES, FEELING PAIN, DELUSIONS, SCARED TO SLEEP.FEELING GUILTY, ANXIOUS OR TENSE. PSYCHOSIS IS NOTHING TO BE ASHAMED OF AND SHOULD BE TREATED ASAP SO YOU CAN LEAD A NORMAL LIFE. I SUFFERED PSYCHOSIS MYSELF FOR OVER 6 MONTHS AND ALMOST LOST EVERYTHING IE MY FAMILY MY JOB. MY OWN LIFE WAS AT STAKE AS WELL AS I HAD LOTS OF BAD THOUGHTS. I WENT THOUGH 6 MONTHS OF IT AND IT WAS HELL FOR ME. I DIDNT THINK HOW MUCH IT EFFECTED MY FAMILY AND LOVED ONES UNTIL NOW. THE FACT THAT I COULD HAVE TAKEN MY OWN LIFE OR SOMEONE ELSES LIFE WHICH I OFTEN FELT LIKE DOING WAS VERY SCAREY. I HARDLY SLEPT AND FELT SHAKEY MOST OF THE TIME. IF IT WASNT FOR MY GIRLFRIEND GETTING ME HELP AND STICKING BY ME WHO KNOWS WHERE ID BE RIGHT NOW.

I THOUGHT MY PHONE WAS BUGGED
by Stephen

When i was in the 1st stages of psychosis i was 100% confused when i phoned the Police i was hearing thinks like (hello pizza hut or just people laughing at the other end ) this went on for the whole 6 months of my pscychosis which drove me crasy an sick at times as i was told everyday that thats how they knewmy every move was by my phone they knew where i was they knew how i s talking to on te phone a times i was going to throw my phone away but i didnt i had something in the phone that kepted me to strong for that pictures of my family which i looked at everyday and smiled despite hearing horriable bad nasty things about them. I think which scraed me most was when talking to people like my parnter Tracy I would ask her questions that only she would know as i was hearing a 3 rd voice though the phone and tracys voice would sound strange this was like everyday and very annoying and got me angry even when txtes i got i would go though them with a fine tooth comb and check the grammer and spellingto all my txtes to see i it was the rite person txtes me i know it sounds so weird its scray pscychosis not to be left alone get help asap please i could hve lost alot i mean phones r cheap to buy but not want i have in would never be replaced my photos of my family that wuld have been a my worst nitemare to lose something like that.

WHAT CAUSED PSYCHOSIS
by Stephen

THROUGHOUT THE YEARS THERE HAVE BEEN MANY DIFFERENT THEORIES ABOUT WHAT CAUSES PSYCHOSIS MANY OF WHICH HAVE BEEN REJECTED BECAUSE THEY WERE FOUND TO BE INCORRECT RECENTLY IT HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY CLEAR THAT MANY OF THE CURRENT THEORIES SUCH AS THE CHEMICAL IMBALANCE THEORY THE GENETIC VULNERABILTY THEORY THE COMPLEX DISEASE THEORY AND THE STREES & VULNERABILTY THEORY ALL SHARE SIMILAR CONCLUSION THE MAJORITY OF RESEARCHERES NOW AGREE THAT MOST CASESS OF PSCHOSIS LIKE MANY OTHER COMMON DISORDERS SUCH AS HEART DIABETES AND ASTHMA TO NAME A FEW ARE CAUSED BY COMBINATION OF INHERITED GENETIC FACTORS AND EXTWRNAL ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS.......
IT HAS BEEN KNOWN FOR A VERY LONG TIME THAT PSYCHOSIS CAN SEEM TO RUN IN THE FAMILES THIS COULD EASILY LEAD PEOPLE TO BELIVE THAT PSYCHOSIS IS SIMPLY INHERITED THOUGH GENES BUT WHEN WE LOOK MORE CLOSELY AT THESE SITUATIONS WE REALIZE THAT THERE ARE SEVERAL REASONS WHY WE MIGHT SEE PSYCHOSIS RUNNING IN FAMILIES...PERHAPS CHILDREN DO INDEED INHERIT GENES THAT MAKE THEM MORE VULNERABLE TO PSYCHOSIS..PERHAPS CHILDREN WHO HAVE A PARENT WITH PSYCHOSIS MAY BE MORE VULNERABLE TO PSYCHOSIS THEMSELVES BECAUSE THEY LEARN IT IN THERE HOME ENVIRONMENT


TRACY (MY GIRLFRIEND) - HER STORY (JUNE 2009)
by Tracy 

I guess at first i was totally unaware of what stephen was experiencing. I must admit though i did notice a gradual change in his behaviour. The Stephen i knew and loved so much was caring, funny, loving and great compay. He eventually changed into a person i didnt even know. Stephen became withdrawn, distant, sometimes nasty and was extremely anxious and aggitated. I can vividly remember the day i eventually realised Stephen was hearing voices and seeing things that were not there. That night after the police had been called a few times as we thought our flat was getting broken into Stephen was convinced someone was in our loft (although the police had already searched the full loft and found nothing). Stephen began talking to a guy who he thought was in our loft. I kinda went along with it but obviously i couldnt hear anything at all. This got Stephen very fustrated as he could hear the person very clearly but me and the kids heard nothing. Yeah i was frightened but thinking back now i was more afraid of what Stephen thought and totally believed. After that night which was total hell Stephen became more open to myself and told me he could hear voices. Some of things he was hearing was really scarey as he really believed his life was at stake and that his family were going to get hurt too. No it didnt freak me out because i believed every word he told me (because it was so real to him) but kept trying to reassure him that it was all in his head and nothing would happen to us. Of course i was extremely worried about him but then i suppose i was in denial thinking it was just a phase and would go away. Things went from bad to worse as Stephen was convinced our flat was bugged and the voices could hear and see everything everything we were doing. Everything came to a head when one day i woke up to find Stephen in the living room in a total state. He was crying and was experiensing physical pain. I immediately phoned our GP who came out and advised me to take Stephen to hospital where he was seen by a psychiatrist. At first they thought it was a medical problem as Stephen had undergone an operation on his ear a few months earlier. It got to the stage where we moved house to a private let as i thought this would help and Stephen would get better. Obviously it didnt. After less than 2 weeks in our new home Stephen got admitted to hospital under the mental health act. This broke my heart to see him there because i felt guilty for pushing to get him seen again by a psychiatrist. It was probably the best thing to happen because there he was put on medication and slowly began to recover. Today 6 months later i have my old Stephen back again. Hes still on medication just now but no longer hears voices or stuff. Yeah he went through hell but again so did i. Psychosis just doesnt effect the person, it effects everyone inc family, friends and loved ones. So that was my story seeing the person i love so much suffer in such a horrific way to see how things are now. My advise to anyone who sees their loved ones start to suffer these symptoms is please seek medical help immediately and dont let it get as far as it did with Stephen. Take care xx

NEARLY A YEAR LATER - FEB 2010
by Tracy

Hi well just an update on wots been going on with myself (Tracy) and Stephen. This time last year Stephen was in hospital n hating every minute of it. I was continually going back and forth to see him. Stephens valentines day was spent in hospital but he took me to the cafe for lunch lol. I personally knew he was still really ill but he conned 3 psychologists convincing them he wasnt hearing any voices and that he was all better. I knew different. Stephen came home on 17th Feb and slept quite alot but didnt seem so aggitated. As the weeks went by Stephen kept on takin his medication but they made him drowsey. Its difficult to explain because i had the Stephen i 1st met 3yrs ago then the Stephen who suffered psychosis and then a different Stephen who was just mellow. I wanted my old Stephen back. We had our ups n downs and arguments like any other couple but we always managed to make up. Thinking back to this time last year i realise it was total hell. I think i was on autopilot waiting for something to happen. Stephen gradually got better and is now off all medication. Yeah theres times when he suffers psychotic episodes but if he does he takes his meds immediately. Im so glad ive got him as my partner as he is the most wonderful man ive ever met. We have rebuilt our lives together as a couple and moved to a new flat. I love you Stephen with all my heart and will always be by ur side through thick n thin. All my love and so much more babes, well done. Tracy xxx 

UPDATE 31st MAY 2010
by Stephen

Sorry ive not really kept on top of this for the past few months. To be honest i am currently of my work again and have been for the past 5 weeks. Im on a speedy recovery and hopefully going back to work soon. About 12 weeks ago i could feel myself begin to get very aggitated and extremely uptight about things. Tracy was forever saying i was being moody or crabit but i just kinda ignored her. I didnt really know at the time that my psychosis was coming back although i kinda had an idea. Tracy kept asking me on numerous occasions if i was ok and i just replied yeah im fine. At night time i would lie in bed and hear very loud music as if the cd was on full blast. Guess it all came to a head when Tracy and myself were arguing one saturday night. Under anger Tracy told me to Fuck off and i did. I went back and stayed with my mum for one night but came home on the sunday. Tracy and i spoke for a long time and i told her i needed to see my psychologist. She also confessed that she wasnt feeling too great about herself and would go and see her GP. I was immediately signed of work and put on antidepressants along with taking my medication for psychosis. I was also given sleeping tablets to help at night when the loud music began. Tracy was also put on antidepressants and she is coping brilliantly. So 5 weeks after starting the medication i feel alot calmer and dont feel uptight at all. Im glad i seeked medical advice straight away as god knows where id be now.

UPDATE 24TH AUGUST 2010
by Tracy

Hey guess ive not really paid much attention to my input in wot things have been like over the past few months. Good news is Stephen went back to work last week and seems to be coping with it so far. I guess over the past few months life has been a roller coaster. Good days n bad days for both of us. Like any other couple we have our arguments but i feel im always the one who has to sort it out. Stephen could probably go for days without speaking to me. I cant. If something aint right i need to talk about it and sort it out before it gets out of hand. Over the past few months this has happened alot and ive had to say look we really need to talk. It takes 2 to make a relationship but 1 to break it. If you get wot i mean. Sometimes i think wot is the point of trying when stephen doesnt. Rite now im going through alot of personal problems myself. Its mainly debt. My car got repossesed and ive been told to go bankrupt. In these hard times i need stephens support. Im not saying hes never there for me but at times i feel so alone. Well enough about me cos this is really Stephens story lol. Hopefully hes back on track. Hes taking his medication everyday and seems alot calmer. I love him to bits and im so proud of him for getting though all this.

UPDATE 24TH SEPTEMBER 2010
by Tracy

Hi members just thought id give you an up to date on events thats been happening. Unfortunately Stephen is back off his work. There has been alot of stress at work due to the fact we are facing cutbacks n payoffs. We should hopefully find out next week if we both still have jobs. Stephen was under pressure n stress so his doctor put his antidepressants up to 300mg. So stephen takes them at nite before going to bed but next morning hes still heavy sedated n his speech is slurred. We saw the mental health team on wednesday and got some good advice. Hes got an appointment with his psychologist on 28th to evaluate him. Good thing is hes not got psychosis symtems its more depression. We will get through ths as we usually do and hopefully things will improve.



Symptoms of psychosis 

There are four main symptoms that are associated with a psychotic episode:
hallucinations
delusions
confused and disturbed thoughts
a lack of insight and self-awareness
These are outlined in more detail below.
Hallucinations

A hallucination is when you perceive something that does not exist in reality. Hallucinations can occur in all five of your senses - for example: 
sight - someone with psychosis may see colours and shapes, or imaginary people or animals
sounds - someone with psychosis may hear voices that are angry, unpleasant or sarcastic
touch - a common psychotic hallucination is that insects are crawling on the skin
smell - usually a strange or unpleasant smell
taste - some people with psychosis have complained of having a constant unpleasant taste in their mouth
Delusion

A delusion is where you have an unshakable belief in something that is implausible, bizarre or obviously untrue. There are two common types of psychotic delusion:
paranoid delusion
delusions of grandeur
These are described below.
Paranoid delusion
A person with psychosis will often believe that an individual or organisation is making plans to hurt or kill them. This can lead to unusual behaviour. For example, a person with psychosis may refuse to be in the same room as a mobile phone because they believe they are mind-control devices.
Delusions of grandeur
A person with psychosis may have delusions of grandeur where they believe that they have some imaginary power or authority. For example, they may think they are president of a country, or that they have the power to bring people back from the dead.
Confusion of thought

People with psychosis often have disturbed, confused and disrupted patterns of thought. Signs of this include:
their speech may be rapid and constant
the content of their speech may appear random - for example, they may switch from one topic to another in mid-sentence
their train of thought may suddenly stop, resulting in an abrupt pause in conversation or activity
Lack of insight

People who are experiencing a psychotic episode are often totally unaware that their behaviour is in any way strange, or that their delusions or hallucinations could be imaginary.
They may be capable of recognising delusional or bizarre behaviour in others, but lack the self-awareness to recognise it in themselves. For example, a person with psychosis who is being treated in a psychiatric ward may complain that all of their fellow patients are mentally unwell while they are perfectly normal.
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