Trust and Two Psychiatrists. Elle

(contains a small amount of difficult material) John has described some examples of treatment that was poor  - that failed to help. It put me in mind to write about trust between psychiatrist and patient - how it comes into being and how it doesn't.  And it struck me that you can only best do…

Treatment and Stigma.

Some people feel as if a diagnosis somehow labels them, diminishes them and leaves them open to prejudice. I couldn’t be further from this position. I think that owning a diagnosis and not skirting around it is ultimately empowering, allowing you to take steps to deal with what needs dealt with.    I really did enjoy…

Getting the ‘Label.’ Elle

Both John and I experienced misdiagnosis before we were finally diagnosed with Bipolar 1. This I believe is a pretty common experience. The figure often quoted is that it takes on average 10 years from the onset of symptoms to the point where the diagnosis is made. There are a number of reasons for this…

Treatment (The poor version)

In Elle's last response she spoke about a psychiatrists response to finding out some new information on an attack of psychosis she'd had...  I remember his response – part indignant (as if a great party had happened and he hadn’t been invited), part shocked – ‘Well I didn’t know about this!’  This made me think of…

Keeping a Lid On Things. Elle

I was so intrigued to read about John going home in the midst of a completely delusional state and carrying on as if nothing was happening. Some thoughts on this soon. But this was exactly what I did after my walk out over the bridge to meet the Devil. Took the bus home and carried…

Onset of Psychosis (ii) John.

I just did the funniest typo. I was hitting the brackets button, which is also the 9, and then hit exclamation mark twice, which is also 1. So the title for the post came up as 'Onset of Psychosis 911'. I love things like that! Anyhoo that's not what I'm here to write about but…

Certainty. Elle

I was in hospital two and a half years ago. Since then I've had a kind of grimy time of it. I've been low and flat and I haven't been looking after myself well. I failed to eat to the point of malnutrition, and then developed TB last year. A terrible stasis kind of crept in…

Delusions of Grandeur. John.

COMMENT. Narcissism helps you rise above that! Big respect Scotty for doing this blog x  I’m not so so sure narcissism is the right term….but I see what you mean…. If anything its deflating the ego that helps you get over delusions. (John) "GDs are characterized by fantastical beliefs that one is famous, omnipotent, wealthy, or…

Onset of Psychosis (ii) Elle

One morning I heard a demonic voice coming from my belly – 'I am the Devil'. I simply carried on, perhaps slightly perturbed. The next morning I heard the same voice from the other side of the room – 'Do not challenge me'… With utter certainty, in that moment, I knew three things – (1)…

Onset of Psychosis (i) John.

Although I'd experienced a period of paranoia and mild delusion a couple of years prior to the first proper attack of psychosis and a manic high, I'd like to write about when the condition kicked in properly. At the time I'd been misdiagnosed with schizophrenia, and so I was taking therefore taking treatment for that…