Reading or watching and sharing stories of hope and recovery following a first-episode of psychosis can be really helpful. Hearing about others’ experiences can help you learn more about psychosis, reflect on your own experiences, normalise and de-stigmatise psychosis, help find meaning in the experiences, learn tips about how to cope, and promote hope for recovery.
There are some really inspiring personal accounts of people’s experiences of psychosis or experiences of mental distress that may seem strange or out of touch with reality, and how they have overcome adversities, found ways to make sense of their experiences and live a rich and meaningful life despite, or even because of, some of these experiences.
Here we will share some accounts of young people and family members who have been supported by EI teams in NZ, and also share some links to people across the world who talk openly and helpfully about their experiences.
We are currently running a project called ‘Our Stories’ which will be a collection of written and artistic accounts about people’s experiences of first episode psychosis and their journeys to wellbeing/recovery, as well as the experiences of family members supporting a loved one experiencing psychosis. When completed we hope it will be a useful resource that we can share on the website. For some, writing about and sharing their own experiences to help others is an important way of helping them find some meaning from their experiences. In turn, we believe that the more people tell their stories about their experiences of psychosis and recovery, this can continue to contribute to dialogues about mental health and recovery in a positive way. More information can be found about the project here.
Tāngata whai i te ora/Lived experiences of psychosis
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R's Story
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J's Story
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M's Story
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W's Story
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Stephanie's Story
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L's Story
What's been most helpful?
It's probably been multiple things together. A big thing has been opening up to other people. Previously I wouldn't talk about issues. Also support from my friends, my family, and from those at the Early Intervention Service. And picking up new hobbies and trying things out, such as learning guitar and starting volunteer work.
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My journey began at rock bottom, having returned to my mothers house with my mental and physical health crumbling. The shedding of my immediate friends, most of my belongings and even the wasting away of my physical health aggravated by drug use merely reflected the shambles and chaos of my mental and emotional landscapes.
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I experienced a difficult upbringing. I had a lot of struggles and I saw a lot of things. There was a strong influence of gangs in my environment and this led me to make the wrong kinds of choices. That was the lifestyle I knew at that time; I was smoking a lot of weed, crack, drinking alcohol, talking nonsense, partying, and other stuff. I couldn’t get up in the morning because I was too wasted, and lost jobs as a result of this. It made me feel disappointed in myself. I was getting involved with serious people and putting myself in dangerous situations.
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I found the staff really helpful during my recovery. Communicating with my case manager, doctor and community support worker was a key thing. They could see my condition from a more experienced perspective outside of my own. At first I did not realise that I had an illness because I felt normal. However, my family was concerned about me and searched desperately for help. We finally got help and I found the staff so caring and kind and wanting what was best for me.
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I had my first severe psychotic episode in early 2010. Two years prior to this my thoughts had began slowing down. Normally, thinking about doing an action and then moving the required body part happened simultaneously. Now there was a gap. I was a radiotherapy student and since operating X-ray machinery requires a smooth flow of decision making and intricate movement. These slow thoughts made me a hazard. Once I gave up my degree, I had nowhere to go during the day and would lie in bed. My general practitioner thought Iwas depressed and gave me antidepressants. We know now that I wasn’t and I had prodromal psychosis. Eventually the slow thoughts took over my mind and I began hearing voices that were frightening.
You can read more about Stephanie's experiences of psychosis, recovery and Early Intervention here
At age sixteen, I was doing well at school and I had friends who I had fun with. This was also the age where my life started to change.
My mum also experiences mental distress. When I was sixteen she became quite unwell eventually needing an admission. She wasn’t sleeping well, she became addicted to sleeping pills, she would be talking nonsense and pacing around, saying that she doesn’t want to be here anymore. This was very difficult as a 16-year-old to experience. What helped get me through that, was having something to focus on- study. I was very worried but having something else to think about got me through it. I was also well supported by my boyfriend at the time and his family. He was always there for me, and his family gave me a place to stay when mum needed an admission. Having someone there was helpful, I didn’t feel alone, it wasn’t anything he said or did, he was just alongside me.
At 18 years old I was very confused about what to do after school, but I ended up choosing to study Landscape Architecture. I completed a year of this and passed everything, even with As. I had a new boyfriend who I lived with, with his family while studying. Life was quite simple at this stage and I was very focussed on study. In my free time my boyfriend and I enjoyed gaming and watching tv and going out on walks.
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Links to other personal accounts
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In My Mind: Living with Psychosis, Attitude TV documentary -- This half an hour documentary from…
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Talking Minds -- This is a great website with lots of useful resources, and was co-designed…
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Jonny Benjamin -- Jonny is a British mental health campaigner, film producer author and video-blogger. He…
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Eleanor Longden -- Eleanor Longden overcame her diagnosis of schizophrenia to earn a master’s degree in…
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Like Minds Like Mine -- Like Minds, Like Mine is an organisation which aims to reduce…
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Time to Change -- Time to Change aims to change how society thinks and acts about…
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Living Well with Schizophrenia -- This YouTube channel is by Lauren and her partner Rob. She…
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@strong365community -- This US based project of 'wellness warriors' shares people's personal stories of psychosis and…
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Drew: The Rhythm of Recovery -- Drew began hearing voices during his first year of college.…
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Family/whānau experiences of supporting a family member through psychosis
Before this happened to my son Sam, my understanding of psychosis was that it only affected deeply disturbed people who lived in the shadows of society. How wrong that stereotype is.
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Supporting our young adult through psychosis has been heart-breaking exhausting and at times overwhelming. But I am also very thankful because psychosis has bought our son back to us.
During his late teenage years he started slipping away from us; becoming more distant, difficult and disengaged. Although I had managed to get him to his GP on several occasions, I was not aware of the extent of his distress or the speed at which his life was spiralling downwards.
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Links to other family/whānau experiences
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Voicing Caregiver Experiences: Wellbeing & Recovery Narratives --- This book can be downloaded for free and contains…
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Caring for People with Psychosis online course (King’s College, London) --- This two-week online course is…
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Luke's Story --- Luke talks about his experience of psychosis, along with his Dad. Luke hid…
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