Wondering what other people's experiences on here are with bipolar psychosis? I know that's not a medical diagnosis...from my understanding, psychotic experiences are frequently connected with (hypo)manic episodes.

I personally have experienced this traditional version but I have also held delusions during depressive episodes which I think are sometimes a feature of psychosis. I could be wrong as I am (gratefully) not a doctor 

Just wondering what people have experienced and if they want to share. I look forward to connecting with other people over their experiences. Just to clarify, I am "officially" diagnosed with bipolar 2 but it is possible I have type 1.

Thanks!

You will occasionally hear it in support communities. A person who has spent countless hours complaining of nearly all symptoms that schizophrenia causes only to one day show up claiming to not have any schizo-related anything. They assert that they are some sort of fraud. They have been faking all along. Malingering is the term. Are they right?

Well, I suppose it's possible. Malingering wouldn't be a medical term if it didn't happen. In most instances, this is highly unlikely to be what is occurring. These "fakers" don't take the tone of one giving a confession rooted in guilt. The tone they do take is a persuasive one. The self-proclaimed faker is trying to convince their support buddies of what they wish was true. More importantly, and primarily, the motive is self deception. Why?

The simplest answer is that it is easier to claim to be a liar than it is to have a highly stigmatized condition. The complex answer goes deeper. When a psychotic patient is in a stable state of mind, they look back on their episodes through "stable glasses". They genuinely believe that they could easily have thought their way out of their last crazy mind state if they only tried. Indeed, while wearing "stable glasses", they firmly believe defeating psychosis can simply be accomplished with pure will power if an instance were to occur once more in the future.

A lucky few manage to never get the opportunity to put their imposter claims to the test. Their symptoms never strike them hard again.

The majority? They slip into a psychotic mindset and show to all who observe that they weren't con artists at all. They instead demonstrate that there is just no using logic to snuff out a major breakdown. A warped ability to think clearly will prevent use of will power long before you realize reality checking techniques are even needed. They can't save you. Not when the organ needed for rational thought is the one malfunctioning.

All too often, through sadness and hardship, the schizophrenic is shown to be the furthest thing from a fraud. They...unfortunately...were perfectly honest.

While I'm fully aware that plenty of patients are helped by the Invega injection, I feel it's my personal crusade to spread the word about what no doctor will warn patients about nor will the Invega information packet tell you.

A single shot from Invega can cause sever anhedonia for up to one year. You can potentially lose all positive emotions for a year. Since I've been speaking up about this awful side effect on multiple platforms, an impressive number of patients have reached out to me looking for assurance that the symptom was temporary. It is. It just feels like forever.

If anyone reading this wishes to minimize their risk, opt for the Abilify shot or the Olanzapine shot. I've heard of no such side effect with either one.

The word needs to be spread about Invega.

Armand

Get involved in a psychosis support community and you'll know. Psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations are undeniably awful. However, they tend to come in episodes. Anxiety often plagues the sufferer on the daily.

I think doctors get it backwards. They believe it's the psychotic symptoms such as delusional thought which is causing the anxiety and try then to focus on prescribing antipsychotics in an effort to prevent the anxiety's "root cause". A great many patients, however, will tell you that the causality is very much the other way around.

You can wake up with a severe anxiety attack with psychotic thoughts being the furthest thing from your mind. They won't keep their distance for long. Anxiety has the unfortunate ability to prevent you from utilizing the reality checking techniques that veteran schizophrenics have learned to implement over the years which keep psychosis at bay. The anxiety effectively causes the psychosis.

I submit that psychiatrists should put a much heavier emphasis on treating anxiety as the main problem facing the psychotic patient. Prescribe your antipsychotics but make sure to give the patient whatever medication they claim helps to keep their anxiety minimized the best. It is, for many, the primary symptom preventing the living of a happy life. Everyone has a basic right to happiness.

Does anyone else struggle with engaging with fiction as a schizophrenic? I find that fiction easily influences my psychosis and symptoms, and it can make it difficult to enjoy any media when my psychosis latches onto things so easily; especially with media that's related to my other psychosis (such as religious media). Does anyone else experience this?

When a psychotic patient voices their concern about anxiety and panic, many doctors see it as being caused by psychotic symptoms. They will treat the patient with antipsychotics believing that this will relief the patient of their anxiety. While this works in some cases, it often does not.

When a patient can not remain calm, they lose their ability to perform reality checking technique. A patient that could otherwise snuff out their crazy thought process will instead begin to spiral downward into a delusional state of mind.

Panic can trigger hallucinations as well. A day full of panic attacks can easily result in a patient hearing voices even after being asymptomatic in this regard for long periods. It's rare that any doctor will try to treat anxiety as the root cause. They will undoubtedly prescribe the patient antipsychotics.

Looking at panic and anxiety as the root cause can have the potential for better patient outcomes. Patients are often already aware of this. If doctors would only listen to patients about how their thought process worked, they would succeed in ridding them of some rather nasty psychotic symptoms if the intervention was targeting the root cause.

While it is true that some patients develop addictions to the drugs, doctors tend to greatly overcompensate for this. Many doctors refuse to prescribe them for any reason.

They instead prescribe far less effective medications such as Buspar. Sometimes they prescribe SSRIs which have the potential to worsen panic attacks.

The bottom line is that, if there is an effective medication to solve panic attacks, it should be administered as long as the patient is warned of the potential side effects. That way the doctor and patient can make the best decision about the optimal course of treatment.

I've reached a point where I can think myself out of a psychotic state if I simply remain calm. As such, it seems the best treatment for my schizophrenia are benzos.

i am kinda only self diagnosed right now. last i asked about it it was 3,000 dollars. i hope to get one one day, but this economy is bad enough. i dont need a doctor to know what im experiencing anyways. its moreso for some kinda closure and also possible government help since i cant work full time without going crazy

It's a cliche meant to refer to a stroke of astronomically bad luck. Most people use it when they chance upon getting two flat tires or some other terribly inconvenient occurrence. They get frustrated. They move on. Something far far worse happens to those on the schizo spec.

Schizophrenics are constantly making loose connections which force them to conclude that something suspicious is afoot. Over time, they may learn to turn off the portion of their brains which make these associations. However, no level of discipline allows for the writing off of the proverbial double lightning strike.

Let's say that, in a moment of brief instability, that a nearby tv perfectly syncs up with the schizo's thoughts. Faster than any reality checking can occur, a passing car radio proceeds to do exactly the same. Incontrovertible proof of thought broadcasting.

In the face of such strong empirical data, many a schizo could understandably spend the remainder of the day in deep thought as to what this signifies. At worst, it could send them spiraling back into the delusional state which they fought so hard to escape from.

A set of coincidences is entertaining to the average person. To those caught up in the endless battle with psychosis, it amounts to their foe unleashing a WMD. There are no winners