Brief psychotic disorder

[Stephen123]

I believe this is my label. I,m just wondering if there are any other brief psychotics out there. Yes I,ve had numerous nervous breakdowns, yes I,ve been sure I was Jesus Christ, but it would seem I get to experience insanity only briefly. Oh and not to mention all the other fun stuff, paranoid delusions, major depression, PTSD, and apparently mild schizophrenia. About the only thing I am missing are the voices. But I do have that little voice in my head that constantly talks to me telling me I,m hopeless or there is someone out to take the mickey out of me.

It,s nowhere near as strong as it used to be. 16 years it,s been and I,m still heart scared of it. Where was that place I went too? The place beyond hell for infinity! why is that figure 8 so significant? Do other people go there? How did I get back? I just hope I never go there again, even if it is only briefly. Brief psychosis, it didn't,t feel very brief to me!

[geoff]

dear Stephen, this isn't an easy post to comment on, however it should be addressed.

In depression we have this voice in our head which is our own thinking really, and it keeps telling us why we can't do this or that, and that we are useless and hopeless, or that we don't or can't do anything.

The figure 8 which is significant for you is the same as the number 4 is for my OCD, so there's nothing wrong with this, although nobody knows of this fact except for this site and my psychologist.

From what you have said is that I don't believe you are taking the correct medication, so I am wondering whether your psych has tried different types of meds. Geoff.

[Stephen123]

Dear Geoff, thank you for taking the time to reply. When a negative thought comes into my head I thank it and for some reason it go,s away and I move on, I got this from a book called the happiness trap, it,s based on ACT as opposed to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, CBT. My doctors have also taught me something about mindfulness but to be honest sometimes it go,s in one ear and out the other. 

I think at one stage years ago the figure 8 was a trigger for me, what is half of eight etc.. But these days it,s not so scary. I feel like I am in control, I think I,m just trying to deal with the loose ends. I,m still paranoid delusional is the main thing and I will bring this up with my doctors. I think I have a bit of OCD in that I am very obsessive about things and I like to walk on the gaps on the pavement. 

I think the doctors are not willing to play with my medication because I was going really well about 4 months ago and my psychiatrist wanted to change my AD,s and when I reduced I nearly had a psychotic episode. For now they just want me to stay steady on the same stuff and they have said I can change in the future when I,m settled. 

The problem at the moment is I,m unemployed, I find it hard to get motivated to do stuff around the house. About the only thing I haven,t tried is group therapy. My psychiatrist thinks this would be a good idea. I think I,ll give it a go, I,ll let you know how I go. Thanks again for replying Geoff I know it,s a tough one, I was just wondering if there are people on the forum that have battled psychosis.

[geoff]

dear Stephen, if this mindfulness goes in one ear and then out the other then either you don't agree with it, or it hasn't been explained in a way that a layman understands, and if you don't understand it then 'what's the point on you trying it', because you can't focus on this technique.

I also had believed from your posts that there was some OCD that you had to try and cope with, but that's OK because I have it and can live a normal life, that is, a life that now suits me, and I can understand, and go from day to day in my own little way.

Group therapy is good because other people have similar feelings and reactions the same as you do, and by having this it sets up a support group , that is people who not only want your advice, but also you want to contact them whenever you are having a terrible time.

I can understand that you are unemployed, however, you really have to wait until your mood evens out, other wise you will be going from job to job, and this wouldn't look good on your resume. Geoff.

[Stephen123]

Dear Geoff, the way mindfulness was explained to me was that I must concentrate on the task at hand and only think about what I am doing, rather than think or worry about how useless I am etc..I think that,s the concept anyway. which is ok when I have something to do but if I sit and let my mind wander then that is were the negative stuff gets in.

no doctor has ever actually told me that I have OCD and I have had a lot of diagnoses over the years but I do believe that I do obsess about things in general. Depends what the flavour of the month is, this month it seems to be posting on websites.

thanks for confirming that group therapy is a good idea, I think I,ll definitely give it a go.

i,m actually using my time off to retrain. I started tafe in July and I really enjoyed it, it was an amazing confidence builder which is what I really needed. I,m going back next year for the full year so my resume will look like I,ve just had a retraining break and I get to have vocational break at the same time. If I put my mind to it I think I can make a big turn around this year. I have to admit to occasionally enjoying a few beers, especially on a nice hot summers day. I have this feeling that I should not drink alcohol at all so most times I concentrate on just staying away from alcohol completely. The thought of my mood evening out sounds like a dream to me and maybe small things like posting on this website will help me altogether. Any other suggestions from anyone would be very welcome. Please just keep in mind that I am very sensitive. Thanks Geoff.