Friends, Family & Carers Forum

[Linmerc]

I found that sometimes I would find myself somewhere and not know how I got there. The gap could be hours. Other times it would "just feel normal" to do wrong or inappropriate things.

[Former-Member]

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@Shadow wrote:
I find I withdraw from friends and activities and use a lot of alcohol or prescription meds.

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Hi Shadow, thanks for sharing.  That's a really good example of an early sign that could be signposting a number of conditions.  For example, that social withdrawal and an increase in drinking could be about depression or anxiety.  But knowing yourself as you do, and having had the experiences that you've had, you know that it indicates something more.

[Former-Member]

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@kenny66 wrote:

as a person suffering psychosis from schizoaffective disorder mostly the warning signs are really just slipping into an alternative dimension.

I speak differently and mostly cant put things together. I lose the ability to count and speak logically.

Pre onset is either mania or depression, always.

kenny

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Kenny, can I ask, is that something that is evident to people around you?  Do they pick up on the changes too?

[soul]

I find that my partner would develop an obsession with something that was quite trivial. He would also tell me not to get stressed about something when in fact I wasn't at all. He would see me do something I would normally do such as the washing and tell me not to do it all the time. 

[Shadow]

alcohol and meds are to drown out the voices and my racing brain. I also know that when my psychiatrists wants to see me weekly instead of monthly I know she believes my 'delusions' and voices are getting worse. It's very hard to believe/trust her but she has been right in the past.

[Former-Member]

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@soul wrote:
My partner experienced a psychotic episode which has landed him in prison. He had a psych evaluation done that was unhelpful - just a questionnaire and a quick chat. Now we have lodged an appeal against the severity of his sentence. In hindsight I thought his symptoms were all stress related and were something we could handle but looking back he was a ticking time bomb. Prior to the event he hadn't slept for days, was highly strung, talked non stop and became very agitated.

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Hi Soul, I think you've highlighted something really important there.  We have 20/20 vision in hindsight but how do we know at the time where these changes are going to lead?  Where there also signs that he had lost touch with reality?  New and strange beliefs or did they come too late to alter the outcome? 

[kenny66]

symptoms brought on following a severe bout of depression are very different than those following a period of mania.

Erratic behaviour is a common and so is incoherent speech. Voices are present in both states. My flatmate says he notices I begin to talk to myself and answer voices unaware he is even in the house.

My perception is that i start to get restless and I cant focus on one thing.There are a number of shifts in perspective but essentially you are unaware of any other person.

[Former-Member]

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@Linmerc wrote:
Evening all
Early signs of psychosis is confused thinking (losing touch with reality)
Delusions (false beliefs)
Hallucinations (sees, hears, tastes things that are not real)
This is my first time so please excuse me if I do something wrong
Linmerc

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Hi Linmerc, you're absolutely right.  Can I ask if you have personal experience of this or know someone who has experienced psychosis?

[soul]

He seemed like a different person at the time. His voice was different. His eyes and whole facial expression became unfamiliar. It was as if he wasn't himself at all. Very scary stuff, especially when the police are all about punishment and not compassion. 

[Former-Member]

Linmerc, I see that you have. Losing time like that must be pretty distressing. It's interesting that some of the things you did as a result of psychosis weren't always connected to feeling different. So, even for you, it was through observing behaviours that you worked out what was going on.