After two episodes of psychosis without any warning, and their first priority was their kids being in an environment that was safe for them, Brad and his wife came up with a list of measurable things that could represent his mental instability and would require him leaving the house and getting help.
Sara Kay was always called “moody” until she had a psychotic breakdown and she had to start figuring things out, bit by bit .
Emily gives a detailed description of her first psychotic episode which she blames on the legal speed she’d been prescribed two days before to treat a bladder condition that she would later learn she never had.
Shoshana Stein shares her experience of losing her closest friend while in high school and the state of mania that ensued.
Mike Jones shares that “the most frightening thing about schizophrenia is the time you spend suffering its symptoms without being able to give a name to your condition. Five years ago, my life was interrupted by psychosis.”
A compelling story by Paul Illidge about his experience with his charismatic mother who spent years in and out of psych wards. Paul came to call her behavior that verged on psychotic as “The Mongo Bongos”. When about to enter a seniors home and worried that her psychiatric history might prevent them from accepting her, he asked her to be on her best behavior. Read more to find out what happened next. It left me shocked when I first read it.
Mike Stroh medicated his anxiety, depression, and obsessiveness with drugs and alcohol for almost 20 years. It took a serious romantic relationship, and recognizing it needs to start with him, to begin his journey towards recovery.