I Want To Urge Ya'll To Make Space For People With Psychosis In Your Mental Health Advocacy.

I want to urge ya'll to make space for people with psychosis in your mental health advocacy.

Let me explain.

First off, psychosis in itself is an incredibly lonely and isolating experience. Depression and anxiety have made massive strides in general acceptance and that's wonderful, but if someone has hallucinations or delusions, we're still terrified to talk about them.

Isolation breeds alienation breeds suicidality.

If you don't even feel welcome in mental health spaces that are supposed to be meant for you, you're going to feel really, really fucking bad, man. Your brain is already collapsing in on itself and turning your sense of reality into a nightmare, and then you're afraid to talk about it and feel like an alien when you do.

Another example of this - you'll be hanging out in a group of other mentally ill people and they all start talking about how cannabis helps their symptoms, and insist you try it too, (weed is detrimental to psychotic people, no ifs ands or buts, it's like eating peanuts when you have a peanut allergy) and then you're put in the awkward position of either seeming like a shetered stick in the mud or outing yourself as a Crazy Person.

First of all, you're allowed to have boundaries no matter what, but second of all, I shouldn't be afraid to tell people about this aspect of my mental health.

I also really, really want to talk about those of us who suffer suicide-themed delusions. You cannot make blanket statements like "suicidal people don't want to die, they just want to end their suffering" or "this is a permanent solution to a temporary problem", and you can't paint all suicidal people with the same brush.

I've felt your stereotypical "I'm going to be miserable forever, so what's the point" suicidality. And it sucks. I'd argue that it's just as bad as what I'm about to talk about.

But it's an entirely different beast from when I'm convinced the universe has a target on my head, and I can see into a future where my continued existence sets off a series of events that ends in the deaths of my loved ones and innocent strangers. Or when I'm convinced I have some kind of psychic poison that excaberates the mental illnesses of anyone I spend too much time with. Or many years ago, when I was convinced suicide was the only way to enter the Matrix-like world I was Called To.

I know it sounds crazy. (It is!) But these aren't uncommon delusions to have, and newsflash: we're in just as much danger as any "classically" suicidal person, if not more, because goddamn, when the stakes are "everyone I love will die if I don't do this", you might get pretty damn desperate. In that moment, to you, what your faulty brain is telling you is your reality.

Keeping this shit a secret makes it worse. Delusions kind of feed off the fear of being found out; the more it's kept secret, the more it snowballs, at least in my experience. Some of my biggest coping skills include telling my support system (therapist, partner, close friends) when I'm Going Through It, and I'm lucky that I have people I feel safe enough around to even kind of vaguely talk about it with.

The stigma kept me from telling anyone for years, and most psychotic people will, sadly, have a similar story.

It's also intensely traumatic. Even when you're not actively symptomatic, the memories of the things you saw and Knew thought and experienced still haunt you. It took me over a year to open up to my therapist about the first break I had six years ago. I sobbed my fucking eyes out and was shaking so hard.

I know so many others who will tell you they suffered with symptoms alone for so long. Which is really traumatic in and of itself, but it's even worse when you feel like you can't even talk about it when it's over, because everyone looks at you like some Weird Crazy Person. You can't talk about it, because it's not #Relatable and people believe the stigma.

I want you guys to realize one thing: Psychotic people are human.

We have dreams and hobbies and loved ones and goals and histories and complex emotions just like everyone else. We want love and acceptance and contentment just like everyone else. We just have brains that like to Fuck With Us.

And it's lonely. I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but God, I wish it was okay to casually say "I had a bad break last night" or "I'm having a really scary hallucination right now" or "I went through a year-long psychotic break", just as much as it's okay to say "I'm just coming out of a depressive episode" or "I think I'm having an anxiety attack" or "I suffered PTSD for a few years".

Especially in circles meant to discuss mental illness.

When your friend tells you of their terrifying hallucinations, or their delusions that don't make any sense to you, or their paranoias, please, please, just be there and listen, if you can. Ask questions, check in, see how they're doing. Our struggles may look different, but we're still experiencing pain and fear and loneliness.

And if you need to be able to relate to someone to feel compassion, I urge you to relate to that.

More Posts from 0cean10 and Others

3 years ago

Rules thread:

(I got bored at work this morning and finally wrote a rule list up. I still have to re-write it in my diet journal when I get home.)

2 liters of water a day

Keep track of water intake

Don't count coffee calories (Starbucks excluded)

1200 calorie limit (absolute max)

No pop

No food past 5 pm

16 hour fast minimum (daily)

100 chews per bite

Water with all meals

Green tea daily

Cranberry juice daily

100 jumping jacks every hour after work

15 squats every bathroom break

150 sit ups before 6 pm

Yoga on Saturdays

Cheat day: Friday (metabolism boost and binge prevention)

-cheat day rules: no calorie counting. No food after 8 pm. Start fast after meal. Work out rules still apply. No pop.

*These are rules I've been using since the very beginning of my eating disorder journey (14 years ago). Some things have been changed due to things not working, and the calorie limit has been super over shot. These are for me only.

5 years ago

Me (as a child): why are all the songs about love?

Mom: someday you will understand

Me (now as an adult): seriously why are all the songs about love and sex this is ridiculous


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1 year ago

the way ivan aivazovsky looks at the sea…i think…i think that’s what love looks like.

5 years ago

“Those poor boys”

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“She deserves to be punished too.”

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“I’m not saying I support rape, but-”

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“Sorry to say - she deserved it.”

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“She put herself in harm’s way”

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“But if she was fingered, then that’s not rape.”

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“She ruined their lives.”

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3 years ago

*my friend is happy and talks a lot* my mind: "yay that's nice I'm happy for her"

*my friend talks less/her tone changed* my mind: " you stupid asshole she hates you you did sth wrong she hates you so much you're a horrible friend you dont deserve her as a friend you're ruining everything you're horrible you're the worst friend ever"

I HATE THAT I HAVE IT LIKE THAT #bpd ✌🏻

4 years ago
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4 years ago

Nooooo don't send me a link to the pirated Hamilton film I love capitalism ahah

5 years ago

types of people as environments

sea: wild hair, iced coffee, probably listens to billie eilish, great instagram, wears bracelets/anklets, was that kid that thought they had some authority on greek mythology bc they read the percy jackson books, seems like they have their life together but actually are lowkey falling apart, can vibe w/ anyone

forest: hot coffee, guitar/indie/folk music, runs an aesthetic blog, doesn’t tell anyone what their favorite songs are bc that’s Too Personal, absolutely has to put fairy lights everywhere, loves their friends and makes sure they know it, if you hurt them they won’t do anything back they’ll just leave without a word or a trace

desert: long road trips, retro diners at 2am, also eats a lot of fast food, nothing fazes them, drunk declarations of love, their hair is their personality, thrives during nighttime, bored eater, acts chill and will say they’re Fine as they lay face down on the floor but also will tell their life story after 10pm

mountains: hot chocolate, gorgeous hair, adrenaline junkie, has a lot of secrets/emotional depth, morning person, will go insane if they’re cooped up indoors for too long, complete 180 from the person their 12-year-old self thought they would be but thank god for that

meadow: softie, henna tattoos, puts flowers in their hair, sparkling water, pastels, likes taylor swift, barely knows how to drive, good at drawing/painting, doesn’t hide their feelings, ppl think their openness can be taken advantage of but they see your motives and Know What You’re Trying To Do

tundra: flawless eyebrows, wears lots of dark colors, thick skin, intense as hell but it’s cool, eyes that stare into your fricken soul, seems emotionally unavailable but actually secretly loves a lot of people and is scared of losing them but will never show it

lake: iced tea, lives at chipotle, hands and feet are always cold, completely screwed up spotify algorithm, hates days when they can’t see the sun, loves spring/summer, really just wants to Calm Down, niche humor, has been saying they’re dead inside since 2014

5 years ago

T o t a l l y a g r e e .

Our ciel is my hero and I just thought that I should say that

4 years ago

Folklore Reactions

going to do this in sections, so this is just tracks 1-5. I still know nothing! (well, and also everything.) But I wanted to capture some of my initial feelings. :) 

the 1: after several listens I understand so much more clearly what this song is doing and it ISN’T deeply sad, like I first thought. there’s a lightness to it. it’s a song about looking back at something nostalgically and being a little apologetic for doing that. “in my defense I have none for never leaving well enough alone/for digging up the grave another time.” she’s shaking her head at herself, acknowledging that she can’t help being this way, being so retrospective. the details are so fun and vivid. sunday matinees, bus stops, rosé flowing, but what i love about it so much is the main hook of the song. “it would’ve been fun, if you would’ve been the 1.” because it doesn’t matter how long it’s been, it doesn’t matter that this song isn’t a deeply personal one for taylor in that it’s not about her (and i don’t think it is, i think it’s a perspective one), taylor will always muse on whether something that didn’t last could have lasted and will always quietly, gently, in a third person way wish that it could have lasted. the ache in her voice when she sings “if my wishes came true, it would’ve been you.” this non-breakup song has more pathos in it than most artists’ actual breakup tracks. AND IT’S ALSO A BOP????? I CAN’T. 

cardigan: oh man, i can’t say anything coherent about it yet. this song is so big and so layered. i will say that the way that this, august, and betty have these HUGE intertwining bridges—- is everything to me. the whole heart of the song is about what betty kNEW and the way the bridge is just images stacked on images, moments stacked on moments, all the things she knew. and there really was so so so so much that she kNEW. and that knowledge couldn’t save her from heartbreak. because she wANTED to be someone’s favorite. a lot of knowledge when you’re young isn’t the same thing as wisdom and it can be its own heavy gift because you can’t make all the rest of you grow up to match that knowledge. you’re still just a kid, too. she saw how it would all unfold and fell anyway BECAUSE SHE WANTED TO BE CHOSEN AND LOVED. THIS SONG. 

the last great american dynasty: this was my breakthrough song!!!!! the one on first listen that makes me feel like I can breathe and that I can sort of process. :) I grinned SO WIDE the second I heard her sing “Rebekah rode up on the afternoon train.” It’s perfect, utterly perfect, every word hits a beat and every word tells a story. bitch-pack friends!!!! filled the pool with champagne !!!!! boys and the ballet!!!! the bridge is beyond delightful. THE CHILLS I FELT WHEN SHE SANG “and then it was bought by me.” a song about taylor’s rhode island mansion is not what I expected or thought I wanted but it is exactly what this album and I needed. It’s both a processing song for Taylor personally and the parts of her reputation that her RI mansion helped create but it’s also about STORYTELLING, about making a legend out of the woman who lived there before, sharing her story with the world and tying her past to Rebekah’s and in doing so immortalizing both. i’m obsessed. 

exile: this is a stunning collab, her best yet I think. his voice is deep enough that it holds up next to Taylor’s–which often ends up being more expressive than her duet partners. They feel like true partners as vocalists and storytellers; the story is equally theirs. Love the big sound, love the crosstalk, love the pain amplified in this big, big sound. “holding all this love out here in the hall” >>>>>> KILL ME. this was also a breakthrough song. it’s fairly straightforward but that doesn’t lessen its power.

my tears ricochet: oKAY so the biggest magic about this song !!!! to me!!!! is the fact that the thing that seems to work LEAST, that feels like it might be the weakest link in an otherwise stunning and layered and metaphor-driven song is actually the thing that ties it together!!!!!! and YES. BY THAT I MEAN THE TITLE. !!!!!!! it wasn’t until she sung the titular phrase that it all snapped into place for me. this is a SHARED grief, a shared bitterness, a union even in the separation in the sense that they both are hurting. (anywhere i want just not home//you would still miss me in your bones) the phrase my tears ricochet captures that perfectly, it IS the thesis, because they are not only her tears but they come from her. they strike him and then return again. the way she sings it too. the truth, the almost-acceptance? the ache, the sadness, but mostly the plain, matter-of-fact TRUTH and the lowness, the lowest of lows in terms of her register, that really drives it home. look at how my tears ricochet. what feels like it could be melodrama becomes reality in those three words. it is a perfect track 5. 

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0cean10 - Hi
Hi

I appreciate that u r reading this and also u because u r an amazing person, and you'll get through anything. i believe in u :) also i want a cool sword.

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