Cultural and Spiritual aspects of Psychosis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjv3EbC-U5s&pp=0gcJCfwAo7VqN5tD

Discusses… awfulising or pathologising spiritual experiences

What is a spiritual emergency?

in whose culture?

personal anecdote:

in my state ward files, as a child, the comments about my parents do not add up to my experience of them, before or after my orphanage period. The dismissive reductionist comments seem pure discrimination to me now that I am all grown up. Eg., the authorities catastrophising and conflating comments and pretending they were delusional. I can now tell some of the background positions of the commenters, through my long life experience. Hmmmm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4BPHcf--ZA&pp=QAFIAQ%3D%3D

introduction to experiences of psychosis….

@Appleblossom it's such difficult territory to traverse. Trying to piece together what psychosis is and how it manifests from second and third hand accounts seems a little like the blind men and the elephant. Mixing in the possibility of cultural references and questions of whether madness is a valid response to a maddening environment adds to the complexity.

All I can offer - humbly - having lived through it - is that I recognise when I'm sliding downhill into psychosis and overthinking and overreacting My psychoses have had many themes. The big episode that saw me committed did have religious elements as did the experiences of many others in the admission ward. But my delusions have had many storylines drawn from past and present worries. Yes I do remember many of them. I do respond well to medication although I know you have your doubts about it. And as I re-emerge from psychosis I could almost use Clouds as my theme tune - I've looked at life from both sides now. And I would be able to be conscious of both delusional and normal interpretations simultaneously on different levels, and choosing between them, and having the delusional component fade.

So psychosis can be real to some of us, and medications can be effective for some of us. I hadn't experienced psychosis - not to a level needing hospitalisation - for more than 20 years but following major surgery with an adverse event , then a heavy fall the first night home, I succumbed. I was proactive in recognising it was happening and asking for increased medication, before entering the twilight zone where my fears materialised as beliefs and vivid pseudo-memories that may have been dreams. After the worst was over I was quickly tapered back to a low maintenance dose. Would you call that a win for the medical model???

Perhaps the world is a complex tapestry or mosaic that allows the coexistence of many many different experiences.

I am just very glad you had responsive effective care @Dimity it makes sense that your operation and recovery was a stressor. Fear can magnify in us all when we are under physical stress, and religious themes often touch on the deeper aspects of life. Yes, it is complex.

I agree with most of what you wrote. I always believe it is important to be open minded and I try and keep my language open, although my biases will often be obvious. Maybe the “horses for courses” saying can apply. I actually love having this nuanced conversation about it. It has been lonely dealing with the visiting hospitals from a young age, and not having decent discussions about it. I am just trying to understand. Thank you.

I especially appreciate you… talking about… being aware of normative and delusional interpretations… from your perspective. It sounds like you have made sense of your experiences.

I believe that is the best goal, rather than medication will fix it. End of story. Medication often seems needed to help manage it. I have never been totally against medication. I struggle with fears and low self worth a lot and needed it myself over 30 years. Still do. Using it wisely seems to be key.