Real experiences
Psychosis can feel overwhelming, but recovery is not only possible, it’s likely. Everyone’s story is different, but many people find that with the right support, life can become stable, meaningful, and hopeful again.
Here are some of the voices from people who have used our Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) service. These stories are shared with permission and have been anonymised to protect privacy.
My experience of psychosis:
I had been made redundant from my job and I because depressed and withdrawn following this. I then started a new job and after three months things got progressively worse and the stress really affected my mental health.
It all happened so quickly, I became overtly confident, elated, my thoughts were racing, I had mania which progressed into psychosis. I had delusions and believed I was an MI5 spy, I messaged people on social media with nonsensical content, I thought family members were going to harm me. At home I felt like I was talking a million miles an hour, and I wasn’t sleeping at all.
A friend of mine noticed I was in a Mental Health crisis and called 999. In A&E I was sectioned and admitted to hospital for two months.
My recovery story:
I felt lucky that I had a good support network of friends and family.
I engaged with everything the ward offered to me whilst I was an inpatient.
I am so glad I was referred to EIIP. I’ve got a great psychiatrist and a really great care coordinator. I’ve had access to Family Therapy, and I’m on the waiting list for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
The EIIP team organises monthly peer support group which I attend, and I’ve made some friends who I met whilst regularly attending the Swingbridge boat project.
I continue to take medication to manage my mental health and having a monthly injection has been a really good solution for me because I was so reluctant to take medication initially. I feel listened too in regards to medication reviews and my care going forwards.
My first experience
I was living in a busy city and I was stressed about housing and my job. I was fired from several jobs and around this time I started hearing voices. I was vulnerable and I joined an organised group which was like a cult, my family were upset by this and we started arguing. I became aggressive, which is not like me, and felt I couldn’t trust my family, so I moved away from them. The group I had fallen in with were not supportive and fed into my mental illness. I went to back to my family but by this time I was quite unwell, so I was sectioned under the Mental Health Act and admitted to hospital.
At that time I had delusional beliefs that were romantic and grandiose in nature. I became paranoid that people were out to get me, I thought that I was very important and at some point I thought I was a figure in the bible.
My recovery story
When I was discharged from hospital I still had some delusional beliefs. I was referred to the Early Intervention in Psychosis Team.
With EIIP I have access to Occupational therapy and individual psychology and they have been very helpful. With a combination of therapy and medication it has helped me to reduce the beliefs and intrusive thoughts I still have sometimes.
I attend both the online and face to face peer support groups that EIIP facilitate. It’s a great way to socialise and they help me to understand I am not the only one who has experienced psychosis. It makes me feel less alone and isolated.
I have really enjoyed regularly partaking in the EIIP Canal Boat project called Swingbridge, It’s great to be outdoors and it really helps my mental state.
I have access to regular medical reviews which I find helpful as they show the progress I have made.
I have had a wild experience with my mental health, but I am slowly getting back to normality with the support of my care co-ordinator and the EIIP team.
A parent’s story: finding the right support for our son
Our son started Uni and seemed very happy when he returned for Christmas, but one week before he was due to return to Uni there was a sudden change, and we noticed he was feeling anxious about everything and then he seemed to spiral within a week. He wasn’t sleeping and was so anxious. He talked about hearing voices.
We didn’t know at the time what psychosis was, so we didn’t know the difference between hearing voices and anxiety. It took us a while to find the right help for him. He was detained under the Mental Health Act and admitted to hospital for six weeks. This was a really stressful time for him and us as it took a while to find the right medication for him.
Recovery EIIP took over his care following this admission and things started to improve then, his medication was changed to something that was much more appropriate for him. We have had access to Family Intervention which was really insightful, and we really appreciated this. We know that he trusts and has a great relationship with his care co-ordinator and we think his consultant is incredible. She is very calm, measured and thoughtful.
Initially when he came home from hospital he wasn’t ready for psychology, but we only are able to reflect on this now and recognise this. That was really hard for us to start with, but with hindsight we can see why this was better for him.
He is now accessing 1:1 psychology which has been so helpful. He has tried music therapy, he has been on Swingbridge boat and engaged with all the opportunities EIIP offers.
Waythrough has been really helpful and now he has two jobs and is doing so well. He is really happy and his confidence has returned, he’s back to himself but even more confident and lively then he was before the episode of psychosis. He says now that he likes himself. Knowing someone is there in EIIP is so reassuring. Without the team I don’t know what we would have done.
What helped the most?
Common themes from our service users:
- “Knowing someone had my back”
- “Not being rushed or judged”
- “Family support made a difference”
- “Being with people who’d been through it”
- “Having one point of contact”
Want to share your story?
If you’ve used the EIIP service and would like to share your experience (anonymously or otherwise), we’d love to hear from you. Your voice could help others feel less alone, and more hopeful about recovery.