7 - Have you heard this information before?
Here are several quotes that many people who go through altered states may not be aware of:
“It is important to remember that psychosis is a treatable condition and if help is sought early, an individual may never suffer another episode.”
-Yale School of Medicine (2019, September 24). Specialized treatment in early psychosis (STEP). Retrieved from https://medicine.yale.edu/psychiatry/step/psychosis/phasis/
“Having a schizophrenia label is correlated with childhood social adversity, childhood abuse and maltreatment, poverty, and a family history of migration.”
-Hickey, P. (2017, January 10). The biological evidence for “mental illness.” [blog post]. Retrieved from http://behaviorismandmentalhealth.com/2017/01/10/the-biological-evidence-for-mental-illness/
Factors that influence shift into psychosis: Cannabis Use, Urban living, Childhood trauma, Affective and Anxiety Symptoms
van Os, J. & Reininghaus, U. (2016). Psychosis as a transdiagnostic and extended phenotype in the general population. World Psychiatry, 15(2), 118-124. Retrieved from doi.org/10.1002/wps.20310
“Following recovery from a first episode, a significant number of people will never experience a recurrence of psychosis.”
Mental Health Evaluation & Community Consultation Unit – MHECCU, (2020). Early identification of psychosis: A primer. Retrieved from https://www.health.gov.bc.ca/library/publications/year/misc/Psychosis_Identification.pdf
Journaling:
Have you ever heard this information? What do you feel about it? Do you think this applies to your situation around altered states experiences?
Do you think your family is aware of the information in these quotes? Has anyone ever point out this perspective to you before? Did anyone (doctors, hospital staff, etc) ever tell you the opposite?
Is this something you would want to discuss with your treatment team? Would they be surprised by any of this information?
Is there anyone else in your life that you would want to read these quotes? Do you feel they would be open to the information?
Would you ever want to read these original articles? Do any of them appeal to you more than the others? Why do you think that is? What do you think it might feel like if you did look them up?
Are there any factors that you feel are important that are not included in the quotes?
Changing our focus:
Please notice your breathing for a few moments. Pay attention to how your body moves with each in-breath and then again on the out-breath. How often do you pay attention to this sort of thing? Does noticing it make you change to either deeper or more shallow breaths? Do you ever pause to notice your breathing throughout your week? Does it feel relaxing at all? Does it allow you to shift your focus away from what you were just paying attention to? Are there certain instances that might be nice to focus on your breathing throughout your week? Have you ever invited friends or family to do a breathing exercise with you? Would it be worth trying?