Potentially excluded from therapy due to psycotic history?

[Marinna]

What's MH? Sometimes I suck at all these acronyms we use here lol.

Mental health?



Hell is a euphe...

Yeah mental health. Sorry. We aren't really supposed to use acronyms for this reason.
Yeah sleep loss was definitley a factor and the trauma was the cause of the psycosis. The second time though? Not so sure. My original trauma was mental health related. (Mental health related murder) so the psycosis was not as bad as being sectioned for me. Being locked in a confined space with other people with similar illnesses as the perp (and me to be fair) two weeks after the trauma was NOT cool but 'nessacary' as I was constantly told.

I think it may be important to remember that there is a difference to between psycosis and scitzophrenia. It doesn't have to be a life-long problem. Just make sure proffesionals in your life treat any serious sleep dep as an emergency. Even if you need to be dosed up on diazepam for a while.
For many people it is a one off thing. I hope it is for you. I am very hopeful that mine was a two time deal ha.

 

[Sweetleaf]

My original trauma was mental health related. (Mental health related murder) so the psycosis was not as bad as being sectioned for me. Being locked in a confined space with other people with similar illnesses as the perp (and me to be fair) two weeks after the trauma was NOT cool but 'nessacary' as I was constantly told.

Well there was no murder (thank god, because there totally could have been and I was threatened with death so much), but my abuser was very much mentally ill. He would go to the psych ward, and talk his way out without any real treatment. He's like high functioning crazy - crazy but also too intelligent to get treatment. Places like that are terrifying as all f*ck for me, too. When I was in the psych section of the ER, I was terrified of the other patients, I could hear this woman yelling and she scared the f*cking shit out of me. I'm sorry you had to face that shit, in that state, of all states to be in while facing that shit.

I think it may be important to remember that there is a difference to between psycosis and scitzophrenia. It doesn't have to be a life-long problem. Just make sure proffesionals in your life treat any serious sleep dep as an emergency.

Yes, absolutely. Only problem with that is that nobody has viewed sleep dep. as that big of a deal for me, but at the same time I haven't had any serious sleep deprivation since the trauma. The longest I was awake was a little over 40 hours, and it was due to having a medication dose changed.

 

[Marinna]

Well there was no murder (thank god, because there totally could have been and I was threatened with...

Yeah they are scary places. Not brilliant for mental health related trauma. More like extreme exposure when you just need rest.

I'm concerned they aren't taking it seriously. I get asked about sleep all the time. It's a major factor in my teams risk assesment. 40 is a long time, but hopefully not long enough to trigger a serious ep.
Don't worry so much that you can't sleep though (i know it is not that easy). Hope you are getting help with this :(

 

[Sweetleaf]

Not brilliant for mental health related trauma. More like extreme exposure when you just need rest.

Yeah, it really makes me afraid to tell my pdoc and therapist about depression problems I've had, the (minor) self harm I've done, and the fact that now and then I have suicidal thoughts/feelings. It's not presently a problem (though it totally can become one again). But, even though I know that I -shouldn't- be within the "involuntary hospitalization" criteria, I still am too afraid of that to tell them. I'd be okay with hospitalization if it weren't for the fact I'd be surrounded by people who are like my abuser, and literally in one of the same exact places my abuser went to.

40 is a long time, but hopefully not long enough to trigger a serious ep

It is a long time, and hilariously, my fear of psychosis, and my fear of not being able to sleep (which would eventually lead to psychosis), made me unable to sleep. Thankfully my diazepam prescription saved the day.

Hope you are getting help with this :(

I've since had my medication lowered back down, and I'm able to sleep (relatively) normally again. I'm getting at least 4 hours per night. The sleepless nights have ended. Whew. It's a shame, too. It pretty much obliterated my depression, but it drove my anxiety, panic, hypervigilance, etc. so high that I could feel it in my whole body, and I was just a complete wreck/mess. Oh well. I still am nowhere near the depression I was feeling weeks ago, thankfully.

 

[ILoveLife]

Not sure if you're still in this situation, but I also have a history of psychosis and to tell you the truth, I'd much rather have a T that aknowledges they don't have the expertise than to try and treat stuff that they hardly know about.

I'm currently quitting therapy with a T that, after I asked her if she had the credentials to treat my situation, said yes. Turns out she's doing more harm than good.

Psychosis can come back if triggered by other issues, such as trauma. It can come back soft, mild or strong, and luckily you faced a T that doesn't want to do that to you. It shows compassion and intelligence.

On the other hand, treating PTSD with psychosis on the mix is a very hard job, even for those that don't have symptoms of psychosis. I don't and turns out other stuff happens, such as mood instability to a higher degree, sleepless nights, nightmares when you do sleep. All things that can trigger another psychotic episode. So, it's hard to find a T that not only has the credentials, but is good at what they do and are willing to take the risks.

Honestly, I haven't given up yet. I'm still trying to find a good T for me, but I'm aware it will take time, money and potentially retraumatization.

I really hope you find someone who is willing to treat you, but don't be like me and believe them first hand, do your research and find yourself a good match :)
Good luck

 

[Marinna]

Not sure if you're still in this situation, but I also have a history of psychosis and to tell you the tr...

Hi there,
Thank you. I hope you find the right T. My phyciatrist is trying to find one 'in house' for me. So I am hopeful. I was a bit raw when I started this thread. I now know it was in my best interests etc. :)

 

[katz]

I went to a woman's crisis center. I went thru one 10 day "class" with about 5 other people. Then they just told me that "they can't help me". They just basically walked me to the door and put me out. No help. No guidance. No advice. Nothing.
I sat in the car and cried for two hours. Some "rescue center".

 

[Sweetleaf]

Even if you need to be dosed up on diazepam for a while.

It's kinda funny, I came back and re-read this thread. After the psychosis ended, I actually started taking diazepam 2-3 times per day. 1-5mg, depending on how much I was starting to freak out. But, after about 2 weeks, I was able to stop taking the diazepam constantly, because I wasn't in 24/7 panic mode.

Now it's just an occasional thing, and honestly, I should take it more often than I do, because I feel like I only use it as a last resort. I think I put myself through a lot of undue suffering. I have made 30 pills last like, 4 months, which is great, but I also just sit through it, suffer, and wait until it's nighttime and I'm way too anxious to sleep, to take it. When I finally do take it, I realize that I could have taken it earlier in the day, when the anxiety started being severe, and I'd have probably avoided a day of suffering. But, I hate the idea of having to take benzos to get through that shit. I hate taking pain meds, too, when I'm in pain - I always wait until I'm like "I CAN"T TAKE IT ANY LONGER!!!" to take any pain meds.

No help. No guidance. No advice. Nothing.
I sat in the car and cried for two hours. Some "rescue center".

That's horrible :cry: I'm sorry that happened.
Have you gotten any help since? Are you in therapy of any kind?

 

[katz]

It's kinda funny, I came back and re-read this thread. After the psychosis ended, I actually started...

No, not yet. I haven't been able to find a T. I've been looking and interviewing some. However, most want to charge me a full time price just to meet them.

(I actually told one of them that "it will cost me $60 to say "hello", even if I never see you again"?) She said "yes". I said "no thanks" and hung up.)

I'm getting tired of looking. I usually quit looking for a while, then go back to it. Maybe I'll find one someday. I know that I need one.

 

[EveHarrington]

No, not yet. I haven't been able to find a T. I've been looking and interviewing some. However, most want...

That’s crazy! You’d think they’d want to give a 15 minute phone session to upsell themselves!

 

[Sweetleaf]

@katz you may want to consider seeing if any nearby universities have a psychology program, or such things. They often offer free or very cheap therapy/counseling/etc. that is given by post-grad students (at my local university they all have masters or higher if they're doing this stuff), and they have trained, experienced, licensed people watching.

It's worth a shot. Better than having -no therapy at all-