Hey Fun Fact Did You Know That If You're On The Schizophrenia Spectrum, Have Psychosis, Have Psychotic

hey fun fact did you know that if you're on the schizophrenia spectrum, have psychosis, have psychotic symptoms or traits, etc, that you're loved and your symptoms and traits should not be vilainized or seen as evil or ugly?

sending love and support & a big ol shout out to psychotics whose psychosis is easily influenced by the fiction they consume. (a classic psychotic experience & symptom is a general struggle in the ability to discern what is and isn't reality; fiction & reality blur together easily) and infinite love & support for those whose psychosis has made it difficult and/or outright dangerous to continue to consume the same media's you loved and cherished. it's heartbreaking! and very difficult to deal with, especially when fiction used to be a safe escape. I hope you find ways to cope and ways to manage that balance between your health and what makes you happy. grounding techniques can help a lot when you feel that first sense of slippage!

Some ways people helped me while I was in psychosis:

Remaining calm since everything was amplified to me. Yelling at me could do something like trigger my mind to think nuclear bombs are falling

Listening to me without intentionally confirming my delusions or feeding them. This kept me safe from spiraling

Being kind. No matter how unwell I was I could still detect kindness

Having someone to advocate for me

Simply keeping me company. A silent distraction from a mind full of delusions goes a long way

Letting me vent however I needed to (as long as I wasn't an endangerment to myself or others)

Talking to me in good spirits. In psychosis a bad mood is contagious

Reminding me to take my medication or softly reinforcing their importance

Not acting like I'm unruly and viewing me with eyes of compassion

Providing me with basic comforts like food, drinks and clothing

Playing calming music

Laughing with me and not at me

Gently encouraging personal hygiene

Accepting that nonsensical ramblings or writings happen

Understanding that delusions may hold very big power over someone and can persuade someone to do things out of "character"

Being supportive of my being sober

Guiding me away from toxic individuals who don't have my best interest at heart

Not holding grudges no matter how embarrassing I may be when I was lost in my mind

Joining me outside to feel the comforts of the outdoors (once I was stable with mental health support)

Providing hugs as long as it was consensual

Most importantly I was seen as a person. Someone with as many complexities as anyone else

It didn’t kill me, but a part of me died that day.

A reminder that weed and its by-products are one of the leading causes of psychosis. They are not for everyone. Its effects can lead to psychotic breaks, dissociation, time fragmentation, panic attacks, feeling like you are dying, amnesia, incoherence, hallucinations, loss of sense of self, paranoia, intrusive thoughts, and so much more.

The same applies to all recreational drugs and psychedelics.

Psychotic breaks can happen to anyone, even to people without a mental illness. The risk increases if there are previous risk factors such as substance abuse, trauma, one or more previous mental illnesses, or previous psychotic breaks (independently of their cause), to name a few; as well as certain personality traits.

Every person reacts differently to every drug, even when taking the same dose on different days. There's no way to know how it will impact you on any given day. Your mental, emotional and physical wellbeing at the moment of using any drug play a big role in its effects. Whatever reason you have for using any drug, it is really important to have previous knowledge and be in a proper mindset.

Do not use again after experiencing a psychotic break, any of the symptoms mentioned or other distressing symptoms.

Greetings bugs and worms!

This comic is a little different than what I usually do but I worked real hard on it—Maybe I'll make more infographic stuff in the future this ended up being fun. Hope you learned something new :)

If you are still curious and want to learn more about OCD, you can visit the International OCD Foundation's website. I also recommend this amazing TED ED video "Starving The Monster", which was my first introduction to the disorder and this video by John Green about his own experience with OCD.

The IOCDF's website can also help you find support groups, therapy, and has lots of online guides and resources as well if you or a loved one is struggling with the disorder. It is very comprehensive!

Reblog to teach your followers about OCD

(But also not reblogging doesn't make you evil, silly goose)