Topic Tuesday // Challenging Psychosis: Working with Thoughts // 23 Aug, 7pm AEST

[purebliss]

@CherryBomb I used to support a dear friend of mine who was diagnosed with schizophrenia at the time. I chatted to him almost every other night, and he explained to me once that for him, the experience of having psychosis is that the subconscious is dominating the conscious. Does that mean something to anyone here? 

And he also seems quiet and does not want to talk as well. Maybe it's because of the illness?

[leitor]

@CherryBomb The voices are very real to her, she hears me whispering that I am going to poison her, and no amount of logic or evidence will convince her otherwise.

[CherryBomb]

some great advice about what you can do if you see signs that suggest that your loved is getting unwell from @Koya

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@Koya wrote:
1. Look after yourself - make sure you and the person you are caring for are out of immediate danger.
2. Try to stay calm..if you can pull this off your calm may be contagious and help bring them down maybe to a state where they regain insight and then you can work with their evolved brain. It can give you time too to regain your calm and access your wisdom

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@PurpleMum gosh, you have a lot on your plate. From the sounds of it, your approach with your husband is really supportive - listening, grounding while not endorsing. It's stressful alone caring for your partner, but also coming to terms with brain lesions, and having a child with autism is a lot. It's understandable you want to cry. I hope that you do have some way of releasing tension and stress.  How long have things been like this? Have you got support for yourself?

[Former-Member]

@PurpleMum, that sounds like a really tough situation. It's great that your partner is engaged with treatment now. It can definitely take more than a couple of weeks for symptoms to respond to medication.

You ask a really good question. Caring for someone who is experiencing paranoia, as well as your two boys, is going to be really exhausting. Looking after yourself is really important and a constant battle for carers. From what you've said, the most difficult step has been taken and he is now receiving treatment. Do you have support for you right now, such as friends or family you can talk to or professional support?

[Koya]

Where can you get support from? Are there other family/friends who can help support your partner?

[CherryBomb]

@leitor for your partner those voices are as real as the words are on this screen that you reading right now now. Telling her otherwise, I imagine, would be both distressing for her, and challenging for you. I think @Former-Member has some advice on how people can explore beliefs with their loved ones. The other service you migh be interested in @leitor is Hearing Voices. I'm not sure what state you're in but they have groups throughout Australia (and the world).

[hope77]

My brother used logic on me when I was going through Psychosis. which was frustrating at first but he remained calm and said to me challenge your thoughts and see how that feels. did not once put me down for having those thoughts or disbelieved me just quietly told me to challenge them. it work

[Former-Member]

That's right. One of the first steps in exploring the beliefs is to try to validate some of the underlying emotions. In the situation you described @leitor , one thing you might be able to do is try to connect with the fear that she must be feeling, thinking that you're going to poison her, rather than getting into a conversation about whether or not that is true. Have you been able to discuss those emotions at all?

[Former-Member]

In CBT, exploring beliefs associated with voices and delusions is something that will usually happen several sessions into the treatment when a strong relationship has been built. This is the part where thoughts can be challenged.

With voices, it involves exploring beliefs about the voices and how the person responds when they hear the voice. For example, do they believe what the voice is saying? Is the voice threatening? Changing these aspects, rather than the voice itself, can reduce distress.

With delusions, we can explore why someone thinks this thing is happening. For example, if they feel they are being watched, it might be possible to explore why they think this person or people are watching them. It is thought that people with delusions often have a tendency to jump to conclusions based on little information. We can encourage them to collect more information about what is going on. After working with a person with delusions for many sessions, a therapist might be able to encourage them to ask themselves, “Is there any other possible explanation?”

As we talked about earlier, maintaining trust is so important so any steps to challenge delusions need to be really gentle. Has anyone been able to have any conversations like this with their loved one?

[BRIANNA]

I never knew how to challenge psychosis or that I shouls. Some of the worst times of my life was watching my son go through his battles