Interacting with Someone in Psychosis | Advice Series

Our latest video in our advice series answers the question: "I was wondering if you have any advice on how one should interact with a loved one who is in the midst of a psychotic episode?"

I provide my own experience with this as well as advice I've learned from trying to navigate it myself.

I have a background as a social worker and of course have my own experience navigating living with schizoaffective disorder. In these segments I try to bridge together these two perspectives. However I am not a medical practitioner so all advice is purely based off my own experiences and should not be taken as medical advice.

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#schizophrenia #livingwellwithschizophrenia #schizoaffectivedisorder #mentalhealth #psychosis

[LivingWellwithSchizophrenia]

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[burgundyyearwood]

My partner can see when I'm moving into paranoid thoughts and is very calm and understanding. He'll explain why I shouldn't worry, instead of questioning my perception. I'll think I'm unsafe, and he will just say..." this neighborhood has great people living here, great schools, lots of families. Look!! That's the new high school they just built." He is amazing. My trust with him helped me get diagnosed. He understood my perception wouldn't change, so he shifts my focus. It's amazing and builds so much trust!

[snoozyq]

I thought I was in a war and my brother just asked if I had eaten, slept, did I want soup or something else, and I snapped out of my psychosis so fast because he was so chill it didn't match my war scenario at all

[moonshine]

My son is currently dealing with psychosis, I'm literally fighting to get him back, into reality, the hospital has been terrible, not wanting to properly put him back on all his medicine and leaving him in his psychotic episode as his new baseline. I'm always the enemy when his episode hits, and it's absolutely heartbreaking, and super hard to even break through that stream of consciousness while in the episode. In the USA our healthcare system is horrible and lazy. I really just want to THANK YOU for uploading these videos.

[stevelevi]

Based on my experience with having schizophrenia, things are somewhat straight forward. Kindness and empathy towards those in psychosis is crucial. Beyond that it's also simple. I.e: don't ridicule, mock, laugh at, be too reactionary or emotional, demean, gaslight etc.

[Orgotheonemancult]

This is becoming one of my favorite channels.
Don't have schizophrenia/schizoaffective nor do I know anyone who does, but the perspective you offer is so engaging!

[Fortuna]

Fantastic advice! Not sure if you mentioned it explicitly, maybe it was implied, but a key thing is you MUST stay calm when interacting with anyone experiencing psychosis. Their behaviour may frustrate and anger you, but becoming angry towards them or employing any sort of "tough love" approach has never worked well for me when my husband was experiencing psychosis. It is especially important to de-escalate the situation to maintain safety, as sometimes there can be a risk of violence while someone is experiencing psychosis.

[johnniewilliams]

I am currently dating a girl who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and my mother was also diagnosed, and this makes me feel good to know that hopefully I'm doing the most supportive thing possible for them at least according to this video.

[silly.sarbear]

I remember the video where Rob was like, “lauren is a marathon runner” when sharing one of your experiences about being in psychosis, and it was great to hear you both giggle about it later, even though In the moment it was quite serious. If I don’t laugh at the ways I’ve acted out sometimes during episodes, I might always be crying!! Love you guys!

[annikaboss]

Dear Lauren, I usually do never comment on any video but I just wanted to tell you, that the videos that you and Rob are producing are so helpful on many levels. I am currently working as a therapist in a hospital in Germany (I'm a psychologist), and in my job I am often confronted with people in the midst of a psychosis. Your videos do help me more than loads of books that I read to properly interact with patients that are in a psychosis. You usaully learn all the basics, hard facts, therapeutic standards cts. but what is often lacking is the emotional side and the view of somemone that has expierenced it.I admire you for your openness and thoughtfulness as I know how hard it can be to talk about those vulnerable moments especially in a medium like youtube. So thank you so so much!

[suzannealsop]

Agree that a real demonstration of love is required when psychotic. There’s no chance of talking me out of what I’m believing is real when in psychosis. I too have been distrusting of my husband when in psychosis but what is important to remember for those loved ones as you rightly said Lauren is that it is just the illness talking and not a reflection of their feelings towards you when well. It can be difficult to cope with for those who care for you but they must see past the illness at those times 💚

[breblizz]

From an article I read:
10 tips for handling a schizophrenia crisis:
Remember that you cannot reason with acute psychosis.
The person may be terrified by their own feelings of loss of control.
Don't express irritation or anger.
Speak quietly and calmly, do not shout or threaten the person.
Don't use sarcasm as a weapon.
Decrease distractions by turning off the TV, computer, any fluorescent lights that hum, etc.
Ask any casual visitors to leave—the fewer people the better.
Avoid direct, continuous eye contact.
Avoid touching the person.
Sit down and ask the person to sit down as well.

[AubsAndreya]

Lauren, this video is SO HELPFUL. I’m a nursing student and I’m about to start my psychiatric clinical and I’m learning so much from you! Hearing this information from the client perspective is really helpful so I can provide more compassionate care. Thank you ❤️

[pjtibayan]

Thank you for helping us! My notes:

Acknowledge their experience... validate it and ask if they want to talk more about what they are experiencing.

Let's talk about the emotions, feelings, and response to this experience.

How can we move forward with our day without those responses still being the case.

Build trust/rapport and drive home that you are a safe person and that they can trust you.

Build trust within that moment. Someone's reality is shifted int eh midst of psychotic episode.

Validate. Talk about feelings. then talk about how to move forward for the day and if more support is needed then seeking that greater help.

[layotheleprechaun]

Journaling was the best short term solution for getting myself out of psychosis

[bellacutie]

I liked you talking about your psychotic experience with that police officer. Police relations are scarier than ever and it's sad sometimes how some police interactions end. I really wish there were more people normalizing psychosis and severe mental illness for emergency personnel. Their job isn't easy and when medical responders aren't sure we're trained to call in police to clear danger unfortunately. I'm proud that you were able to talk with your local department and that an officer recognized you when you were struggling. It's amazing what choosing to be vulnerable can do sometimes. You never know when someone you choose to open up to will end up being there when you most need it even if it can be scary at the time. I'm so glad you're so open about your experiences. Responders like that have indirectly touched my life and I'm so happy they were there when they were. I'm happy you had someone there for you and hope you're doing well and keep doing well. Schizophrenic, scizoaffective and bipolar can be terrifying. Misunderstanding makes it so much worse which is why stigma is so devastating.

[olgathehandmaid]

My mother experienced intense schizophrenic episodes pretty late in life, or at least she went undiagnosed until she was in her 50s and never let on any symptoms. By the time she was in full "everyone's is trying to kill us there are cameras and microphones everywhere and the cats are robot spies" zone, it was a complete shock and surprise to us all. We tried to get her help, she claims the meds she got made her a zombie (which I don't doubt)... I talked with her about how we could support her as tween/teenage daughters living at home and we did everything she asked for years, struggling through her worst episodes and building a rapport though she was tearing our lives down around us (and burning bridges with the community, our friends and family members)... and tried to get support from the psychiatrists and therapists she was seeing to no real answers or help. Her final episode, everyone was against her, my eyes were demon eyes, all of our clothing had to be washed non stop 24/7, my grandmother was putting cameras places, there were snipers in the trees ready to kill us all; and when we called to bring her to the hospital they promised they wouldn't release her without letting us know. 2am the following morning there was a knock on the locked door, and my mother was standing there soaking wet like a nightmare and stared at us, and said "can't keep me in the nut house for long." and smiled. It was the last time I saw her, it's been ten years. I've since had my first car, first job, married, own a home and a business, and I think about her often. She left for Tennessee (she always loved the south, ), and I got a letter in the mail last year from her, ten pages of aggressive ramblings and nonsensical life advice. I was both heartbroken (I was always waiting for the day she'd get it figured out and she could come back into my life) and relieved that my distance had been justified. I pray for her every single day to find peace and healing, and wish she'd been able to witness her daughters grow into adulthood.

[allyson]

I can’t thank you enough for this -this video, this channel, everything. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

[polyglot]

Thanks, Lauren. I'm a clinical social worker in training so this was nice to hear about psychosis from the point of view of someone experiencing it and how to help.

[Con_blue]

Loving that you post more regularly lately!💗