Making meaning out of extremely troubling thoughts without medication
20 October 2024
Have you experienced recovery from troublesome and powerful subjective beliefs, typically diagnosed as 'psychotic delusions', without medication? Making sense of such thoughts will no doubt have involved highly sensitive, nuanced, and creative experiences on your part to understand and integrate them comfortably. If you have such experience, it could be very valuable indeed to those who are struggling with such thoughts, and this confidential study invites you to share your unique story.
Requirements
- At least five years ago, you believed that you were someone or something else, or that something was happening that was not, objectively, happening; and
- You were not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time; and
- You have developed your own understanding of these beliefs, which could now (if you wanted) be explained to, and understood by, others; and
- You have not used psychiatric medication; and
- You have a network of social support; and
- You are currently in full-time employment (or part-time employment and part-time study or professional training); and
- You would like to share your experiences, entirely confidentially, with a view to informing effective psychological support for those experiencing, and struggling with, what is often described as 'psychosis'.
Keywords
Ethical approval
Ethical approval for this study was received from the Metanoia Research Ethics Committee (Metanoia Institute / Middlesex University) on 4th October 2024.
Researcher supervisor: Dr Biljana Van Rijn - Metanoia Institute
About the researcher
It is now widely understood that beliefs described as 'psychotic' are deeply personal in nature; a means of self-expression, historically not fully understood. Having spent almost 20 years researching the various positions of the mental health system with regard to what is often termed 'psychosis', it seems important to hear more from those who have experienced what would typically be diagnosed as 'psychotic delusion' (e.g. thinking that you are someone or something else, or that something is happening that is not objectively happening, at least in the way perceived - amongst many other possibilities) but who have no experience of medication and instead have found other ways to understand, process and integrate their thoughts and beliefs in a way that works well for them. Though there are many ways to help and offer support to individuals experiencing severe emotional and psychological distress or confusion, individuals with the unique experience of not taking any psychiatric medication and achieving recovery are currently underrepresented in the literature available on 'psychosis' and their stories may well inform further development of effective psychological support for those experiencing what is often termed 'psychosis' in the mental health system.
