Posted by Mark H. on July 25, 2002, at 18:46:05
In reply to what is a psychotic break? , posted by bookgurl99 on July 24, 2002, at 1:08:56
Beloved Bookgurl,
I agree with Judy's answer. Sometimes called a schizogenic break, or temporary psychosis, it refers to experiencing the symptoms of acute schizophrenia without necessarily having the disease.
An example from my own life is when a dear friend, under far too much situational stress in her personal and professional life, believed that she was being poisoned by her spouse. At one point, she refused to take off her clothes at the hospital, because she thought her pdoc was going to send her to the gas chamber (this delusion was intertwined with knowledge of the concentration camps in Germany during WWII).
These periods of florid psychosis were relatively short-lived and infrequent, and the individual was at all other times completely normal, reliable, competent and, if anything, a brilliant over-achiever.
I think it is reassuring to know that having a psychotic break does not necessarily mean that one has a chronic, long-term and severe mental illness. Rather, it demonstrates that most of us are on a continuum of mental health, and that our place on that continuum can and does change in accordance with both inner and outer circumstances. Perhaps those of us nearer the "vulnerable" end of the spectrum need to exercise more caution and reserve than those whose psyches are more robust.
It's important for me when I'm feeling particularly good not to over-extend myself or to become ambitious based on the relative euphoria, heightened verbal and intellectual skills, and grandiosity that accompany hypomania. I realize that a great deal of the normality and good health that I enjoy is founded on my maintenance of a predictable routine.
In practice this means, for instance, that although my work provides the opportunity for me to travel to different places in the world, I acknowledge that the stress of traveling -- the stress of the unfamiliar -- is more harmful to me (and to my work) than any benefit I might gain by having first-hand experience of our projects. That's what I mean by saying I need to be humble before my stress.
I've rambled a bit here, but I hope some of this is helpful to you.
With kind regards,
Mark H.
poster:Mark H.
thread:708
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20020702/msgs/732.html