# how do we know we aren't psychotic?



## KCrazy (Apr 1, 2009)

How do we really know we are not psychotic?? What's the differences between psychosis and dp/dr because from what I have read, the symptons are similar, aren't they? How do we know we all aren't gonna just lose it one day? I mean we could be doing ok right now but just go crazy the next day. I have been thinking about this a lot lately.


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## Garjon (Apr 4, 2009)

wow looks like we posted pretty much the same post at the same time. I just posted something i guess right when you did about this. I have often wondered about this myself and even though people continually reassure me that this isn't going to happen..i am still very afraid that one day it will. Then sometimes i feel like thats way off and it will never happen. it's just so damn hard to explain what the hell is going on with us and in our minds. It really doesn't make much sense at all. I have a hard time believing that this is just going to randomly go away one day. but hopefully it will!


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## KCrazy (Apr 1, 2009)

Lol yea I read ur post. And yea man I just keep worrying about that all the time now man. For a while I was scared I was gonna develop dementia for some reason, but yesterday I read about how there's a lot of people who develop marijuana induced psychosis, and how they go on to develop schitzophrenia and now I'm convinced I might have psychosis even though my symptoms aren't that bad most of the time but I still wonder why did this happen to me? When there are plenty of other people who have had anxiety attacks while smoking weed and they don't get the derealization and hppd. Soo doesn't this mean that I must have marijuana induced psychosis? Man this sucks!!!!!


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## Garjon (Apr 4, 2009)

yeah but i think the biggest thing about psychosis in our favor at this point is that generally you lack the insight to know that you are becoming psychotic. What happens is you just kinda go crazy without realizing it and other people have to observe it in you and get you help because of your unusual behavior. I don't think if we were going crazy that we would know we were. Or at least this is how i try to convince myself everyday. But i feel your pain man, i wake up every morning thinking that this could be the last day the world makes sense to me.


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## adyttzzzzu (May 14, 2009)

Garjon said:


> i am still very afraid that one day it will. Then sometimes i feel like thats way off and it will never happen. it's just so damn hard to explain what the hell is going on with us and in our minds. It really doesn't make much sense at all.


I feel you


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## Garjon (Apr 4, 2009)

oh and also, as for hppd, i thought that only occurred after taking a psychedelic drug like acid or mushrooms. I have visual snow from taking acid and that has always kinda bothered me..and i sometimes wonder if my drug experiences led to my dp, but i hadn't taken acid or mushrooms for 6 years when my dp hit so it doesn't seem like there could be any correlation there. I smoked pot every now and then in that period and popped some pills but always woke up feeling fine. It was just one night where i got way to drunk, woke up the next day and had a coffee and a bagel and then bam, panic attack which lead to dp/dr. Now my life is only getting more and more awesome by the day haha.


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## Rebekah (May 16, 2009)

Don't worry about going crazy, if you are tested by a doc and found to have "intact reality testing" you have nothing to worry about. Also, schizophrenia runs in families, and if you don't have it in your family tree that should preclude you from it also. I was diagnosed originally with severe dissociative disorder and DP about 20 years ago, and had DP from smoking pot when I was 14. I'm now 48 and my mind is getting stronger. For some reason because my senses are not too reliable, my intuitive knowledge has kicked and it takes over when I "can't see." It's so much better to live by the gut, rather than by the senses, anyway. At work, I always know what to do next because I get a feel for things now. It's like a person who is deaf has eagle vision, then. Don't worry, it's just the DP talking--I went through that and it will pass.


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## voidvoid (Sep 5, 2008)

We know we are not psychotic (per definition) because we can ask that very question.


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## dancintrulife (Jun 18, 2009)

What if you've actually been diagnosed with schizophrenia? How then do you know the difference? Cos I was never told _why_ I apparently have it but I sure as hell aren't psychotic. It's not a denial thing, it;s being able to question it for a start and knowing that what I'm feeling is just a feeling and not true. I still know I'm real and so are things around me, they just don't _feel_ it at times. Or am I actually psychotic? One doctor mentioned derealisation, the latest time I saw my pysch he said it was anxiety and panic attacks, he didn't mention psychosis.


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## voidvoid (Sep 5, 2008)

I know very little about schizophrenia, So I cannot comment on that matter. Although the fact that one doctor mentioned Derealization and the other Anxiety/Panic attacks and what you are describing certainly points towards you having depersonalization/derealization. Which is often misdiagnosed as schizophrenia.

Peace.


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## dancintrulife (Jun 18, 2009)

Thank you, even my therapist who knew me much better than any doctor didn't think I had schizophrenia. I learned in a psychology class there have to be several episodes before it can be diagnosed, I only had one and I knew I was "going crazy" or at least that something was wrong.


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## Garjon (Apr 4, 2009)

what was happening when you "knew you were going crazy"? Like what kind of stuff? haha i probably shouldn't be asking cause it will just make me look for more signs but i'm curious.


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## dancintrulife (Jun 18, 2009)

I can't actually remember to be honest, I know I had a few delusions but my therapist said that can come with depression which I defintely had. I was just thinking too much and making connections that weren't there. Maybe I was a bit psychotic then but I know I haven't been since, it's just this not feeling real and things around me not seeming real or familiar. But it can be so strong, at least I don't have it 24/7 that's one thing to be glad of.


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## Garjon (Apr 4, 2009)

for sure man i have it 24/7 and i wish it came and went. Interestingly enough though i got back in touch with an ex girlfriend of mine from highschool and asked her about a period of my life that i was going through in highschool where i was experiencing some dissociation and i asked her if i ever talked about going crazy. She said i talked about it all the time and was really worried about it and that it lasted for about 6-8 months. This was reassurring for me about just because it's only been 4 and a half months for me at this point so maybe this time it will subside too. She also told me that i shouldn't be on xanax but lexapro instead because xanax really isn't meant for the type of thing that i am going through. I don't know what to make of all this but hopefully i will figure it all out soon.


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## KCrazy (Apr 1, 2009)

Thanks for the replies, and as for the hppd I have no idea how I got it but I have only ate like half a shroom in my life and that was like 3 years ago and besides that I have only smoked weed. The reason I am being so scared about this is that I read that people who have a psychotic episode while smoking weed are likely to go on to develop shizophrenia. I didn't really think I had a psychotic episode on weed but what happened was I ate way too much and then my heart started beating really fast and I thought I was going to die so I think it was more of an anxiety attack but I am thinking that maybe it might have been a psychotic episode.


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## voidvoid (Sep 5, 2008)

You have to be really careful with weed these days. Be picky. I dont smoke it (anymore) but I know there is weed with THC-levels ranging from the good/relatively safe 4 to 10% up to sick levels like 30%, smoking/eating weed with THC levels like 30% can obviously fuck you up. On the streets of England it is called "Skunk". Im pretty sure you dont find thc-levels that high in weed growing naturally in the earth. If only weed was legal and could be grown naturally/organic like the weed of the 60?s and 70?s. Im sure there were organized indoor grow-ops then aswell tho...

If I were to smoke it again I would make sure it was as organic as possible and not include over 10% THC.


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## Garjon (Apr 4, 2009)

man the last weed i smoked was actually grown by a friend of mine, i was drunk as hell when i smoked it and i only took two hits. Immediately my drunk went away and i was stoned as shit and paranoid trying to fall asleep. luckily i was able to fall asleep before i got too paranoid.


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## dancintrulife (Jun 18, 2009)

I almost wish I was psychotic again, at least then I wouldn't realise I was going crazy, with dp you're so aware of what's happening and it's there and you can't get away from it. But then I should be careful what I wish for. I'm just sick of it.


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## Garjon (Apr 4, 2009)

i hope that i never experience any form of psychosis. I am fine feeling like it could happen just as long as it doesn't.


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