A bug...

Psychosis is a state when one can not distinguish what is real and what is not.During a psychotic episode individuals experience a state where they hear , smell or experience things that are not happening.Psychosis can be so scary for the person that experiences those episodes as it affects cognition, perception, mood, behaviour and movement. Genetics and environmental factors define the onset and prognosis of any type of psychosis.As I have said many times those individuals with the appropriate help can be functional and learn to control the psychotic episodes.Of course psychotic episodes can also be drug induced or brief psychotic episodes that appear in a stressful period of ones life and leave as sudden as they appeared.

Last week I watched on the theater a play called "bug". The whole story is unveiled in a motel room where Agnes is leaving in fear as she finds out that her ex husband is on parole. Then her friend comes to visit her and they stay drinking and snorting cocaine in her room.Her friend introduces Agnes to Peter a person that she recently met.They are left alone and start falling in love.After they make love Peter starts observing bugs inside the sheets.Agnes can not see them but Peter says that they are really small and feed of our skin.Then Agnes finds a secret.Peter said that he was in the army where they experimented on him and things start to get worse.More bugs and an interplay of fantasy and reality.

Throughout out the play are mentioned many conspiracy theories.Conspiracy theories can leave people living in fear, in agony, in terror in an almost psychotic states sometimes.Can actually conspiracy theories induce psychosis?Can they make people even more vulnerable to any government and media demands?So many thoughts on psychosis....

(art by krecha)

The labyrinth of the mind

“Insanity -- a perfectly rational adjustment to an insane world”

R.D Laing (psychiatrist)

Suffering from a mental illness is like been trapped in a labyrinth. The labyrinth is dark and vast and it is difficult to find an exit. Those people are often labeled easily by the “normal” ones as being disturbed, crazy and scary. When a murder occurs we are ready to assume that this was an act of an insane person and we are ready to separate us from them because we are normal and they are not. For me what is normal is something relevant and the most gruesome acts can are caused by the so called “normal” people.

Before you haste to condemn and stigmatize someone for being crazy or psycho consider the following facts: People that suffer from a mental illness are not more likely to commit a murder that the so called “normal" people. In particular schizophrenics that have been stigmatized and feared are usually catatonic and passive. They are more likely become a threat to themselves as they often commit suicide and its rare to become a threat to others and can only happen if untreated. If a person that suffers from a mental illness commits a murder do not haste to assume that this happened because he/she had a mental illness. One should consider factors like the experiences and environment that interplay and this can be the cause of the excessive anger that is bottled up inside someone before they commit a crime. Even amongst serial killers what was discovered that they had in common was heavy consumption of alcohol and drugs that can elicit violent behavior. Violent behavior can also be elicited when someone has a personality disorder but again every person that has a personality disorder does not commit homicides. The causes are deeper and more complex and I think really we have to consider them individually with every case. The so called normal people are committing more murders.

The mind is a complex mechanism and there is always logic as to why things happen even behind the most gruesome acts. These acts are disturbing but society itself is disturbing and promotes violence, alienation and insecurity. Moreover, if there is a person that committed a murder and suffered from a mental illness it is sad for people that suffer from a disorder to be stigmatized. What they need is our support, ongoing treatment and a secure base so that they don’t feel that they are falling in the void.

(art by pesare)

on depression

(This article was inspired by a blog friend who is wondering...)


Depression has affected most of the creative people in this world and makes no exceptions as noone is immune to depression. Statistics indicate that 1 in 4 might suffer from depression at one point in their lives. It is true that the term depression really does not say much about what a person goes through and can not describe the severity or intensity of the symptoms.This is why psychologists talk about different types of depression: mild depression, moderate and severe.

The warning signs of depression are feelings of hopelessness,loss of interest or pleasure, insomnia or excessive sleep,fatigue, suicidal ideation, anxious or empty mood, irritability, changes in weight or appetite e.t.c
This does not mean that anyone that has these symptoms is depressed as they need to be persistent for a month at least 5 of these symptoms, to be present most of the day and to affect the quality of life of an individual.
Really the best thing when recognising these symptoms is getting some support, usually those with severe depression tend to ask more commonly for help as the ones with mild depression often think that it will pass without support or that there is nothing wrong and usually they don't look depressed so other people don't get alarmed.

I think it is a shame when people view the term depression as a stigma as it can happen to anyone, there comes a time that coping is too difficult and there is nothing wrong with asking for a little help.It is worse suffering in silence. As I said before many great thinkers, wonderful personalities have suffered from depression...Does this mean that they are not strong or important?

Of course not!!

(image by krecha)

Stigma of psychological distress

I am interested in the views of people concerning mental disorders.How do you feel about people who carry the stigma of suffering from a mental disorder and if you have experienced difficulties or your friends because of the stigma that psychological distress carries in our society.


Πως θα αντιδρούσατε αν καποιος σας έλεγε οτι έχει μια ψυχική διαταραχή;


I think that suffering is a part of life but for some people especially those with a mental illness it takes a more profound meaning.
As Charmaz wrote: suffering shapes social relationships and limits social worlds.Suffering shapes daily life and shapes lasting meanings...
Moreover when these people are stigmatised they are been isolated and as if the difficulties that they experience are not enough, they are isolated from the social world.From my experiece I know that even in the most difficult cases things can be done to enable them to be more functional and achieve a quality of life.What I don't seem to understand is how this society ended up to be so judgmental after all.

(art by Pete Revonkorpi)