Fox

Happy disability pride month! Turn this into an ask game or just respond with your answers! There's one question per day in July so if you want to just respond to them in order that's possible but if not feel free to just do whatever! Feel free to float this around at any time of the year, I'm just writing it for disability pride month. These questions are composed of multiple questions so that people have some options with what parts they answer- don't feel pressured to answer all (or any) of a question!

What are you most proud about with your psychotic identity? If you aren't proud of your psychotic identity, what do you wish for that could make you proud?

Do you relate to the neurodivergent label? Do you identify with it? Why or why not? Do you feel included in the neurodivergent community?

Have you ever told someone in your life that you experience psychosis? If you have, how did they react? If not, why are you hesitant about telling people? How would you like someone to react?

Do you have a diagnosis? Do you agree with that diagnosis? If you are self diagnosed, why have you not sought a diagnosis? How has your diagnosis (or lack thereof) affected your treatment, both in the doctor's office and outside of it?

Do you feel like your psychosis affects your art or writing? Are you more or less creative in psychosis? Do you ever use art or writing as an outlet when you are in psychosis?

Do you experience any symptoms other than hallucinations and delusions when you are in psychosis? If so, how do you think those symptoms change your experience of psychosis? Are those symptoms more or less prominent than your hallucinations and delusions?

How did you find out you are psychotic? Did your first episode catch you by surprise or did you see it coming? What brought you out of your first psychotic episode, if you have been brought out of it?

How do you feel about the way psychosis is treated on tumblr? What about on other social media? If you could change the way people treat psychosis on the internet, what would you change?

What was the best interaction you've had with someone while in psychosis? If you have never had a good interaction while in psychosis, what do you think a good interaction would look like?

Has an experience with psychosis ever had a lasting impact on how you see yourself? If so, was that impact positive or negative? What changed about how you see yourself?

If you could teach every apsychotic person in the world just one thing about psychosis, or the condition that causes your psychosis, what would you teach them?

What does supporting you through a delusion look like for you? What do you wish the people around you would do when you are experiencing a delusion? If you don't experience delusions, what would supporting you through a hallucination look like?

Do you have the ability to double book-keep (understand that a belief is a delusion while still believing in that belief)? Did you learn that skill intentionally or did it come naturally with time? How long did it take to develop this skill? If you have not developed this skill, do you think it would be helpful to have? How do you think it would change the way your experience the world?

Do you socially withdraw while in psychosis? If you do, how do you regain touch with your relationships? Do the people around you understand your social withdrawal, are they patient? If you do not regain your relationships, do you wish that you could? How would understanding of your social withdrawal look for you? If you don't socially withdraw, do your symptoms affect your relationships in other ways?

Where do you feel solidarity from outside of the psychotic community? Have you ever found understanding in other communities? If you haven't, how could other communities be more welcoming to you?

If you have a professional diagnosis, did you self diagnose your psychosis before seeing a psychiatrist or did the diagnosis surprise you? If you self diagnosed before going to a psychiatrist, were you hesitant to seek a professional diagnosis? What made you concerned? If you are currently self diagnosed, do you plan to seek a professional diagnosis? Why or why not?

Are you able to recognize your psychotic episodes? Do you have a method for recognizing them? How does this change your response to a psychotic episode? If you cannot recognize your psychotic episodes, how would you change the way you engage with your psychosis if you could?

Have you ever met anyone else who you know is psychotic? Did you disclose your own psychosis to them? How did/do you know them? How did you feel when they disclosed their psychosis to you? If you have never met anyone else who experiences psychosis, what do you think it would feel like to meet them?

What is one myth about psychosis or psychotic people that you wish you could dispel? What do you wish people would understand instead?

How do you prefer to be referred to in regards to your psychosis? Do you prefer person first language (person with psychosis) or identity first language (psychotic person)? Do you think your choice affects the stigma around psychosis and the public view of psychosis? What is your first reaction to the word choice involved in the choice you did not make?

Do you have any other diagnoses besides your (self diagnosed or otherwise) psychotic disorder? Is your psychosis caused by another disorder entirely? How do your other diagnoses affect your experience of psychosis?

If your psychosis is listed in your medical record, or if you disclose your psychosis to other providers, how does it affect the way other providers treat you? Have you ever had a positive experience with a provider finding out you are psychotic? If you do not share your psychosis with medical professionals, what influences this decision?

Are you involved in the mad pride movement? Have you ever been involved in the mad pride movement? What contributed to that decision? If you don't know what the mad pride movement is, have you ever been in any other movements that center psychotic people? What was your experience in them like?

Do you reclaim any words that are used derogatorily towards psychotic people like crazy, insane, or mad (not the emotion)? How do you feel about those words and people's usage of them? Do you think they should be reclaimed, or do you feel that they should be left behind entirely? How do you feel about apsychotic people's usage of them to insult others (e.g he's crazy)? What about casual use (e.g that's crazy)?

Have you ever attended a support group designed for psychotic people? Did you like it? Did you find it helpful? If you have not attended a support group for psychotic people, would you want to? Why or why not?

Every psychotic person is unique, how could the psychotic community better support you as a psychotic person? If nothing is coming to mind, what is one way that the psychotic community does a good job supporting you?

What does good psychotic representation look like to you? Have you ever seen psychosis represented in media? If so, have you ever seen psychotic representation that you feel reflected the psychotic experience? What are some tropes that you wish media would stop using for psychotic people?

What are some non-psychotic things that you associate with psychosis or your psychotic disorder? Do you have colors, animals, plants, bugs, objects, etc. that you associate with your psychosis or psychotic disorder? Do you have a reason for those associations, or do you just feel those associations in your heart?

Do you prefer that your psychosis symptoms be pointed out to you or ignored? How does it make you feel when people point out your psychosis symptoms? If you do want your psychosis symptoms pointed out, how should people go about that? Who do you feel comfortable with pointing out your psychotic symptoms?

What is a song or poem that you feel describes your experience in psychosis? Do you have any playlists with songs that you connect to your psychosis or psychotic disorder? If you can't think of any, summarize your experience of psychosis into a sentence or paragraph.

I want to switch doctors because I think he’s diagnosed me with hEDS too quickly simply because I also have POTS and gastroparesis. People have told me that I’m wrong for wanting to do this because it’s really hard to get an hEDS diagnosis and I’ve had medical related paranoia in the past.

Am I wrong here?

You're not wrong. getting a hEDS diagnosis without going through the exclusion process kills people when things like vEDS and lupus are missed. the difficulty that the majority of people experience getting a hEDS diagnosis should not influence someone's decisions to protect their safety.

I’ve been actively doing PT and my mobility is getting worse not better. I developed symptoms of POTS, gastroparesis and esophageal dysmotility within the last 8 months.

The first thing to know is that recognizing a delusion does not come easily- especially if you are not experienced in dealing with them. most people will only figure out that a belief is a delusion after the delusion has passed.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself:

Do trusted people in my life insist that one (or several) of my beliefs are not true?

Do I have a hard time backing up my beliefs with evidence? (particularly evidence that other people can agree with)

Are my beliefs consistent with my previous experiences? (e.g if you think your friend is trying to harm you, has that friend ever tried to harm you in the past or expressed that they want to harm you? is this a sudden change in character for them?)

Do I know what led to me believing this? (if this belief is new, do you know why you changed your mind?)

Do I have a hard time listening to other people's perspectives on my belief because my belief feels so obviously true?

Do I feel like other people are trying to lie to me or manipulate me when they offer alternatives to my belief?