Positive Changes After FEP
My first episode of psychosis was not very fun. While it’s easy to understand why the episode itself was very scary, the aftermaths of psychosis is not commonly discussed. After my first episode, I related to many of the negative experiences associated with psychosis described in this paper: cognitive difficulties, hard-to-cope-with negative emotions, struggle to make sense of the episode, profound loss of sense of self, difficulties establishing or maintaining connections with others, among others. The negative consequences, I think, are too easy to fixate on and thusly get lost in. This paper highlights positive changes as a result of psychosis, which I’ve come to resonate with instead. I can personally attest to experiencing positive changes as well! Greater clarity on self and others, greater self-understanding and acceptance, greater emphasis on the importance of others, less emphasis on materialism and substance use, becoming more imaginative, being more reflective, better metacognitive capacities (self-awareness and introspection)–there is genuine appreciation to be had even after such a harrowing experience. This paper goes into much more depth, and I encourage you to read it if scholarly/referenced work feels like a more legitimate comfort ^^
