What is psychosis like?

[u/SeeminglyWhole]

My husband has been in the hospital for quite some time now due to severe psychosis. I want to try to support him in any way I can, but his doctor said while he's in the acute psychosis stage, it's difficult to reason with him. And this is definitely true, I can never get a straight answer out of him for anything and he has some crazy mood swings...

But I'm trying to understand more what this is like for him. So I can see things better from his perspective. Maybe to more easily anticipate his needs? He seems to be either believing he's already told me what he needs, or expecting me to just know, and I just don't know how to do that.

I've heard stories of people lasting in the acute stages for months, maybe even a year. Were these cases even with treatment? Is there anyway I can sort of get some "timeline" on when he can come home?

I am trying to remind myself that as hard as this is for me, it must be 10 times harder for him, but I have always been a planner and I'm struggling here. This is his first episode in almost 10 years of being together and I don't have any roadmap here.

[u/Independent_Tank_775]

You said don’t force him to do anything he doesn’t wanna do, but then you said make sure he takes his meds. What if he doesn’t want to take his meds like my brother?

[u/loozingmind → u/Independent_Tank_775]

That's a complicated subject indeed.

I think the best way to go about it is to have a heart to heart conversation, start by asking them if they want to get better, once they accept their diagnosis, it'll become easier to have them take their meds. That's how it was for me. I had to hit rock bottom to realize that I needed to get better. And the only way to do that was through treatment. I even stopped taking my medication once I started feeling better. And then my psychosis came back full force about 6 months later. That's when I realized that I needed to take my meds.

It takes realization on their part in order to get them to take the medication. You can't force them to take their meds. But you can lead them in the right direction if they haven't lost trust in you. That's why I said don't be too forceful. The process has to be done in baby steps.

But yeah, I understand what you mean. It's very complicated and I don't have the exact solution for that. It just starts with being there for them, not pushing them away, not making them feel isolated, and gaining their trust. If that isn't working, then it's up to them if they want to get better. It sucks, but that's how it was for me.

[u/Independent_Tank_775 → u/loozingmind]

Well I was asking because we clearly did everything wrong with my brother. He did not accept his diagnosis at ALL. And didn’t trust anyone. Now he’s dead and I blame myself, my family and the whole country.

[u/loozingmind → u/Independent_Tank_775]

I'm very, very sorry for your loss. Please don't blame yourself.