I have been though Psychosis three times in my life. I now work in mental health as an occupational therapy assistant. I would love to talk Danielle about my experience and what I have learnt.

This was very educational and inspirational. Thanks for uploading. 😃👌

Thank you for these talks.

This talk is SO good

As fascinating as this sounds, as someone who has gone through psychosis I would like to share my thoughts if I can have a little of your time. 🙂 So firstly I think a much better approach to hallucinations is to bring someone to a place of "unattachment" and "unaffected" by them. Using an analogy of a child and parent, I am sure one will agree that many children approach their parents proclaiming to have seen or heard something at some point, and as it affects their "emotional stability" they often approach their Mum's because Mums tend to be better attuned to their child's emotional state, and how to address it, plus she is also more likely to be understanding and sympathetic. The Mum's approach is probably to ask her child what they have witnessed and assess the "emotional" impact it has had on them. This validates their experience from a place of care and respect. After their child has relayed their experience they approach the "emotional" impact it has had on them. Using the example you gave in this video, she saw a hallucination going back and forth. A Mum might neutralise the "emotional impact" by asking the child is this person threatening you (is it something that should trigger their flight/flight etc), is its nature of any significance (does it mean anything, or is it simply being). After a really brief analysis the hallucination through a process of "comparing notes", is deemed as nothing to be concerned about, the child returns to a state of emotional equilibrium, knows it can talk about such things and that they will be heard from a place of "care and parental love", but more importantly they have learned what they experienced is nothing to be alarmed about and can be "dismissed" as such, and if and when they experience something similar again they have a mental checklist to work from (is it dangerous, does it have any significance), and if the answer is no to both they dismiss as "unimportant" and continue their day as if nothing happened. To be "untriggered" is to be "unaffected" and from a therapy perspective this is also a much more efficient use of time vs money too, and for the client they have a quick answer, plus an education in how to address such phenomena should they experience something again, and the key here is neutralising the emotional impact which brings someone back to "mental stability". What does really stand out is your caring and wanting to dig deep into analysis to find deep routed causes. Here is the quick answers that you perhaps were looking for. Firstly using the child and parent analogy I gave I think it's clear there doesn't need to be any underlying instability/cause etc. for someone to see and hear things others don't. What is relevant to the afflicted at the time is what they perceive to be experiencing and more importantly the "emotional impact" it is having on them, which is why dismissing as insignificant is probably a much healthier way of dealing with such phenomena. Then we move onto something that is important and that is "emotional and mental stability". If we use an analogy of a twin weighing scale, when it's in a state of equilibrium it could be deemed as being in a state of peace. Now a slight weight on one side could put that weighing scale into a alarmed/out of equilibrium state. Now imagine a screw between the scales and if we tighten that screw at its core, how it becomes more rigid and less affected/inflicted when weight is added compared with before. Hopefully you will agree with me when I say we approach all manner of life's unpredictable encounters (whether that be people interactions or situations beyond our control), from a "foundation of our understandings". Now the healthier that foundation we have (our perception of ourselves and our capabilities) the more positive and less anxious we are going to be when "facing the unknown". Someone filled with self-belief is more likely to look for and find ways to overcome all manner of life's obstacles vs someone who has a defeatist outlook on themselves. And here we move onto the Spiritual approach (I am not a health professional etc). and that is the ability to navigate life playing to one's strengths and building on all that has gone before. The key to Spiritual health and growth is to live a authentic life, true to oneself and true to others. It is the foundation of someone's true identity (the core of their life force/energy), and as we navigate life we grow accordingly, forever building on that strong and solid foundation. This is also a parallel to mental strength/stability, self-awareness, self-pride and self-belief. The very first runner to authenticity is to become self-aware and is achieved through a process of "self-acceptance". This is acknowledging everything about oneself, their strengths and weaknesses and all manner of characteristics about themselves, the good and the bad. The next process is to take ownership and arriving at a place of one's true identity, and at this point someone may very well notice elements they really aren't happy about (some might call it their shadow self). Thing is we now have the option to continue as we are, or become the person we can be proud of, in effect creating a new platform for ourselves in turn. A lot of what we aren't happy with at that point can probably be discarded, (we acknowledge these were traits of ourselves, but we no longer choose to continue in that same way), but the thing is until we are honest with ourselves and consciously aware of our flaws we will have a really difficult time of trying to bring about meaningful change. To be conscious of our entirety and to have a vision of where we want to be is to have focus and momentum and direction of becoming the best version of ourselves. This can also be deemed as a process of self-cleansing as we work to resolve the negative aspects of ourselves (or our shadow self as some might say). To be proud/content with ourselves is to have a element of peace, and to live a authentic life is to not having to mask, and anything we gain has been earned from a foundation of truth rather than lies... It is in effect giving oneself meaning and purpose and direction in life, heading in their most natural direction to fruition. Authenticity is truth, whereas the ego is often built around lies etc. as one tries to compensate for their flaws etc. creating a false persona in turn. Hope this has been of some help/value. ❤

Dr Danielle, what you wrote is so beautiful, It brought tears to my eyes because it is so true , you are a wonderful and sensitive therapist, how to find you ? I would like you to treat a person I know and love

The development of a mental + emotional dedication, a cathexis - is what Mental Health is!

Wow thank you so much this really helps me understand more

This is great explanation

Thankyou very much.

Thanks for ur explanations

Incredibly ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

The reason for the anger for psychosis used to be the bipolar disorder, which many of them are suffering with...over thinking of negative memories from the past.. sometimes memories from the very past...a reputation of negativity...

Such a wonderful talk! Very inspiring. Encouraged me to buy her book on psychosis.

Dr Danielle, are you taking new patients? Do you do sessions online?

Nice work ! Are the patients treated with medications?

How tragic to be left so so lonely

Is there a way to get a transcript of this talk? Thank you.

Observing ego or just learned through interaction with others?

kzfaq.info/get/bejne/m5p6hMSeyNeWZJc.html

Define what "psychosis" is and what it is not before you discuss it, please.