World Mental Health Day

     So, it's World Mental Health Day today. I feel like it's important to talk about psychosis, as it doesn't get discussed as much as depression and anxiety. As many as 3 in 100 people will experience some form of psychosis at some point in their lives.  Psychosis can be a symptom of things like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or severe depression, but it can also be caused by things like lack of sleep, certain medical conditions, or drug use.

    So what exactly is psychosis? There are 3 main components to a psychotic episode: hallucinations, delusions, and disorganised thinking. Hallucinations effect the senses. You might see, hear, or even taste, smell, or feel something that isn't there. Delusions are fixed beliefs that aren't true, but feel very real to the person experiencing them. There are different types of delusions, for example you might think you are someone very important (grandeur), that there is a conspiracy against you (persecutory) or that there are hidden messages in newscasts or licence plates (reference). These are just examples, and there are many different types. Disorganised thinking consists of racing thoughts and flight of ideas. Your thoughts might move so fast that they seem overwhelming, and you make connections between things that aren't connected at all. 

    If all of this sounds a bit scary, that's because it may very well be for the person experiencing it. Some people experience pleasant hallucinations, but in my personal experience they are few and far between. Psychosis is different for everyone, though. You can't really know what one person's experience of it will be unless they tell you. 

    Psychosis is usually treated with antipsychotic medications and talking therapy or cbt. 

    There is a lot of stigma surrounding psychosis, and portrayals in the media of us as violent killers does not help. The majority of people with psychosis do not become violent. Hopefully better representation in the media and things like World Mental Health Day can help people to understand us a little better. 

    I will leave you all here with this. Hydrate, get enough rest, take your meds and be kind to each other.

Numbtember

     It's that time of year when I go emotionally numb and dragging my meat suit around feels like a struggle. We call these the robot times, just going through the motions, hoping the next day will feel like something. I like summer, and I love fall, but this in between place really feels like a bit of a void. I'm sure self care is essential, but nothing seems comforting, or worth doing. So I do the essentials and I wait for the lack of feeling to pass. Today I will walk the dog, do some laundry, wash some dishes, and cook some dinner. Other than that, I will try to keep my mind occupied as best I can. How do YOU get through the in between times?

Updates

     Well, it's been an exciting couple of months for me. Big "THANK YOU" to everyone who has read my short stories, and an extra shout out to all of you who left me a review. I'm really grateful for all the feedback, and so happy I sat down and did it. Putting these private bits of my life out there for anyone to read is a strange, and frankly, satisfying experience. Thanks to all of you who came on the ride with me.

    So what have I been up to? Lock down has eased up a bit, but we've been sticking pretty close to home most of the time. It's been unreasonably hot here in sunny Southend, but the heat has eased off the last couple of days, which suits me just fine. I'm ready for autumn. When the kids go back to school I'll get back to writing, but for now I'm enjoying this last bit of peace and having them home with me. It's been a weird year and it's so strange to think that summer is almost over already. Mostly I've been listening to music and scrolling social media. This week I'll start going through everyone's clothes and seeing what new school bits they need and preparing to switch out the summer clothes for warmer stuff. 

    Next month I'm off on a weekend trip to Scotland. It'll be my first time going there, so I'm quite excited for that. Still not entirely sure what we'll be doing when we get there, but we'll be near Edinburgh, so I'm sure there will be lots to do and see. If you've got any suggestions, drop them in the comments! 

    Hope you're all keeping cool and comfortable wherever you are. 

Getting Back Up

            My new short story ebook is now available on Amazon! US link and UK link. It's the follow up to We All Fall Down. Please give it a read and let me know what you think. It's free on Kindle Unlimited.

July 2020

            Well, it's July. The weather here is grey and rainy and generally rubbish. Social media has been getting me down lately. So, I've been staying away from it, for the most part. I've been working hard on the follow up to We All Fall Down. It's done now, and ready to publish, I'm just dithering about the cover artwork. Hopefully I'll come up with something soon. Expect the ebook to be available within the next week. 

            The feedback on We All Fall Down has been really great. I want to thank everyone who took the time out to read it, chat with me about it, and/or leave a review. You've warmed my cold little heart and lit a fire under me. I really hope you all enjoy the rest of Maggie's story.

            So, July. July is usually my favourite month. My biggest kid is usually here visiting and the little ones are usually in school, so we have lots of time alone together to catch up. Obviously the 'Rona has screwed that all up royally. My younger ones are home, my biggest one is thousands of miles away. Not an ideal state of affairs, but so it goes. Things could be much, much worse, and I'm grateful for how little this pandemic has effected my life so far. I hope you're all keeping well and staying safe. 

             

June showers

    Well, we've just ordered the first paperback copy of my short story, so that's exciting. I've been sticking to my 1000 word minimum for 3 days so far, so my next story is coming along nicely. McDonald's is open again and delivering, so Friday night dinner is sorted. If the sun would just make an appearance, things would be perfect.

    Perfection would be boring, though, let's face it. Nobody really wants that.

    So I've been listening to lots of music lately. Always a good sign when I can enjoy music without getting delusional. My painting supplies won't be getting here until July, so I had to do a coloured pencil sketch for my book cover. I'm still planning on painting this concept when the paints come in, with a few little tweaks. 

    That's really all the news I have to share at the moment. Hope you're all doing well out there. Buy my ebook on Amazon! We All Fall Down, by Shannon Humphreys. It's free on Kindle unlimited!

My eBook!

    So, I published a short story. It is available here in the US and there in the U.K. Please do give it a look!

Assorted Ramblings

      I've been tweaking a short story I'm hoping to self publish soon. I've also been sketching out ideas and waiting for the art supplies I ordered to arrive. 'I feel like I've come to a really functional place,' she says, sitting on her couch in her pyjamas at 1 in the afternoon. Lock down rules apply, of course.

     My definition of functional is my own, and my standards are not particularly high. We're fed, the sink is empty, the kids are occupied and here I am, busting out a blog post. It's not bad for a Monday. 

     I have to admit, I'm finding blogging a little hard right now. Part of it is that I'm throwing everything into this story. I'm a bit creatively drained when it comes to words and ideas. All my focus is in that direction, and focus is hard to come by in this brain of mine. In fact, here is an informal list of things I did today to avoid/delay writing this: washed dishes, started laundry, ate a (single serve!) cheesecake, listened to a podcast. Granted the dishes and laundry needed doing, but I waited until I sat down to try to write to do either of them. 

     The fact of the matter is that nothing I have to say feels important right now. There's covid-19, and America is well, it's all just a bit of a fucking mess right now. Blathering on about my mental state seems empty and pointless. But I promised myself I would post on a more consistent basis, so here we are. Me taking 3 hours to essentially say nothing in the hopes that someone will read it. At least the cheesecake was good.

     

A Break From The Usual

           Sketching and writing. That's what I've been up to this week. I ordered some painting supplies and a new journal. I can't wait to get started.
           I'm finding social media to be an anxiety minefield at the moment. The world is on fire, and I feel ill equipped to help put it out. So, instead, here is a list of  organisations you can donate to.

George Floyd Memorial Fund

Minnesota Freedom Fund

Reclaim The Block

National Bailout

Black Lives Matter

Bail Project

Black Visions Collective

Campaign Zero

National Bail Fund Network

The Innocent Project

Run With Maud

Justice For Breonna

Northstar Health Collective

           Here is a YouTube video you can watch (with ads, please) if you haven't got money to donate. It's filled with music and art and all the AdSense revenue from it is being donated, so watch it, share it, and watch it again. There are even links in the description to petitions to sign.

           To everyone out there protesting, stay safe. The world needs you.

The Quickening Continued, Continued

       I'm not good at titles, okay?

      Pittsburgh was an absolute shit show. My fiance grew a goatee while he was away and I took one look at him and wanted to go home. But, just like with everything else, I kept this to myself. My mom and stepdad unloaded my things and headed back. I was out on my "own" for the first time. For the purpose of the story, we will call my fiance Rat. It'll make things easier and believe me, he'll live up to the moniker.

      Anyway, Rat was in school full time, and had a job working in a hotel restaurant. He was out of the apartment a lot, so I had a lot of time on my own to deteriorate. I wandered from room to room, seeing signs in the woodwork and shadow people in the windows. I washed laundry in the tub and would wind up arguing with it, the voices emanating from the folds of wet clothes. I would light a cigarette and then forget to move until it burned down to my fingers and the heat woke me out of my catatonia. I would try to drown out the voices with music, but the hidden messages in the songs would drive me to tears. I was well and truly fucked and I knew it.

     There were hallucinations and delusions that stood out. The time Rat had a friend over and I locked myself in the bedroom and there were glowing blue penises all up the walls and on the ceiling. Or the local newscaster speaking directly to me, telling me how the signs I was seeing were important, if I could only crack the code. Or the time the voices demanded I throw up my dinner. But mostly it was just a bunch of noise and nonsense. The worst thing was never the hallucinations, or even the delusions. It was how my thoughts didn't quite match up, I couldn't think. Like a circle track with a link missing, my thoughts just couldn't complete themselves.

      One evening I was sobbing uncontrollably. I'm not sure what in particular set me off, but let's be honest, I had plenty to cry about. This was probably about 5 or 6 months into being in Pittsburgh. Rat started yelling at me. "Why are you crying?" I don't know how many times he asked, but I was sobbing so hard I couldn't have answered him even if I wanted to. Suddenly I was prone on the floor with his hands around my neck. "WHY ARE YOU CRYING?" I remember my entire body feeling like pins and needles. Then he was up and out of the room. 

      By this point Rat was blowing off classes. A few months later his father informed him he wouldn't be paying his tuition any longer, so we made plans to move back home. I was secretly relieved to be going. Surely something would change. 

      The night we arrived home friends were waiting for us. We partied, as was the custom. I completely lost touch with reality, and by the time my parents arrived the next day to help us unpack, there was no hiding the fact that I was absolutely off my head. My mother drove me to the ER and begged me to sign myself in. A nurse tried to speak with me, but I couldn't hear her. They begged Rat to tell them what I'd taken, but he wouldn't. One of his friends told the doctors that he thought I'd taken some acid (I had). A few hours passed and I could hear people talking to me again. I signed myself into a 72 hour voluntary hold. They found a bed for me at a hospital and off I went.

      They put me on antipsychotics the next day, and things started to even out. I spoke with the psychiatrist daily, told him my whole story as best as I could at the time. That's when I got my diagnosis, paranoid schizophrenia. I hear they don't type any longer, it's just schizophrenia or it isn't. But this was something like 25 years ago, so there you go. Anyway, dear reader, that's the story of how I got my diagnosis.

      

The Quickening Continued

      Sixteen was a crazy year. I met and started dating my ex-husband. I started smoking pot regularly, almost daily.  I tried (and loved) acid. I stopped seeing my councillor at some point, I don't really remember why. Life was one big party. I don't know if the numbness went away, but it was certainly drowned out by all the beer and bong rips. I had a circle of new friends and acquaintances and I was sure everything was going great. For awhile.

       One night we were up to our usual. Pot, beer, and mescaline. I had my first bad trip. I couldn't move, couldn't speak, we were watching movies and I doubt that anyone noticed. It was my first time locked in my head, but it wouldn't be my last. It was the precursor. I was terrified that I would never come down. I know that's a common worry with bad trips, but the thing is, I didn't. Not completely. In the weeks that followed, the paranoia seeped back in. Not that it had ever really gone, but it had only bothered me when I was alone. The fear was back, and I couldn't shake it.

      Seventeen came along, we had a big party and got engaged. But I was acutely aware I was standing at the edge of a precipice. The delusions crept in slowly. My neighbour was a psychic vampire. I was broadcasting my thoughts and everyone around me could feel the waves of paranoia radiating from me. I could hear other people's thoughts. They were judging me, or plotting against me. I kept this all to myself, obviously. I couldn't trust anyone. 

      My now fiance left to go to college, 800 miles away in Pittsburgh. I was sad, everyone knew I was sad, and I guess that's why my pulling away went unnoticed. The voices had started by this point. Mostly just when I was in my room alone at night. Sometimes they came from the Mia Wallace poster on my wall, sometimes they came from everywhere and nowhere. They were incessant, keeping me up at night. We got a letter from my psychiatrist (who knew nothing about the voices or delusions) and I went on a home schooling scheme where I had classes with one other girl at a teacher's house every week. Or maybe it was twice a week. Whatever it was, it was enough to keep my grades up high enough to graduate. My every waking moment was spent just trying to appear normal. I couldn't let on what was going on inside my head. 

      Graduation came, the very same day that O.J. Simpson led the cops on a car chase in his white Bronco. My graduation party consisted of my family sat glued to the telly while my best friend and I sat in my room with a bottle of Jack Daniels she'd secreted in. She was the last person I felt somewhat normal around, and it was a good day. I was finally free of school and the next day we'd pack up my belongings and drive out to Pittsburgh where my fiance was waiting for me.

The Quickening

      When I was young, I was afraid of everything. I was afraid of the dark. I was afraid of falling asleep, not only because of my reoccurring nightmares, but because I was paranoid something was waiting for me to close my eyes. Something unnameable and indefinable, but something that was surely waiting just out of my eye line. I was afraid of bathroom mirrors because I'd heard about Bloody Mary. I was afraid of monsters coming out of the toilet. 

      At some point, this paranoia culminated in what I was sure was an old woman. I mean ancient. There was a hag, following me. She would watch me run down the stairs (I always ran, if I walked the fear would consume me) from the upstairs hallway, willing me to turn around and see her. She would hide in the alcove by the front door waiting for me to get to the bottom step. I have no idea how she could be both places at once, but she always was. She would hover in the doorway of my bedroom waiting for me to close my eyes. She would watch me in the kitchen, from behind the doors that hid the water heater, biding her time, waiting for my guard to slip. She was everywhere, and I was terrified of her.

     I never saw her, but I felt her eyes on me, hateful and patient, always watching. I never looked when I knew she was there, I couldn't bear to see her. I never told anyone she existed. Speaking of her would only make her more real, give her more power. I could not afford to acknowledge her presence, she was too powerful already. This probably lasted 4 or 5 years, until junior high school gave me real life problems and fears. I still ran down the steps overcome with fear, but now the fear was faceless. At least most of the time.

     The apathy and flatness and negative symptoms all came along when I was 15. I felt numb inside, like an arm that's fallen asleep. They diagnosed me with depression when it was discovered I'd been self harming. They gave me Prozac, which made no difference at all. I took it sporadically after the first few weeks. It didn't touch the numbness. I began drinking and smoking pot occasionally. I had friends. I had boyfriends. I had a counsellor I saw every Friday. I went through the motions wondering what exactly was wrong with me.

     I turned 16 and we moved, from NJ to Pennsylvania. I was looking forward to a fresh start. Maybe a new life would make me feel new things. Make me feel anything. It was quiet and different, there was a lake a short walk from my front door, no street lamps, a sky full of stars at night. I slowly made friends and started to feel a bit of hope. And that's where I'll end this post, on a hopeful note. The rest of the story coming soon.

A long Absence

      So it's been a few years. I haven't been very good about keeping up with the blog (obviously) and I'm not entirely sure what to do with it now. Scrap the whole thing? Start a new one? Try to resurrect this? I'm at a bit of a loss.
      Updates! I'm on meds, but I am forever non-compliant. Stopping and starting, adjusting my own dosage. It's not ideal but it's there when things get bad. I always wind up back on them. I've got this idea that things will be back to "normal" when I can get off them again for good. It's hard to get rid of that idea when I had 18 good years without them. But maybe I need to adjust my idea of "normal". I guess time will tell. 

      Last week was Mental Health Awareness week. I made some social media posts and one of them had a good turn out. I really wasn't expecting that, but it felt good to see so many people relate. This week I did the Interview With A Schizophrenic podcast. I was really nervous and I don't know if I said everything I meant to say, but it was an overall good experience. It's available on Apple podcasts and Spotify if anyone wants to give it a listen. Episode 9. I found all the episodes worth a listen.

      I think I want to get into mental health advocacy, but I'm not exactly sure where or how to begin. It's definitely something to think more about though. If anyone has an clue where I should begin, give me a shout in the comments. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Isolation

       I would like to write again but I'm so incredibly devoid of inspiration. Guess this is me setting the intention and broadcasting it out there into the ether.