I’ve learnt to ground myself from hallucinations
Jaymee blogs about the techniques she learnt in hospital that have helped her cope with Schizophrenia with paranoia.
After several hospital admissions and suicide attempts, I finally hear my assigned doctor tell me my diagnosis: Schizophrenia with paranoia. My family and I had a rough idea what it may be, as there were warning signs from my symptoms, but it still felt like a weight lifted from my shoulders. The symptoms I had were strong paranoia and crippling anxiety. On bad days I don’t leave my home.
My stays at hospital are a blur due to psychosis. I was shut off from my community and the people I’m familiar with, but it dawned on me as I got older that it was the safest and best place for me to get the help I needed.
I would spend about a month in hospital each time. These inpatient stays helped me gain the structure and routine of day-to-day life – to remember to take medications around the same time each day, to try to get good sleep at reasonable times, and to do things that make me happy and relaxed, such as gaming on Xbox. Creating a structure helped prevent me from becoming overwhelmed.
“I participated in group activities and socialised with other patients just to distract myself from my own mind.”
While I was an inpatient at the psychiatric hospital, I participated in group activities such as playing board games and colouring, and I socialised with other patients just to distract myself from my own mind for a short period of time.
I did not want to be kept for longer than needed, so I focused on getting better and returning back to my local community. While in hospital, I learnt great techniques to cope with my schizophrenia. One of them is called 3-3-3. You think of 3 things you can see, 3 things you can hear and you move 3 parts of your body. Doing this ensured I was “grounded” from hallucinations and voices. Listening to music also helps me feel better usually.
The combination of 3-3-3 and medication have helped me hugely. I will be on antipsychotics for the foreseeable future to prevent me slipping into a psychotic state where I will become unwell and low.
“There are many good days now, and I feel I can face anything that my mind throws at me.”
I’ve also been supported by Mind when in hospital and during times of despair. They have never let me down and will always work on a solution to anything I tackle. Because of them, I reassure myself that I matter, my feelings are valid and I’m not the only person going through this, no matter how scary it is. Mind also taught me more about my diagnosis.
I have to give special recognition to my amazing family too, for helping ground me, and keeping me safe and out of harm’s way. They have always shown me love and attended endless appointments with me,
There are many good days now, and I feel I can face anything that my mind throws at me. I have gradually become more optimistic about my future, as I know support will also be there for when I need it from Mind, family and friends.
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