iaw1: You are making sense. I am a little surprised. Why? some of the things that people say on these posts I have trouble following no matter how hard I try.

Hello iaw,
Sometimes people do have difficulty expressing the enormity of their personal experience in their posts. In the aftermath of my own experience, I did as well -- particularly if I was in the vicinity of people I didn't think would be able to relate to or understand that kind of experience. I was also struggling to understand my own experience and needed to be able to explain it to myself before I could hope to successfully explain it to others.

As for applying a psychological interpretation to the experience of schizophrenia and/or psychosis... It makes a great deal of sense to me as well although for many years among some groups, the prevailing opinion has been that the experience is entirely a neurochemical affair. As based on my own experience and that of many other individuals I've spoken with, factors such as environment, stress, trauma, etc. can play a significant role. For that reason, some form of psychotherapy can contribute positively to the recovery process.

~ Namaste