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The following account is from an individual who candidly and unashamedly shares his personal experience of psychosis and recovery from same...

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"In 1996 I had an experience normally called "mania" by most psychiatrists. At its peak, I was in such a state of ectasy that I thought I had died. The episode ended with me being handcuffed by two police officers and taken to Psychiatric Emergency because I had refused the officer's request to put my clothes back on, in the ballroom of a Toronto Hotel.

At the hospital, I could see that the doctors had no idea what was really happening to me. Obviously, they thought I had gone crazy. Their first diagnosis of me that night was that I had become "Bi-Polar" or possibly schizophrenic. My parents were terrified. Leaving the hospital 3 days later I refused to ever see a psychiatrist or traditional therapist again, although I did look for my own answers. That was the best decision I ever made.

A year later, I discovered the work of Transpersonal Psychologist, Dr. Stan Grof. In his book, The Stormy Search for the Self, I found a framework for exactly what had happened to me. He called it a Spiritual Emergency.

Now in 2007, I look back on this 'Spiritual Emergency' as absolutely essential for my personal growth, and as the most important and dangerous experience of my life."

Source: Bipolar or Waking Up?</blockquote>

For those who are interested in learning more, this individual has shared the chronicle of his breakdown and recovery via youtube:
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