Micropsychosis

Hi everyone,

Despite joining this site in 2007, I logged in, logged straight out and only came back yesterday.

Anyhoo, I'm 2 weeks post-psychiatry session at which he told me I had some kind of emotional dysregulation disorder. And boy was I surprised to find that out...So I'm a little clueless. Surprised and doubtful yes, but that's a story for another time and my mind is open to all possibilities.

I have one question for now - what, if any, experience do you have of a micropsychosis? I had 3 nights in a row when for very short periods of time, I saw and felt things that weren't there. I couldn't be sure that they were NOT there but they didn’t seem entirely real enough to BE there. At various points over an hour or so, there was a guy standing in my hall, a moonlike face at the window, something orange crawling across my kitchen floor, a bush outside had developed human features. Everything was just staring at me. Then add in an ongoing conviction that somebody was at the front door who had come to “get” me. That last one came and went a few times. I ended up crouched on the kitchen floor yelling “Get away! Get away!”

The following night I felt the radio was speaking to me and I knew everything the presenter was saying because I’d heard it all before - even though I hadn't, of course. I was arguing back at the presenter (nothing like my usual radio-arguing when listening to political stuff though). I was incredibly restless that night and ended up taking a sleeping tablet at 4am because I was so worked up.

I told my psychiatric nurse this when she came round the next day. I got a fairly neutral reaction.

And it hasn’t happened since except for some major restlessness on some nights.

I looked this up online and that’s where I came across the concept of a micropsychotic event, which is essentially a very short lasting break from reality.

I had taken no drugs (I don’t anyway) and no alcohol. I was still on my old antidepressant then and it was certainly not due to that. Nor was I knowingly stressed at the time.

So – any of this sounding familiar? Any explanations?

Much thanks

dazed17, I'm sorry that I have never experienced micropsychosis. I hope another member can be more helpful. Take care.

I go through similar things quite regularly actually, especially when stressed, (and have experienced worse too) but always attributed these hallucinations to my bipolar...


I have however in the past experienced a 2 week bout of paranoia and delusion related directly to abandonment, which I blamed on the BPD as there was some stuff going on in my love life.

What you described does not sound like the 'psychosis' that typically occurs with BPD. Usually the micropsychoses seen in BPD involve paranoia and dissociation. It is also a response to interpersonal stress. Psychotic symptoms that are independent of mood suggest something else is going on that needs to be investigated.

Restlessness is common in psychosis, depression and bipolar disorder. Insight is also possible especially when the psychotic symptoms are emerging or the person has recovered (but has residual symptoms).

I have been through psychosis before so I can relate especially with the radio experience. Restlessness is the most difficult symptom to deal with.

Thanks guys and much appreciated.

I discussed this with my GP today - he was of the view that it is a pseudo-psychosis (if there's a difference between that and micropsychosis but it's one more thing to look up). Apparently it's attributable to general lack of sleep/deranged sleeping patterns - which I have most definitely been experiencing. Been sleeping like a baby since I started on mirtazapine though!

mirtazapine is a good med to have around. it's also somewhat of an antipsychotic (5ht2/3 antagonism), at least for me.. it clears away distressing/intrusive thinking.

Is that so? Good to hear! I am REALLY enjoying the dreams too...some slight unpleasantness on occasion but generally very very pleasant, vivid and dramatic! I don't experience distressing/intrusive thinking except when I go through severe depressive episodes and everything goes haywire. I am certainly coming out of the latest depression but for the past 5 weeks it's been heavy

I do know from a friend of mine that antidepressants can sometimes cause things like this. Why? Because SSRI medications have similar effects on the brain as acid and mushrooms. They both act on the serotonin system and if the dose of the antidepressants is too high or if one doesn't need them, on rare occasion the person taking it will lightly "trip". That's my guess at what's happening. You may be breaking through into psychedelic states sporadically without realizing it. It could be the sleep deprivation as well though. I've definitely hallucinated from sleep deprivation on a few occasions, never flipped out like that though

I'm a little skeptical about that.. the older tricyclics might do it, but SRIs only target reuptake on 5ht1a, where LSD binds tightly to all serotonin receptors (there are tons), but in a neutral way (set and setting and all).. and mushrooms are a different mechanism altogether - PEA and such.

Not meaning to be a ****, but I don't think that's necessarily true.

ive become psychotic from anti-depressants

I had never heard the term micropsychosis until tonight. Wow, that explains the episode I had ten years ago and I haven't had one since. For a few days, I definitely had psychotic symptoms - people calling my name, hearing Native American tribal music and drums, and bugs crawling all over me. It was very odd. At the time I was diagnosed as schizoaffective but I no longer agree with that diagnosis. I think it was just what it was - a brief break from reality. Thanks for your post, Dazed... This really helped me.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Glad to be of assistance :-) Although you should be aware that my GP thinks it's a pseudo-psychosis which apparently is different from a micropsychosis - see my other posts on this thread. Anyhoo, glad you can solve your 10-year-old mystery :-)