[Secretum]

I think I was 12. I can draw a clear line through my life, before and after. I had had some paranoia and delusional-like thinking a year before it all fell apart, but what happened when I was 12 was what divided my life. I was also experiencing depression for the first time at 12, so that combined with the psychosis, along with life issues (I had had major surgery a few months prior to the break; my best friend abandoned me) led to it being such a miserable and memorable period of my life.

I'm a little confused, though. Psychotic disorders usually don't hit children, and when they do, it's usually a sign of a more severe illness. But mine has been fairly mild. I did have a seizure disorder as a younger kid (absence seizures, not convulsions or anything) so maybe that damaged my brain and led to my earlier onset.

[A18793715]

I have no idea. When I think about it, I remember being paranoid and anti social even as a small child with self harm tendencies and bad thoughts. I didn't start getting hallucinations until I was 13 though.

[Sometimes psychotic]

36..............

[newtus]

i was 12/13

[junkDNA]

fifteen...

[Angelique67]

Somewhere between 6 and 8 years old. A pdoc thought it was earlier than that.

[Loial]

Umm... 23.

I'm surprised to see so many low numbers here... I thought child-onset was very rare.

[neil w]

very young also, certainly by six.

[justmeandmyhead]

I had first signs of delusional thoughts around 13

I had my first and only split from reality when I turned 30. It lasted an entire year. I lost my friends, my jobs and the esteem from my professors. I'll never forget that year of my life. Thank god for those people that took care of me. After 2 and a half years I've finally found my balance again.

[The_little_didgee]

It all started when I was 25.

[HopeForChange]

Originally Posted by Loial

Umm... 23.

I'm surprised to see so many low numbers here... I thought child-onset was very rare.

I was also 23, though I had depression and anxiety before that...

[Erti]

I was about 19 when I had my first hospitalization for mental illness but I've been hearing voices for as long as I can remember. They've gotten worse as I got older.

[A18793715]

Originally Posted by Erti

I was about 19 when I had my first hospitalization for mental illness but I've been hearing voices for as long as I can remember. They've gotten worse as I got older.

Same. Except I was 18 at my first hospitalization for it.

[koshrov]

Although I had anxiety and depression pretty severely throughout my teenage years, I didn't have my first full blown manic episode until 18.

[Skasen_03]

Fourth grade, so maybe 9 or 10? Had really paranoid thoughts. Hallucinations. Delusions. Panic attacks. Depression and actual voices didn't start till later though, 7th grade. Same with self harm. Drugs came in the picture in 8th grade. Mania scattered throughout with delusions of grandeur and excessive social functioning. All my symptoms have continually gotten worse year after year to this point. I'm starting to lose hope.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I can remember being really paranoid since I was about six or seven years old. And growing up I didn't realize that I was having auditory or visual hallucinations because I thought that was normal. So it's hard to pinpoint. I was hospitalized at sixteen and that's when they told me I had schizophrenia but I don't think they wanted to really stick with that diagnosis because I was underage and they typically don't like diagnosing kids with schizophrenia.

[pearlzandlace012]

My hallucinations started at ages 5/6, and delusional thoughts started at 9/10.

[aka Bean]

Originally Posted by newtus

i was 12/13

i was 11/12 when it all stared to come together soooo we were around the same age

[hexacoda]

I was 28 when my first episode of psychosis started. I had been on an anti-depressant for a year but I'm sure I was depressed for years before. I was depressed as a teenager I suppose, but I coped. When I was about 21 and 22 though I was too depressed to find work.

[lil-angel-wings]

I was 25

[StarStrike]

I was eighteen.

[flutterfree]

i was nineteen

[Atypical_Disaster]

I don't remember exactly how old I was, childhood onset here... *sigh*

[Tsunamisurfer]

Trouble started when I was taken to my GP at age 13 (parents suspected drugs but I was clean) and got worse from there. Saw many psychologists through my adult life, but resisted seeing a psychiatrist until I was hospitalised for psychosis at 46 and several times after that.