[Aniket]

Hi I am new here. I am 27 years old, and for the past 2 months have been experiencing the following symptoms. I have been to several psychiatrists and psychologists, who have told me that I am not experiencing anything remotely close to psychosis. A few have told me that my symptoms are the result of chronic sleep deprivation (I have had a poor sleep pattern for the past 7 months).


1) Extreme detachment from people and my surroundings- I feel very detached from my surroundings and people, almost as if they are not real, or as if I am far away. Everything feels "strange" and a bit "off". I know this is some kind of a dissociation I am experiencing, but it causes me a lot of worry.

2) Extreme detachment from my own actions- I almost feel like an automaton, and as if I am on autopilot. I do things essentially unthinkingly.

3) Fear of random noises and objects- I can get scared by any noise or any object, partly because of my detachment from my surroundings, and then I get scared thinking it might be a delusion.

4) Having random thoughts come into my mind at all days- these aren't really voices but simply random words or streams of thoughts that come in my mind- and I wonder why I am thinking them- when I realise that I am thinking them i stop them. It's hard to explain. It's almost as if my mind is distracted and bringing up random things. This happens during the day, but most prominently during sleep, and both before and after falling asleep. For some reason, I feel confident that I am thinking these things (out of control as they are) because they are exactly the sort of things I'd think, and I can stop them at will. When I think these things during my sleep- they sound like nonsensical gibberish. The kind of things are mundane things or thoughts.

5) Lack of motivation to do anything

6) A conviction that I am going insane- that I am losing control of my mind


Now here is a list of things that make me think it might NOT be psychosis-

Things that make me think I might not have schizophrenia

1) My worry about schizophrenia preceded the onset of these symptoms- I obsessively googled and starting relating symptoms
2) No genetic history in family
3) My worry about these symptoms is far greater than symptoms itself
4) Everyday I seem to be worried or fearful of new things- Nothing really sticks
5) The doctors and psychiatrists I have met seem certain that it's not schizophrenia
6) I carry my activities as well as I used to earlier
7) I talk to people, and unlike schizophrenia I actually yearn for social interaction
8) I have been a hypochondriac all my life and in the past obsessed about diseases that didn't exist
9) There were a lot of stress factors in my life prior to this- breakup, worry about exams, worry about being ill etc
10)I seem to be in touch with reality, and more upset about these symptoms, rather than going through these symptoms unknowingly. It's almost as if I dissect these symptoms.
11) I have been suffering from sleep problems for the past 5 months- I basically wake up after few hours. Psych things this is the cause of these symptoms.

12) When I talk to someone or am involved in an activity- every symptom or worry about it, disappears. The worry really leads to more symptoms.

What do you think?

[Sometimes psychotic]

I see nothing in either list that indicates psychosis...I would listen to the pros here.......

[12AM]

Hi Aniket, first welcome to PC

I am not an expert but from what I know yours seems more like depression and not psychosis. Chronic sleep deprivation is still a serious issue that we have to pay attention though because it can lead to another illness both physical and mental. What your psychiatrists told you, I said listen to them. Just make sure that you mention all things that you mention in your posts as well. Are you on medications for your sleep issue now? I think that is the most important things right now, fix your sleep quality, quantity, and patterns.

[kazza34]

i am no expert but i think this is more OCD and anxiety, OCD isnt always about mad cleaning it can be overwhelming and intrusive thoughts and worries

[-jimi-]

I have had most of those things. Not getting enough sleep can cause weird symptoms, that issue should really be addressed. I have had bouts of feeling unreal. Actually I am so sensitive to things that I can provoke that feeling here and now if I wished. It is called neural fatigue. It means when a certain part of the brain gets too much stimuli, the brain decides to halt the firing of those nerve cells, basically for cell protection. That is what might cause feeling unreal.

In my case, tactile overload is my main one. Say I put my hand on the desk and try to really feel the desk, it wouldn't take me more than a minute for the desk to feel really unreal to me. People can get this feeling from overthinking things. The best strategy is not then to think about it even more to try to get the reality in in back, the best is actually to focus away from it so the inhibition of the overloaded nerve cells stops.

I also have times when random words just pops into my head. Sure it is strange, I don't really understand it.

But none of this is psychosis and I had this most of my life and I never developed psychotic symptoms.

[hobo2000]

Honestly, I've been diagnosed with Bipolar I and Psychosis. You might have OCD with psychotic features and experience Depersonalization- that's what it sounds like to me.

I hope you feel better soon.