Steely
Active Member
As you may or may not know (probably do), my sister just passed away in a tragic, sudden, drowning in a small pond. She was only 37. The police are still investigating how the actual drowning happened.
Two days prior to her death she was reported to be having splits from reality. I can't go into the details, but there is enough evidence suggesting this was actually happening. At times, it appeared, she was completely split from reality including picking up things that were not hers, and thinking they were, and being unable to find her way in her city. However, she worked all day one of these days, and there were not any reports of her being in an altered reality - although there were reports of her being paranoid.
Furthermore, she has had no documented history of mental illness - and she was in a place in her life, and in a relationship where she was happier than she had been in years. She did have a stressor going on with an ex coming back into her life and harassing her - but it was not long term, and that seemed to be all.
So tell me - how and what psychosis is. And how does it happen? I mean, I know it is a chemical imbalance - but I guess I always thought that if you were psychotic everyone around you knew! You know, like a difficult child kinda thing - not like this - where literally no one knew anything was going on except her one girlfriend. For weeks, I have not believed this story - but the police have substantiated enough evidence to show me, and cause me to believe, that my sister really was having a psychotic episode before her death.
Any insight you have with this mental illness would be so appreciated. I feel so in the dark - and here I have been dealing with mental illness for years, and years with difficult child - and did not know this type of psychosis could happen. Sigh. H and I were very close - but she lived very far away. It is possible that I was missing signs of this - or it is possible that this was a very sudden onset. I guess?
Two days prior to her death she was reported to be having splits from reality. I can't go into the details, but there is enough evidence suggesting this was actually happening. At times, it appeared, she was completely split from reality including picking up things that were not hers, and thinking they were, and being unable to find her way in her city. However, she worked all day one of these days, and there were not any reports of her being in an altered reality - although there were reports of her being paranoid.
Furthermore, she has had no documented history of mental illness - and she was in a place in her life, and in a relationship where she was happier than she had been in years. She did have a stressor going on with an ex coming back into her life and harassing her - but it was not long term, and that seemed to be all.
So tell me - how and what psychosis is. And how does it happen? I mean, I know it is a chemical imbalance - but I guess I always thought that if you were psychotic everyone around you knew! You know, like a difficult child kinda thing - not like this - where literally no one knew anything was going on except her one girlfriend. For weeks, I have not believed this story - but the police have substantiated enough evidence to show me, and cause me to believe, that my sister really was having a psychotic episode before her death.
Any insight you have with this mental illness would be so appreciated. I feel so in the dark - and here I have been dealing with mental illness for years, and years with difficult child - and did not know this type of psychosis could happen. Sigh. H and I were very close - but she lived very far away. It is possible that I was missing signs of this - or it is possible that this was a very sudden onset. I guess?