Reimagining Psychosis: The Meaning-Making of Lived Psychotic Experiences

Tracing the lines between intersectional, marginalized Mad bodies, I illustrate a picture of psychotic Madness across borders, boundaries, and times, as well as the struggles of living this kind of existence while butting heads with Western psychiatry. Using feminist autotheory as a methodology, I weave my experiences with psychosis into a greater tapestry of what it means to be unwell, positing my own theories about how psychosis operates. Within my theorizing, I explore how ‘symptoms’ of psychotic ‘illness’ may be reconceptualized as coping mechanisms for survival in the midst of traumas and stressors. For example, some individuals develop ‘delusions,’ also known in less-clinical settings as strong beliefs, to contextualize their sensory-perceptual intrusions, such as hearing voices. Furthermore, I explore three case studies of different experiences with psychosis from mothers with postpartum psychosis to migrants and refugees with schizophrenia, questioning the nature of how these ‘illnesses’ are constructed, if they are even ‘illnesses’ at all. I dream of more holistic ways to think about and work with psychotic individuals, privileging their opinions and unravelling their stories of injustice and misrepresentation. Finally, I put forth alternatives to the biomedical treatments found in Western psychiatry, focussing instead on social support, such as peer support networks or affirming and validating one’s reality.