- What's the hardest part about getting back into a routine?
- What can I expect from returning to my routine? Will everything be the same as before? How do I manage my expectations?
- How should I explain my temporary absence from work? Do I have to say I had a psychotic episode?
- When I go back to school, what should I explain to my teachers? And to my classmates?
- Are there any activities that are not recommended after a psychotic episode?
- Are there any activities that help prevent new psychotic episodes?
- How important is it to maintain a daily routine?
- How should the family act when returning to routine after a psychotic episode?
- In adolescence and young adulthood, what role do friendships play or how can they help?
- In the educational environment, is it necessary to make adaptations for people who are reintegrating after a psychotic episode?
- How can teachers detect a recurrence of a psychotic episode?
- Is it a good idea to explain to new people I meet that I have a psychotic disorder?
- How to regain self-confidence?
- How can the environment help to regain this trust?
- How can we tell if the person is becoming ill again, or how can we prevent a relapse?
- In the workplace, how does having a psychotic disorder affect a person's performance?
- As a company, what should we know and how can we support a person who has been discharged from the hospital?
- If after the psychotic episode I don't feel entirely confident resuming all my usual activities, where can I get help to stay active and get back into my daily routine?
- If I can no longer work after the outbreak, what other activities can help me stay active?
Is it a good idea to explain to new people I meet that I have a psychotic disorder?
Whether or not to explain that you have a psychotic disorder, and when to explain it, is a very personal decision.
Furthermore, we will have to make this decision repeatedly throughout our lives, and we don't have to limit ourselves to a single response or strategy, since each specific context involves different expectations and consequences (work, relationships, friendships, etc.), and we won't always find ourselves in the same personal situation. Between the option of not explaining and always explaining, there is a spectrum ranging from complete concealment to selective disclosure, indiscriminate disclosure, and social activism.
That said, one option is to explain it once people already know you, so that prejudices don't hinder the start of a relationship or prevent them from treating you differently (for example, with overprotectiveness, infantilization, belittling, controlling behavior, etc.). I find this option very interesting in most social situations. Another option is to explain it at the beginning of a relationship so that "natural filtering" takes place, removing from your life those people who discriminate against you for this reason.
