The person with a diagnosis of a
disorder that has involved psychotic features can suffer from two kinds of
alienation from reality:
·
Florid psychosis. This involves frank delusions
and/or hallucinations. The person hears or sees phenomena not perceived by
anyone else. For example, I once perceived the day turn into night (on a day
without a violent storm) when floridly psychotic.
·
Invidious psychosis (this is my own term.) These
are the frequent instances of the person’s not being amenable to reason. The
person gets a notion in his or her head that is impossible to shake loose.
The second kind can be worse than
the first for family and friends in the picture. The affected person may have
good insight into the disease process so far as florid psychosis goes, and
perhaps other symptoms as well, but sees the invidious psychosis as merely that
“reasonable minds may differ.” Only, his or her reasoning at such an hour is
mere pseudo-logic, and does not show common sense.
I am subject to invidious
psychosis when under severe stress. Between my Bipolar Disorder and my brain
injury, my judgment is always less good than that of someone without
these problems, and my weakness to the point of invidious psychosis becomes
manifest in very difficult times.
For example, even though I am a
Republican, President Donald Trump’s election filled me with such foreboding
that until after Inauguration Day by which time I had adapted to the situation,
I could not make sound decisions about major issues. Fortunately, I have a
loving family who did and do step in to assist me when I lack good judgment.
Invidious psychosis begins “down a
slippery slope.” That’s why I call it, “invidious.” Weeks can elapse before the
person becomes irrational. This latency just increases the affected person’s
confidence that there is “nothing wrong” with him or her….
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