How do you cope with psychosis in public? *share your ideas*
You're in public, on the bus, in the supermarket, walking down the road, whichever. Your psychosis symptoms suddenly become more intense. How do you cope successfully with this? What do you do? What helps?
Ipods and hats are definitely a good idea. Also if you need to talk out loud to voices, I talk into my phone and people just think you're making a phonecall :)
Also I've heard if you wear an earplug in the opposite ear that you hear them in its meant to help, I tried it and it was good but I can't see very well and I couldn't hear cars coming and things, but same goes for the ipod!
I also carry something small to play with, like a piece of modeling clay or a keyring to try and distract my attention.
If I get really stressed I find some public toilets and go there just to take a few breaths and calm down.
It can be a good idea to give yourself extra time to do what ever you need to do so that you can just relax and take breaks if you need to, I also find it helps to write out what I need to do otherwise I get confused.
Its taken me years of practice but now my odd behaviour isn't as noticeable to strangers.
Also it may sound odd,but if I'm feeling exposed and like people are going to stare at me I deliberately wear odd clothing, then I can convince myself they are just staring at my clothes,not me.
It makes me hope they do. But we don't know for sure if people can read our thoughts anyway I guess, so it's hard to know if hats stop it. I think, for me, it's just the comfort of the idea.
Also it may sound odd,but if I'm feeling exposed and like people are going to stare at me I deliberately wear odd clothing, then I can convince myself they are just staring at my clothes,not me.
this - i'm not outlandish though. black, and more recently a giant scarf.
and music
and if not too many people are around i whisper back (not if there's people though). that probably doesn't count as coping though
staring at the floor
Sometimes I try to tell myself the consequences if I keep carrying on with the train of thought. But most of the time I do nothing. It's good to hear what others do. Sometimes I'll be intentionally short with any random person, particularly men, that try to talk to me so I don't have to worry about if they are sent by someone after me as they get the hint and go away by me being semi rude. It also makes it more likely that I will figure it was just some over friendly stranger rather than a messenger.
Also it may sound odd,but if I'm feeling exposed and like people are going to stare at me I deliberately wear odd clothing, then I can convince myself they are just staring at my clothes,not me.
this.
ebay has some amazingly strange clothing right now.
Keep on moving .Transience ,no one can catch you.Otherwise ,go somewhere like a park or where there are trees and less people ,and nature is soothing.No people ,no problems.
At the moment I just avoid getting on public transport. But I do struggle a lot in public.
I carry around a little soft toy zebra in my pocket or bag and I hold it in my hand if I'm nervous. My 4 year old male alter finds this very comforting. So do my family as the toy has a little bell on it so they know where I am hehe!
Music helps me to shut out the world. I shut my eyes and imagine I'm somewhere else.
I carry a little notebook around with me and I write things down in that. It just helps to get things out sometimes, even if it's just to scribble in it.
I text my boyfriend or my mum for support and to check whether things are real or not. They often get texts like "That guy's head has fallen off, I think the other guy is a spy help"!
If things get too much I find public toilets to get control of myself. I do this a lot if I am struggling with obvious tics.
a nurse once told me to hold my phone to my ear if i was having to talk to voices, people just think you are talking to some1 on the phone then. my ipod has been a life saver for me, put it on really really loud, something really angry and mad like limp bizkit or something!
Always listening to the iPod, I usually have something wrapped around my neck (like a scarf) because that makes me feel more secure for some reason, I keep elastic bands on my wrist so I can flick them to distract myself and it helps if I'm carrying something like a few books because I find having to hold something stops the feeling of slipping out of my body. If I'm having a bit of a moment, I will absolutely avoid eye contact with anyone else and if it gets to the point where I have a complete meltdown, I go somewhere I feel quite safe like a park, the corner of the library or I buy some cigarettes (I recently gave up), sit on a bench and do what Vetty does - talk.
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