Lockdown for me was when the eCommunity came into its own. I lack confidence so I can imagine for people like me who were sort of secluded this forum must have been a godsend. I don’t have that much knowledge of the condition from other people’s perspective as my social circle is small. In that respect the eCommunity has proven to be invaluable.

I was diagnosed at 15 and I was prescribed antidepressants as I have anxiety, depression and OCD as well. I had a huge manic episode leading to an anti-psychotic medication being added to my list of those I currently take.

My psychotic episode in question was very intense, frightening as I thought people were following me. In the same episode I was convinced the TV was communicating with me. To top things off as if that were not enough I also thought I was Mary, Mother of Jesus. Looking back it all has context now but at the time I was convinced this was so real.

Things went from bad to worse when I stopped trusting my immediate family. I thought the intelligence community were out to get me and that planes were following me. This was a very surreal experience in all and I was glad to speak to people on the eCommunity who had similar experiences. I was surprised at how common the religious aspects of my experience were.

When you first get diagnosed you feel absolutely alone, you get treated differently by family members who tend to treat you with kid gloves. With the eCommunity it’s fantastic to be part of a wide range of individuals and nice to be part of a larger group protecting you helping and widening your options for recovery.