The Root Causes of "Psychosis”: Mental Health Crisis as An Opportunity for Healing

The Root Causes of "Psychosis”: Mental Health Crisis as An Opportunity for Healing

When we think of a severe mental health crisis, we may think of experiences that get labeled as psychosis, schizophrenia, or other extreme states that require intensive support. But what if these experiences also held rich meaning and opportunity for healing when we can care for them without pathologizing or stripping away autonomy?

Psychosis, considered one of the most severe mental health crises one can experience, is characterized in the DSM, by a “loss of touch with reality”, which can include “delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking and behavior”. Altered states of consciousness, such as the ones experienced within psychosis can be terrifying and incredibly overwhelming. On top of the experience itself, those who receive this label are perhaps most stigmatized in popular culture, media, and by healthcare workers. Although plenty of research shows those who experience psychosis are often also trauma survivors and these experiences often make sense when considered in the context of the person’s life and social environment, we still pathologize this experience and make very little effort to understand those who experience altered states.

What if we shifted our perspective and viewed these experiences as opportunities for healing and growth, rather than simply as pathologies to be treated and managed?

In this episode of the Depth Work podcast, I share my own personal story of surviving a mental health crisis outside the system. I describe an intense spiritual awakening and the vital lessons I learned about the root causes of mental health concerns.

We’ll explore multiple frameworks to understand why a mental health crisis happened, highlighting the connections between autoimmunity, trauma, ancestry, spiritual awakening, and structural oppression, and how these factors can all contribute. We also discuss the importance of creating programs and services that allow people to experience states of psychosis without being told that they are pathological and need to be medicated for the rest of their lives. Instead, if we provide a safe and supportive environment where people can understand the full range of their experience, we can achieve more positive outcomes. By embracing a holistic perspective and providing safe and supportive environments, we can help individuals navigate these experiences with agency and understanding.

“If we could build programs and services where people could stay safe and held and cared for and experience these states without someone telling you there’s something wrong with you and that you need to be medicated for the rest of your life, that you are pathological. If we could allow people the agency of understanding the full range of this experience [of psychosis], imagine the kinds of outcomes we could have. ”

— Jazmine Russell, DEPTH Work Podcast Episode 02

What You’ll learn in this episode:

what it’s like to survive an experience of “psychosis” from someone who has lived it

why even the most serious mental health crises can be generative
how to use multiple frameworks to understand why a mental health crisis happened
what autoimmunity, trauma, ancestry, spiritual awakening, and structural oppression all have to do with psychosis and mental health crises

“How can we understand the wisdom of altered states? These experiences can bring about generative change, even when they are scary. ”

— Jazmine Russell

DEPTH Work - A Holistic Mental Health Podcast

This is a space for those who love to dive into the underbelly, to revel in the mystery, question assumptions about what is normal, play in the both/and, and honor the wide range of human emotions.

As a complex trauma survivor, holistic counsellor and co-founder of a mental health institute, I learned that there is immense wisdom in our pain and what we call crazy is just what we are yet not willing to understand and explore. Let’s dive in!

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