Psychosis
Work and education
Onset of psychosis disrupting work and education
Many people had their education or working lives disrupted by developing mental health problems. People described their experiences at school, which were very mixed. Stress caused by preparing for exams seemed to lead to a deterioration in people’s mental health; for others it was just the first time they had noticed something wasn’t quite right (see also ‘Onset of mental distress’).
Tom went from being a model student in his 'O' levels to being a bad student for his 'A' levels.
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Tom went from being a model student in his 'O' levels to being a bad student for his 'A' levels.
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Annie went to a 'posh' school and remembers doing well there but then she remembers things ...
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What was life like before you had any contact with mental health services?
Pretty normal really. Well very normal. I had a very normal childhood. Probably quite privileged in some ways and you know, nice, posh school [laughs]. You know, I had a sister, I was very close to Mum and Dad, brought up, you know, no divorce. Just normal. Academically succeeding. Yes. Very, very normal really. Very normal. Probably yes, yes, boringly normal [laughs].
I’m sure it wasn’t.
Yes, yes.
So what happened when you were in your teens?
Yes, well as I got to sort of the sixth form really things, and initially things were just sort of slipping a little bit. I kind of did four ‘A’ levels and then it was a drop down to three and then kind of was allowed to go home a bit earlier than others may be. Kind of just sort of, and not going to parties. I remember that being quite a bit thing. Not going to like, being invited to all these eighteenth birthday parties and not going. Because I just didn’t feel particularly well, sociable, myself really. So I kind of yes, I kind of just things were slipping really, if I’m honest and just sort of, but sort of not massive slips. Just lots of sort of, lots of little slips, if that makes any sense. You know, not kind of, not anything massive, but if you look back on it, lots of things were going, like my Saturday job, like the four ‘A’ levels down to three A levels. Like kind of work university I was thinking for, you know, aspirations were sort of slipping, you know, I was sort of heading for, you know, pretty good universities and therefore, you know, then starting to look at lesser universities and kind of not being sociable, that was the main thing as well, kind of giving up on going to parties and giving up sort of hanging out with my friends and stuff. So yes, and then it just gradually escalated really.
Nada wasnt able to take very much in at school because she was worried about what was happening...
Nada wasnt able to take very much in at school because she was worried about what was happening...
Whilst some people did well at school and didn’t experience many problems, several people spoke about being bullied at school or having unrecognised learning difficulties that caused them problems (see also ‘Views about causes and traumatic experiences’ and ‘Childhood and life before diagnosis’). Many people first developed more noticeable mental health difficulties whilst they were at sixth form or college (ages 16-18) or whilst at university. However many also felt that university was a happy time when they felt ‘freer’ or ‘more like themselves’. Some people found that their behaviour spiralled out of control without close family noticing.
Janey found the first year at university a very exciting time.
Janey found the first year at university a very exciting time.
I was very lucky, I mean I was very unlucky. I didn’t get the university places I wanted. Went through clearing and got in Sussex. And that was, that was brilliant, because everyone there, this is at the time when, seriously communist university. It had 43 conservatives on the Campus and we knew who they all were. And I could be as wacky as I wanted, nobody cared. Nobody really made me want, you know, there weren’t things that, expectations that I was having to live up. And I already sought to have failed my A levels by having to through clearing in the first place. So having done that for the first time in my life, failed everything, it then opened things out. I could be just what I wanted which was great. So I spent a lot of time playing politics, a lot of, a lot of time socialising and doing really crazy weird things. Hung out with the politicos. Went out with someone who was a cross dresser. So we both had mini skirts on all the time.
And got a biology degree in the end. I was ill, actually that’s the first time I can really remember, being psychiatrically ill in the way that I am these days, at the end of my first year at university. I had tried to kill myself. Two friends had decided that I needed to see the Campus doctor. So they phoned him, and he argu… he was arguing and arguing with me that either I came to the sick bay and took some medication, saw a psychiatrist the next day or that they would section me up to [name of hospital]. Which was one of the big psychiatric institutions at the time. And so I went into the sick bay. Saw the psychiatrist the next morning. I managed to persuade him that there was absolutely nothing wrong with me, even though I by this time, and I knew I was hearing voices. And got out again. So …
Some people didn’t work after finishing school as they didn’t feel well enough or there weren’t the jobs available. However, many other people had worked full-time before becoming unwell. Whilst some people felt that the stress of their jobs contributed to their feeling unwell, others felt unable to work because of the side-effects of medication such as sedation.
At one point Ron was very successful in the City, yet at the same time he was very lonely.
At one point Ron was very successful in the City, yet at the same time he was very lonely.
Looking back Robert can see that the start of his mental health problems was when he was getting...
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Robert' But I suppose looking back at it now. I mean to say, I don’t know, I suppose I’m, when did that happen, 95, ten it must be going back fifteen twenty years now. But I can look back and it now like, that’s probably where my problems started. Like with the confusion of everything like, you know, and it all got messed up in my mind as well, a lot of it.
What type of things got messed up?
Robert' Oh God everything. Some of the simplest things, man. You know, I’d get up in the morning like, you know and have your day planned out and truth of it I just couldn’t be arsed. I couldn’t be bothered, just to cope with everyday things. You know, you can go, I don’t know, getting a job or signing on and that. It’s just too much trouble. Just too much aggravation. I just couldn’t cope with it. And of course, I mean to say, you get a job and you get these niggly little things at work, you know, that people are meant to care about or worry about, you know, oh this isn’t done right, or that isn’t done right. And I just don’t, didn’t have the patience or the effort or the will to even bother to try. I lost a couple, I must admit I lost a couple of jobs because I just couldn’t, I just couldn’t do it. Like, you know. I had some bloke stood there, shouting at me, sort of so far away from me, like, you know, because I’m meant to be worried about what he’s doing at work like. You know, I just decked to be truthful. Petty garbage. Hmm. Got me into a lot of trouble. But now I look back on it and that’s probably the start of my mental health issues. Hindsight is a wonderful thing isn’t it?
It wasn’t until I talked to [name of psychiatrist] from the, what was she [name of partner] can you remember? What she was. What [name] Unit?
Partner' Yes.
Changing career
Most people we talked to could work in the long run, despite being affected by severe mental distress. However the type of work that people did often changed after an episode of psychosis. For some people getting back to work felt important to their recovery. However, work was not always possible - or even desirable - for some people (see also ‘Recovery’). Several of the people we spoke to decided to work or volunteer in the mental health field in some way in order to help others.
Many people we spoke to now worked with service user/advocacy organisations such as ‘Rethink’ or the Highland User Group (HUG) and got a lot out of either doing paid work or volunteering. Ron now runs a consultancy company ‘Working to Recovery’ that trains people in mental health recovery.
Gary volunteers for HUG in schools, increasing awareness of mental health issues.
Gary volunteers for HUG in schools, increasing awareness of mental health issues.
We when we go round schools, like usually, there’s usually at least three of us, so we give like a wide a range of mental health issues, like we talk about our experiences etc. you know, but we also say, “Look …” Say there’s a class of 30, we often say, “Look almost a third of you are going to experience some form of mental health at some point.” And one thing I say to them, “Is look, I was in the Army and I know, I’ve seen active action. Don’t be scared. Don’t be scared like to come forward like and see a doctor.” So that’s one thing I say.
And how have you found it doing work with HUG?
Good. Good. Very good actually. it’s one of the most positive aspects of my life. Being able to like make up for so many years, like I was involved in this, like you know, I didn’t, I knew there was something wrong with me. I didn’t know what was wrong and but in the last couple of years, like now, I’m just so much more positive about my mental health and okay I’ve got a problem and my psychiatrist says, he told me straight, “You’re never going to be cured. But what we can do is help you manage it better if possible, but you’re never going to be cured.” So I know I’ve got this for life. So it’s very positive for me like to go around places like and say like now okay, it just is.
Kirsty became involved with Rethink and then worked in a charity shop over the Christmas period.
Kirsty became involved with Rethink and then worked in a charity shop over the Christmas period.
How did you get involved with Rethink?
I think it was just reading the newsletter and they said that they were interested, you know, in I think it was the way the government’s change things. They want things to be, not exactly user led, but for the, any sort of client, patient, tenant, whatever, to be involved in the services that they receive and that sort of thing. So .. power to the people, you know, and that. So I just responded to that. I responded to their request. I thought yes, I can do. Yes, I’ll give a go. And that. And I wasn’t always reliable and that. But quite a lot of the time I put a fair amount of effort in, and like I say, as I can tell it was appreciated. And certain the stuff I do now, the, the service involvement manager she’s extremely motivating. Yes.
And what does she motivate you to do?
What was it, take on extra tasks and all this sort of thing, which is like, I mean, I don’t always feel it within me, that my opinion is valid, you know, or that, you know, sometimes I think well I’m, you know, I’m out of place or whatever, you know, imposter almost. But, you know, I had a phone conversation with her a while back and she was like, “Yes, no, you know, you seem to be particularly good at this or whatever, and Christ, yes. I didn’t realise I had any talents left. You know, so yeah.
Well good on her.
Some people found that the job they had before they became unwell was too stressful or not rewarding enough. For instance, a few people had been in the army and said the mental stress of this kind of work was particularly difficult for them. Naveed said that his boss worked him very hard, knowing that he wanted to save money so his wife could join him from Pakistan. Cat hoped that there wouldn’t be increasing pressure for her to go back to work as she felt she couldn’t manage it.
Nevertheless, when people felt unable to work this sometimes contributed to negative feelings about their self-worth, and many did not want to depend on state benefits. Often they were signed off by a doctor when they were diagnosed, and for a few people this felt like the doctor was expressing pessimism about their prospects of recovery. Some people said they tried to go back to work and their normal routine ‘too early’ and became unwell again.
People who felt unable to do paid or voluntary work talked about the importance of therapeutic activities such as education, art, sculpture, or gardening to increase their well-being.
Gaining new skills and confidence
Some people who had left school without any qualifications, or who hadn’t been to university the first time around, often wanted to do a degree course or take part in further study.
Later in life Andrew went on to get a BA and an MA.
Later in life Andrew went on to get a BA and an MA.
David found that going into education really helped.
David found that going into education really helped.
However, doing further education wasn’t for everyone. Gary wanted to do an Open University degree but his psychiatrist didn’t think he was well enough to attend college, and another tried to do a degree when he felt quite ‘high’ and dropped out after a few weeks. Simon had done various different courses including gardening, sculpture, poetry and creative writing, and got a lot out of them.
Last reviewed July 2017.
Last updated April 2014.
Last reviewed July 2017.
Last updated April 2014.
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