People who experience psychosis are “more likely to be victims of violence” than to be the source of it, according to the first co-ordinator of a pioneering psychosis research centre at the St John of God Foundation in Dublin.
Conor Gavin, from Galway, brings experience of the condition to the role, having lived through a “surreal and visceral” episode of psychosis in his teens.
He wants the voices of those who have lived with the condition to be at the heart of the centre’s work, and to dispel myths about psychosis, which affects about 1 per cent of the population.
“Around 45,000 people in Ireland are affected by psychosis at any one time. So, it’s not that rare,” he says.
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Psychosis is a mental state where a person loses a degree of contact with reality. They may have hallucinations that lead them to see or hear things that are not real; delusions where they believe things that are not real, and become confused and agitated.
In Gavin’s case, he was 16 when psychosis came on “very out of the blue”.
He experienced delusions, paranoia and believed he was “at the centre of some kind of a plot or a conspiracy”.
“You think it’s fully real ... you believe [the delusions] and you’re fully committed to the fact that you’re in this conspiracy and in this world that you have sort of created in your head,” he says.
“Mine was probably building slowly from about the end of November 2014 and kind of culminated in a heightened situation.”
Gavin’s family brought him to the emergency department on Christmas day 2014 and he was admitted to a child and adolescent mental health bed.
“I remember the psychiatrist having to sit down with my parents and my family, having to explain the situation, go through the care plan ... [and reassure them] the prognosis was quite good. And I did recover quite well.”
While clinicians could not explain why he had experienced psychosis – it may have been stress – they reassured him he could return to school and live his life.
However, he did not tell friends or most of his teachers what had happened. There is both “public, social stigma” and “self stigma” or “misplaced shame” about psychosis, he says.
He struggled with lows in energy and motivation as well as manic episodes.
In 2019, Gavin was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder – a “type of psychotic disorder” – which can affect his mood.
He finds now he is better abstaining from alcohol, getting regular sleep and he takes medication. He has, since 2020, had a “sustained and stable recovery”.
After finishing a science degree in the University of Galway, he went on to complete a masters in clinical neuroscience.
There’s an association, I suppose in the media with violence – that people with schizophrenia or psychosis are violent
— Conor Gavin
His “passion” was in supporting people with mental health challenges as a peer support worker, where he used his personal experience to help those earlier in their recovery.
In his new job, Gavin’s experience will bring insight and also demonstrate that recovery from psychosis is very achievable.
“There’s a real lack of positive recovery stories,” he says. “We see a lot of negative, pejorative descriptions of psychosis – in books, films, movies TV shows. There’s an association, I suppose in the media with violence – that people with schizophrenia or psychosis are violent. I feel very strongly about this – that they’re actually more likely to be victims of violence than to be violent ourselves.
Recovery from psychosis is fully achievable
— Conor Gavin
“I’ve met plenty of people [who have experienced psychosis] and I’ve never met anyone that was violent, so it’s really important to know that.”
The research centre will “harness research activity and co-ordinate efforts across” the St John of God group and “offer the opportunity to strengthen collaborations nationally with other leading specialists in the area,” said a spokeswoman for the organisation.
The real experiences of patients will be “embedded” in the work, she added.
“Recovery from psychosis is fully achievable,” says Gavin. “I want to help spread that positive message far and wide. The lived experience movement is growing in Ireland and across the world and is making a huge difference.
“We need to grow this further and empower those who want their voice heard.”
