A stock photo has been used on this blog at the request of the author

Two years ago, Jade developed psychosis for the first time. She shares her experiences of stigma and discrimination whilst working in healthcare and at university. 

I’m 27 and have been diagnosed with severe major depressive disorder, psychosis and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I work as an NHS healthcare professional, and my illness began around September 2022. I was feeling very stressed with personal circumstances, university and working full-time. 

I started to become withdrawn, anxious and paranoid. I was hearing voices and being followed by squirrels who’d comment on my daily activities. I stopped eating and drinking, worried my food was being poisoned, but I was too scared to tell anyone. I’d leave my car engine running on the main road, unlocked without realising, and kept losing everything. 

At work, I’d stay in my clinical room because I was too scared to go to the break room. I didn’t want anyone to find out about the squirrels and the voices. I was suspicious my colleagues were secretly going to poison me and thought they could read my mind. I was also transferring money to colleagues without realising, sending incoherent emails, getting muddled with my calendar, telling the time and organising papers.