This section is about the first time people noticed
they were experiencing something that seemed ‘out of the ordinary’. The people we interviewed had their first experience of psychosis between the ages of 14 and 21. Although some people had unusual experiences before, many described their first “real” experience of psychosis as one which marked a turning point for them in their lives. Some, like Nikki, had had unusual experiences during
early childhood while for others, like Lucy and Sameeha, the first experience of psychosis had happened very recently.
It could be hard to pinpoint the very first experience, and memories could be “blurry”. Green Lettuce doesn’t recall a specific time he first heard a voice or started thinking people were watching him and talking about him, and when he was younger didn’t understand that it wasn’t ‘real’.
But others could remember an exact date, or the moment when they first experienced something unusual. This could be hearing a voice or seeing an image that no one else heard or saw, or behaving in a way that was unusual for them.