From Our Neurons to Yours What is psychosis? Navigating an altered reality | Jacob Ballon & Shannon Pagdon
Sep 18, 2025
Join Dr. Jacob Ballon, a psychiatry expert and founding co-director of Stanford's Inspire Clinic, and Shannon Pagdon, a peer counselor with lived experience of psychosis. They explore the blurry line between dreams and reality and Shannon's journey through her first psychotic episode. Jacob debunks myths about psychosis and explains its clinical nuances, while Shannon shares her project, Psychosis Outside the Box, highlighting diverse experiences. They emphasize recovery-oriented approaches and the significance of peer support in navigating psychosis.
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Teenage Onset And Long-Term Management
- Shannon first noticed psychosis at 16–17 with a vivid visual hallucination of a flying grape and later developed voices and paranoia.
- She still experiences symptoms but has learned coping skills and manages them while completing education.
Psychosis As A Spectrum
- Jacob emphasizes psychosis exists on a spectrum and many people experience mild psychotic-like perceptions at times.
- The key problem is when someone can no longer trust their senses or thoughts as accurate.
Difference Between Psychosis And Schizophrenia
- Psychosis describes symptoms like hallucinations and delusions while schizophrenia includes those plus cognitive and negative symptoms.
- Positive symptoms are additions; negative symptoms are deficits like low motivation.