Hi Chris,

I've been very fortunate, my illness has progressed through definite stages: pre-psychotic, acute psychotic, depressive and finally into the recovery stage.  Getting diagnosed early helped I think to shorten the acute stage of my psychosis, though I didn't accept the diagnosis right off and I didn't take the anti-psychotic meds faithfully for 3 years.  The acute stage was the most traumatic for me, but the depressive stage really hit me hard.  This is why it is essential to have a therapist and psychiatrist work together to anticipate the various stages. If a support team is ready to tackle the inevitable depression I think more young people would not take their lives and live to see their own recovery.  For myself, I cultivated an attitude of gratitude whenever possible, pursued creative outlets and just didn't give up.  So much of some of the stages is just holding on no matter what.  That's why I have a lot of respect for those who make it to the recovery stage because I know how hard they held on to get to that point.