Psychoanalyst Stein Vanhegele argues that around 15% of people on Earth have at least once experienced a psychotic state in which the connection to reality is lost. Still, there is often fear of discussing psychosis and of avoiding contact with people in such a state. How can we support them?
The author analyzes scientific concepts from Sigmund Freud to Jacques Lacan, and also shares examples from the lives of his patients and well-known figures such as director David Lynch, artist Yayoi Kusama, and psychologist Carl Gustav Jung.
He comes to the conclusion that human bonds are built on stories people tell each other—about the past, self-awareness, and one’s place in society. In a psychotic state, these stories lose their meaning, and a person’s reality falls apart.
Vanhegele proposes restoring health through a humanistic approach that includes dialogue and finding shared meanings together.