World Mental Health Day: “I never thought this life would be possible” A story of psychosis, recovery and the power of Open Dialogue

As part of World Mental Health Day, Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust is sharing one patient’s experience of psychosis, recovery and how being listened to helped him rebuild his life.

This year’s World Mental Health Day is an opportunity to listen to lived experience and recognise the importance of hearing directly from people about their mental health journeys.

For this patient, having space to talk openly about what he was experiencing, and having the people closest to him involved in conversations about his care, became an important part of his recovery.

Psychosis can affect the way a person experiences and makes sense of the world around them. It can involve hallucinations, delusions and confused or disorganised thinking. These experiences can be frightening and overwhelming, both for the person experiencing them and for those around them.

For the patient, episodes of psychosis developed during periods of significant stress and upheaval in his life. He describes feeling disconnected from the world around him and struggling to make sense of what was happening.

“Psychosis felt a bit like being on a rollercoaster moving too fast,” he said. “You’re trying to find something solid to hold on to, but everything feels uncertain. It’s frightening, confusing and very difficult to explain to other people.”

At one of the lowest points in his life, he had lost stable accommodation, experienced a breakdown in family relationships and was unsure where he would be living from one day to the next.

“My whole heart, brain, mind and body just couldn’t handle it,” he said. “I felt like I couldn’t be part of the world I was in.”

Concerned about his wellbeing, his mum contacted mental health services for help. Through this support, he was introduced to Open Dialogue, an approach that brings together the person receiving support, mental health professionals and the people who matter most to them in open conversations about what is happening and how they can move forward together.

Open Dialogue places the person at the centre of conversations about their care, while recognising the importance of family, friends and wider support networks.

For him, feeling listened to was transformational. “It felt like people saw me as I was, with no assumptions. They listened, they gave me space and genuinely wanted to understand what I was experiencing.”

He said having family members involved in conversations also helped rebuild relationships and create understanding. “There was a bridge between my experience and the people around me. The conversations helped everyone make sense of what was happening and gave us a way forward together.”

Emma Hogwood, Lead for Peer Supported Open Dialogue at Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust, said: “Open Dialogue is built on a simple but powerful principle: people are experts in their own lives. Rather than focusing solely on symptoms, we create space for people, families and professionals to come together, listen to one another and make sense of difficult experiences.

“What makes this approach unique is that the person’s voice remains at the centre of every conversation. Recovery happens through relationships, understanding and shared decision-making.

“Our experience of delivering Open Dialogue, alongside our involvement in the national ODDESSI research, has given us an important opportunity to understand how this approach works within NHS services and what it can offer people experiencing a mental health crisis.

“This patient’s story demonstrates why listening to lived experience matters. When people feel heard, valued and involved in decisions about their care, it can help create hope, rebuild relationships and support people to move forward with their lives.”

Today, he has rebuilt important relationships and enjoys a stable life. Looking back, he says he never imagined he would be where he is now. “I’m stable, I’m happy and I have a life I never thought would be possible when I was at my lowest.

“Open Dialogue gave me hope, dignity and a sense that I still had a voice in my own life.”

His experience is a reminder that recovery can take many forms, and that being heard, understood and involved in decisions about care can make an important difference.

This World Mental Health Day, he hopes his experience will encourage others who may be struggling to seek support. “When you’re in the middle of a crisis, it can be impossible to see a way forward. You don’t need to have all the answers. Sometimes it starts with reaching out and letting someone listen.

“Be kind to yourself. It sounds simple, but it’s one of the most important things.”

Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust has been delivering Open Dialogue since 2017 and continues to develop the approach across its mental health services, alongside its contribution to national research and learning.