Peter's chapter in this compendium of personal narratives starts with his difficult upbringing, the onset of paranoia, a suicide attempt, effective medication, and positive aspects of psychosis.

1. Psychosis, Stories of recovery and hope (2011) Edited by
Hannah Cordle et al, Chapter 16
Peter Chadwick, A Positive Perspective on Psychosis
Peter’s mother attempted to make him into a ‘hard case’ to survive in
the world, during his Northern upbringing. The hard men on the
football team thought he was a pansy as he had a Cliff Richard
hairdo. At Bristol University he did psychology as a BSc, his
transvestism blossomed, and he was ‘outed’ by his neighbours.
Gradually this developed into paranoia. He thought of his cross
dressing as a satanic rite. He thought New King’s Road was the road
of the New King where Jesus would reappear, and threw himself
under a bus there. He thought the neighbours through the walls
could hear him and were talking about him, and then he began to
hear voices and played the radio very loudly to drown them out. He
suffered a hand injury in the suicide attempt. He met his wife in the
psychiatric ward, they were both taking medication and he was happy
when he was changed from Orap to Haloperidol. He went into a
hostel after the hospital. He got his life back by working as a
lecturer – with a relationship, a job, accommodation, and some
money. He accepted the diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, but
his undergraduate psychology training was very much anti-psychiatry.
The hospital philosophy was that psychiatric disorders
were illnesses, he was medicated and the doctors waited to see the
affect of the meds. He now says that MH professionals need to see
psychosis as beyond biochemical or cognitive malfunction. Psychosis
had taken him under the wheels of a bus, and ***medication had
brought him back to sanity. He thinks meds have moved him to a
new Second Mind which is well, and rebuffs the idea that he has not
recovered because he still takes a small amount of medication, but
for him now the problem is solved. His second psychology degree got

2. him to consider cognitive aspects of mental health. For him, you
need to recall good things from the past and not merely retrieve
negative memories. Peter moved from seeing God as a punisher to
one who has mercy, as when he was allowed to survive from the
suicide attempt – there must be purpose for him. Before he had no
hope. ***For Peter the most positive aspect of his psychosis is his
creativity. Psychosis can not only result in stigmatisation, but also in
self-stigmatisation. Positive things from psychosis include
creativity, sensitivity, spirituality and empathy. Psychosis is a
‘multi faceted diamond,’ not just a biochemical or cognitive problem.
In the 70’s and 80’s, if you could remove symptoms, then that was a
success. Now we want to give people fulfilment and a quality of life.