Two approaches studying first-person experience in psychosis—philosophical phenomenology and the recovery movement—offer different but potentially complementary insights. Phenomenology describes how lived experience in psychosis deviates from health, proposing the ipseity disturbance model, while recovery writings focus on experiences of moving toward well-being. These differences make integration for treatment challenging. The authors examine major tenets of each literature and suggest future directions for reconciling their contributions.
COVID-19 influenced the content of auditory hallucinations and delusions for many people with psychosis, but the effect was not uniform. Some patients reported that ideas about the virus appeared in their hallucinations and shaped paranoid thoughts, and a few felt the frequency or loudness of voices increased. Others said the virus had not affected their experience. The increased social isolation, financial insecurity, and socio-political climate of the pandemic period also seemed to negatively impact individuals with psychosis. The findings illustrate how societal and external factors can shape the experience of psychosis.