Schizophrenia, bipolarity: psychotic disorders explained in podcast

While schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are recognized as two distinct neuropsychiatric states, they share certain clinical symptoms, genetic abnormalities, and common treatments. To better understand these invisible diseases and their impact on everyday life, Olivier Delacroix went to meet Marion and Youri, who agreed to talk about their experience.

Youri, schizophrenic: “I totally doubted my identity”

At 17, Youri was diagnosed with schizophrenia by a neurologist. At the microphone of Olivier Delacroix, he says: “This word, for me, meant nothing other than the image that I had of the media and films where there were schizophrenic serial killers. I had the totally wrong clichés like the split personality, which was not the case at all”. It was following his first consumption of ecstasy that the signs of psychosis appeared in him: delirious puffs, forgetfulness, erroneous memories… Youri gradually lost touch with reality. “All the information that we accumulate during a day will be erroneous, and we embroider like that a parallel reality which is made of terror. That’s psychosis,” he explains again. Youri even comes to have the constant impression of being watched by spies. “I made myself a whole science fiction scenario. But all that seemed totally normal to me as the days or months went by. It’s more and more anchored: the slightest sound, the slightest noise, the slightest information comes to feed the psychosis”, he confides in the podcast “In the eyes of Olivier”. To hear more about how this mental illness has changed his daily life and impacted his relationships, listen to his testimony.

Marion, bipolar: “I could no longer fight against myself”

Ever since she was little, Marion has alternated between states of euphoria and moments of deep sadness and aggressiveness. In its high periods it feels capable of climbing mountains, but in its low periods it sinks into abysses of depression. At the age of 14, the crying spells get worse, and Marion comes to self-mutilation. In the podcast “In Olivier’s eyes”, she confides: “I cut myself in places where it was not visible, especially on my thighs. I wanted to bring out the pain.” Then in high school, Marion begins to have hallucinations. “I felt like my organs were starting to rot, like gangrene in my stomach. But in fact, I was making myself sick.” Urgently taken to the psychiatric hospital by her parents, the diagnosis is clear: Marion suffers from bipolarity. “We had to learn that it is not a character trait, but a pathology.” To find out how her family reacted to this diagnosis and how Marion lives today with her bipolar disorder, listen to her testimony.

In the podcast “In Olivier’s eyes” available on all listening platforms, Olivier Delacroix gives voice to those who have never heard it and takes the time to collect their testimony. He seeks to understand without judging intimate wounds, personal dramas and deep questions.