About Afterlight

Built by someone who needed it.

My story

In 2023, I had a trauma-induced episode of psychosis. I spent a month on a psych ward and the episode eventually resolved. But what came after was so much harder.

Two months after my episode, a deep depression hit. It was heavier and stranger than anything I’d experienced before. I had no energy and felt no joy. But beyond that, I felt like I existed in a limbo, detached from the real world and filled with a penetrating existential anguish. I still struggle to articulate the feeling.

My psychiatrist was surprised by my experience. She had not seen something like this and couldn’t find any similar stories from her colleagues. We tried changing antipsychotics, but my mood didn’t respond. The depression was labeled “treatment resistant”.

I have a degree in psychobiology and felt comfortable doing my own research. This led me to ask to try an SSRI. After a few weeks of conversation, my psychiatrist agreed. She was concerned that an SSRI would cause mania, but we worked together to slowly introduce the medication.

It took a few tries to find the right SSRI, but I eventually began to emerge from the depression.

…..

Months later, I found r/Psychosis on Reddit. It had dozens of people asking the same questions, struggling with the same post-episode depression, getting minimal guidance from clinicians and desperate for help. I was relieved to learn I wasn’t alone, but also overwhelmed by the number of people suffering.

Afterlight is my attempt to help. I hope that no one has to navigate their recovery alone, without insight or hope

Kate, psychosis patient, author of Afterlight