Psychotic disorders continue to be heavily stigmatised, with inadequate psychiatric care and limited support, as concluded by experts on RTL’s ‘Background am Gespréich’ in January 2024. Among the panellists was AFPL’s vice-president and founder, Mandy Juchem.
Juchem established the association in 2017 after her son was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Through her own lived experience, she recognised the widespread lack of support and awareness for not just individual patients, but also their families. To bridge this gap, she teamed up with eight other affected family members to create AFPL, an organisation dedicated to providing information and improving resources for those living with psychosis.
Each year, AFPL organises the ‘Journées de la Psychose au Luxembourg’ (Psychosis Days in Luxembourg), a three to four-day conference featuring expert-led discussions. The 9th edition takes place from 18 to 20 March, and its programme offers insights from:
Psychosis was once a broad term for all mental illnesses but is now defined as a set of symptoms that can include hallucinations, loss of reality, and self-awareness disturbances. Conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar psychosis, and severe depression usually fall under this umbrella.
People at higher risk of developing psychosis include those with a history of trauma, early developmental disorders, a family history of the illness, or brain injuries, and severe infections. However, despite its often distressing nature, most people can recover from psychosis, explains AFPL.
The organisation explains that the recovery process typically unfolds in five stages, beginning with the first psychotic episode and gradually progressing as individuals learn to manage their condition. According to AFPL, the path to recovery is best understood as a gradual process in which patients regain control over their lives.
For more information on psychosis, visit the AFPL website.
