Dissonance

Series

First two panels from an 8 part comic called Dissonance. The panels show crudely drawn heads drawn in thick black lines against a mottled grey background. They talk about the artist's struggle between reality, delusion and stigma during a psychotic epidsode.

Dissonance. © Andrew Field for Wellcome Collection.

A psychotic episode left Andrew Field confused and isolated from reality and the people around him. In this eight-part comic he shares his experiences of being immersed in a delusional state, and his painful struggle to resolve the mismatch between reality and belief. With the aid of medical treatment, he began to rediscover the joys of a shared experience.

Comic

Walled in by psychosis

When you enter a psychotic state, you become increasingly isolated from the world around you.

Comic

My delusion wasn’t shared

You can’t connect with people when you don’t share the same reality.

Comic

Disembodied and alone

Psychosis cuts you off from yourself. You become separated from both your body and your identity.

Comic

I was hallucinating

That moment when you realise that no one else sees what you see is when the dissonance becomes unbearable.

Comic

A glimpse of reality

As reality starts to break through your delusion you question everything you're hearing.

Comic

From psychotic to patient

And as the outside world seeps into your delusion, you experience a new reality and you gain a new identity.

Comic

Reclaiming reality

While hospital routine and meds get to work on the psychosis, you can start to draw the threads of your life back together.

Comic

A shared experience

Having a simple conversation with another person brings such pleasure.