About

🎭 Welcome to the Edge: Exploring Schizophrenia, Psychosis and HPPD

“When you’ve been to the edge of reality, returning to ‘normal’ is a radical act.”

Mental illness has long lived in the shadows—misunderstood, misdiagnosed, and often misrepresented in books, films, and everyday conversation. Whether you’ve lived through it, love someone who has, or simply want to understand, this blog is your invitation to step past the stereotypes and into the human story behind conditions like schizophrenia, psychosis, and Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD).

This isn’t a site run by a university or a pharmaceutical company. This is real talk from someone who’s been there—someone who walked the razor’s edge between chaos and clarity and lived to write about it.

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💥 Why This Blog?

Let me tell you why I started this project.

For decades, I wore labels like “paranoid schizophrenic,” “delusional,” and “non-compliant.” These weren’t badges—they were barriers. I was handed pills and papers, but rarely the dignity of being heard. I lived through multiple psychotic episodes, hospitalisations, and the slow-burning fallout of psychedelic use in my youth that led to HPPD, a little-known but deeply disorienting condition.

After nearly five decades of navigating these mental maelstroms—and building a life beyond them—I decided it was time to speak. Not in whispers. Not in disclaimers. But directly, honestly, and hopefully with a touch of wit.

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🧠 What You’ll Find Here

This blog exists to do what too few others dare to do:

1. Demystify Schizophrenia

Forget the horror stories and sensational headlines. We’ll explore what schizophrenia actually is—and isn’t. Articles will cover:

• Early warning signs
• Living with the diagnosis
• Medication vs. mindfulness
• Alternative coping strategies
• Social stigma and isolation

2. Make Sense of Psychosis

Psychosis isn’t a death sentence. It’s a detour. We’ll break down:

• The different types of psychosis
• What it feels like (from the inside)
• Triggers and recovery paths
• How families can actually help

3. Shine a Light on HPPD

HPPD is often misdiagnosed or dismissed. But it’s real, and it’s rough. We’ll unpack:

• What HPPD looks like day-to-day
• The long-term effects of hallucinogens
• Tools to manage visual distortions, anxiety, and derealisation

4. Recovery, Not Perfection

This blog isn’t about being “cured.” It’s about resilience, recovery, and redefining success. I’ll be sharing:

• Personal stories (the raw and the redemptive)
• Mind-body tools like Qi Gong, meditation, and breathwork
• Book and app reviews for managing mental health
• Updates on new projects, including my fiction and nonfiction writing

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📚 Featured: The Therapeutic Zone – A Dystopian Novel That Hits Close to Home

Now, a quick word about my latest release.

The Therapeutic Zone is a near-future psychological thriller that asks: what happens when psychiatry becomes a tool of social control?

It’s part memoir, part fiction, and all too real.

In this story, a man is “warehoused” in an isolated postcode under the guise of care. His diagnosis is weaponised. His treatment is surveillance. And freedom? That’s no longer defined by rights, but by compliance.

If you’ve ever felt gaslighted by the system, labelled instead of listened to, or punished for simply being different—this book might speak to you.

👉 Think: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest meets 1984—but five years from now.

The Therapeutic Zone is available now on Kindle. It’s the first in a planned trilogy exploring what happens when Godless corporations, digital psychiatry, and spiritual awakening collide.

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⚠️ A Quick Note on Misinformation

This blog exists to tell hard truths, but I won’t be peddling conspiracy theories. There’s already too much garbage online pretending to be wisdom. What I will do is question mainstream narratives with a healthy dose of skepticism—and invite readers to do the same.

We need critical thinking, not blind obedience or magical thinking.

If you’re looking for echo chambers, you won’t find them here. But if you want open-minded, lived-experience perspectives backed by observation, research, and reason—you’re in the right place.

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🔍 Who Is This For?

This blog is for:

• People living with schizophrenia, psychosis, or HPPD
• Friends, partners, or parents trying to understand
• Recovering psychonauts looking to make peace with their past
• Writers, mental health workers, and students who want first-hand insight
• Anyone who’s tired of being fed half-truths about the mind

You don’t need to agree with me. Hell, you might disagree with half of what I say. That’s okay. I’m not here to be right—I’m here to be real.

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💡 Why Now?

Because we need more than textbooks. We need truth.

I’m 69 now. And after a lifetime of being on the receiving end of the mental health system, I finally have the time, energy, and freedom to speak. To write. To leave something behind that might actually help someone younger navigate this mess with a little more clarity.

I believe recovery is possible—not just from illness, but from the shame that often comes with it.

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🔔 Stay Connected

If this sounds like your kind of place:

• Bookmark the site
• Join the email list (free mental health updates + first chapter of The Therapeutic Zone)
• Drop a comment—I reply to most
• Tell a friend who needs to hear they’re not alone

This blog is just getting started, and I’ll be posting weekly—sometimes more.

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🎤 Final Thought: You’re Not Crazy

You’re sensitive. You’re intelligent. You’re wired a bit differently—and that’s not a flaw. It might just be your superpower.

The world wasn’t built for us. But that doesn’t mean we don’t belong here.

Welcome to the edge.

Let’s build something powerful here.

—
Jeff Travis
Author of The Therapeutic Zone
Founder of “Schizophrenia, Psychosis and HPPD”

“The Therapeutic Zone” – “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” meets “1984” and “Brave New World.”
A disturbing glimpse into a future that might already be here.

To go to Amazon click here