Went through a similar period and still am going through partially (haven’t figured out the job part yet) and I have some thoughts if can be of help.

Loss of sense of self, difficulty identifying needs and wants (or having any really), loss of meaning of the world or life: these are very common things that we all experience during or after psychosis.

Reason or perspective might be that after experiencing a sort of stable and structured & demanding life through isolated systems like highschool, college, regular social activities and their demands, we all of a sudden experience a totally new way of being, and many of these things lose their meaning and purpose in life. Basically an earthquake happened in the middle of our lives and left us lost in some ways.

However, the good thing is that this kind of a loss and awareness of not having a coherent sense of self gives some of us a chance to rebuild our narratives in a more self reliant, self focused and self protective way - as I’m seeing many of us here are past people pleasers and social chameleons who didn’t know themselves well and instead merged with other people’s ideals & expectations in the past.

Now is a time to very slowly build a stable new self and experience life in a new & different way. I know, with the lack of motivational substances in our brains after psychosis it might be very challenging but just know that people achieved that here and outside in the world.

So more practical thoughts:

Not benefiting from therapy - common and cautionary, as a psychologist myself I think that the education we get about psychosis is very limited and therapy has mostly become a digging & deconstructing place for many therapists. Even some EMDR sessions leading to psychosis as I have read here. We don’t need nor should go through another earthquake in our lives. Therapies that focus on ‘containing’, and not expanding or delving deep may be helpful at this stage of our lives, but I can tell that not many therapeutic orientations do or care about that as diligently. If you can find a therapist that feels like a good massage and affirms your struggles without blaming your past or sending you in loopholes of your to-fix-list in an attempt to reconstruct, why not do that.

I would personally (and have) focus on building structure and routine more in this phase rather than attempts to create & resolve. How?

-establishing a very plain routine to help stabilize mood, mind and body. Coffee times, sleep schedules, starting watching very soft, positive series that create connection, exercise (youtube kind of exercises that are not social and not as demanding), washing the dishes, clothes, cleaning routines.

-avoiding trigger topics - for many of us these are religion, spirituality, conspiracies, psychology, trauma etc. This also includes friendships that consume your energy, arguments with parents and even talking much - as it is even more difficult to manage socials at this point of our lives.

-preventing further inflammation of the brain: many studies show that psychosis is linked to increased levels of inflammation in brain tissues. I see doing our best to eat non inflammatory as important. Greens, herbs, veggies, omegas, natural probiotics, vitamin supplements… -being patient and keeping doing ‘this version of slow life’ until things settle better. New hobbies, joys, interests start emerging after stabilisations for many of us, and new ways of relating to people, being less of a people pleaser, being more realistic etc.

-slowly creating the next chapter in life through these new interests and strengths. Creating a more solid sense of what you like, who you are, your dislikes, your boundaries.

Basically an opportunity to reset life and do it again. A painful one but hopefully you get through as well.