A mother-of-one developed severe psychosis that made her think she was a Viking princess and pregnant with a royal baby after doctors switched her anti-depressant medication.
Jade Rossiter, 26, began suffering vivid dreams and then began behaving like characters she had seen on TV.
Jade, from Farnborough, Hampshire, said: “I had really vivid dreams. My arm would come up and hit the wall. It would wake me up.
“I would play Danny Dyer or Katherine Tate. I would act like they were on screen.’
Jade Rossiter suffered severe psychosis after switching antidepressants
Jade thought she was a Viking princess after watching the TV show Vikings (Photo: Katheryn Winnick as Lagertha in Vikings)
Jade, who was trying to have a baby at the time, had also been watching the TV show Vikings at the time.
She said: ‘It was scary. I thought I was a royal and pregnant Viking princess.
“At one point I thought I was born. I was hugging the coat thinking it was my baby.
“I didn’t think there was anything wrong with me at the time.”
Jade had recently changed her anti-depressant medication and believes this is what caused the psychosis.
While she didn’t realize anything was wrong, her family began to notice her symptoms.
Her father Jim Rossiter, 62, a transport driver, said: “She was completely out of character. She thought she was in EastEnders. She thought she was invincible.
“It was crazy trying to get him the help he needed. She kept wanting to get out of the house.’
Jade with her father Jim, who noticed her paranoia and delusions starting to develop after she switched medication
Jade told how she almost died after sinking into a deep depression, losing five stone while being segregated under the Mental Health Act
Jade is now doing much better and insists that mental illness does not define you
Jade was separated under the Mental Health Act for four months in January 2019 after several trips to A&E.
She said: “I almost died. I went catatonic – a deep, deep depression. I couldn’t move, talk or eat.
“I was a size six to eight when I came in, and I dropped five stone when I was there. It was quite traumatic.’
Jade was released from hospital in April 2019 and was diagnosed with bipolar by the doctors who had been monitoring her.
She was treated by a mental health team for the next three years and was able to recover. She gave birth to her son, now three, in March 2021.
But at some point a new physiatrist thought she was over bipolar and Jade was taken off her medication in November 2022 and her psychosis returned.
Soon, she became convinced that people were hacking her phone, listening to her calls, and that she was going to be the next queen of England.
She said: “I was happy to be away from the diagnosis but my mental health took off. I thought there was nothing wrong with me. That was my mindset for a long time.’
Jim said: ‘She had a paranoia. Her attitude changed. She would see criticism in any innocent comment.
“It was like walking on eggshells the whole time.”
Jade had to be separated again for two months in March 2023 when her psychosis returned.
She said: “I thought people were hacking my phone and listening to my calls. I thought I was going to be the next Queen of England.
“I thought people were trying to follow me and my family. It was really scary and really traumatizing.
“It was hard to come back to reality.”
A year later, Jade is doing well and continues to see a physiatrist and take medication. She hopes to raise awareness about psychosis and bipolar.
She said: “If I can make other people aware of what I’ve been through – that’s important.
‘We are not alone. I would rather talk about it to show that it happens. You can have psychosis, but it doesn’t define you.’
Jim added: “She’s got herself in a really good place now.”
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