Psychosis as a dialectic of aha- and anti-aha-experiences: a qualitative study

Background: Experiences of sudden and abrupt insight, sometimes termed aha-experiences, are often reported during psychosis. The aha-experience is described as a radical and sudden restructuring, realization or change in understanding. Based on personal experience, we argued that alongside this aha experience exists the anti-aha-experience. The anti-aha-experience refers to an experience of sudden insight that does not fit within one’s framework, convictions or worldview and has an undermining effect. We have conceptualized psychosis as a dialectic of aha- and anti-aha-experiences and argue that a dialectic tension between aha- and anti-aha experiences undermines a stable personal perspective.Methods: In this study, we set out to investigate whether individuals with lived experience of psychosis do indeed report forms of sudden insight, and particularly if they report aha- and anti-ahaexperiences, and the dialectic between them. We therefore conducted 21 in-depth interviews and 6 focus groups with individuals with lived experience of psychosis and analyzed the transcripts using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.Results: The findings show that these phenomena are indeed often reported and could play a significant role in psychosis.Conclusions: Integrating these phenomena into our understanding of psychosis could help to better grasp the lived experience of individual patients and additionally inform other forms of research on psychosis.