When the ants start crawling, yes, I take my antipsychotics – but human touch is also a powerful balm | Eleanor de Jong

What's often overlooked in the treatment of mental illness is the neglect of your body, and its need to be cared for and soothed

When a manic episode is brewing, before any thoughts get really strange, my body tells me what's just around the corner.

Colours become hypersaturated and video-game like, often pulsating with intensity. Sounds are amplified, as if you've developed superhuman abilities. I'll feel a growing pressure in my head and my vision becomes very sharp; I can see a lizard in a bush 15 metres away, no worries.