When the chatbot starts to feel more real than the room you're in.

"AI psychosis" is the informal name clinicians and journalists have given to a pattern where sustained, intense conversations with AI chatbots are associated with new or worsening delusional beliefs, often alongside mood swings, behaviour changes and reduced insight. Researchers at the University of British Columbia describe it as "not a formal clinical label" that "does not map directly onto existing diagnostic categories."

No. "AI psychosis" is not in the DSM or ICD and is not a formal diagnosis — it is a pattern described in peer-reviewed literature and clinical reporting. That does not make the distress less real: counselling works on the human side of the loop — isolation, stress, sleep, the meaning the conversations have taken on, and habits around use. If what you describe needs a physician or psychiatrist, you will be told plainly and helped to get there.

Signs described in the clinical literature include: chat sessions clustering late at night around insomnia or acute stress; pulling away from friends and family, or a noticeable mood change; beliefs shifting toward grandiose, paranoid, romantic or persecutory themes involving the AI; relating to the chatbot as a sentient partner, confidant or authority; and people close to you being worried while you have stopped telling them what you talk about. These are prompts for a conversation, not a checklist for self-diagnosis.

The proposed mechanism is a loop. Chatbots can produce confident statements that are not true, and they tend to mirror and validate the user's framing even when it is inaccurate — one cited study found popular frontier models validate users about 50% more than humans do. For someone who is isolated, sleep-deprived, or already under strain, constant agreement can amplify a fixed idea instead of testing it.

Touch Grass Wellness is a counselling practice in British Columbia for people whose use of AI chatbots has begun to affect their sleep, their relationships, or their grip on what is real. You can reach out for yourself, for someone you care about, or as a professional making a referral.

Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) services are covered by many extended health plans in British Columbia — check your plan for "clinical counsellor" or "RCC".

Counselling in BC is moving toward formal regulation: psychotherapy becomes a regulated practice under the College of Health and Care Professionals of BC on November 29, 2027. Touch Grass Wellness will meet whatever licensing applies at that date.

Not yet — Touch Grass Wellness is finalizing its counselling team, and booking has not opened. You can reach out through the contact form to be told the moment it does. If you want to talk to someone sooner, the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors directory at bcacc.ca lists registered counsellors currently accepting clients, The Human Line Project (thehumanlineproject.org) runs peer support for people affected by AI-related harm, and the crisis lines below are available around the clock.

Counselling is not emergency care. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 911. In Canada you can also call or text 9-8-8, the national Suicide Crisis Helpline, at any hour. In BC, 310-6789 (no area code needed) reaches BC Mental Health & Crisis Response.