Psychosis

Psychological is relating to the mind and the processes of the mind.

Psychosis is a mental disorder characterized by a disconnection from reality, often involving hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thoughts. Psychosis can be caused by various factors, such as mental illnesses, substance abuse, or certain medical conditions.

Causes

Psychosis can have various causes, including:

• Schizophrenia
• Schizoaffective disorder
• Bipolar disorder
• Major depressive disorder with psychotic features
• Substance-induced psychosis
• Drug withdrawal
• Delirium
• Dementia
• Brain tumors
• Traumatic brain injury
• Epilepsy
• Autoimmune conditions

Symptoms

The symptoms of psychosis may vary depending on the underlying cause, but some common symptoms include:

• Hallucinations: Perceiving things that aren't there, such as hearing voices, seeing things, or feeling sensations on the skin.
• Delusions: Strongly held false beliefs that aren't based in reality, such as paranoia or grandiosity.
• Disorganized thoughts: Difficulty forming coherent thoughts or expressing oneself clearly.
• Disorganized behavior: Acting inappropriately or unpredictably, such as dressing strangely or exhibiting bizarre body movements.
• Negative symptoms: Lack of motivation, emotional flatness, and social withdrawal.

Diagnosis

A healthcare professional will typically use a combination of medical history, physical examination, and laboratory tests to diagnose psychosis. Diagnostic tests may include:

• Blood tests: To rule out underlying medical conditions or substance abuse.
• Neurological exams: To assess brain function and identify potential neurological causes.
• Imaging studies: Such as MRI or CT scans, to identify structural abnormalities in the brain.
• Psychiatric evaluation: To assess mental health and identify potential psychiatric causes.

Treatment

Treatment for psychosis depends on the underlying cause and may include a combination of medications and psychotherapy.

• Antipsychotic medications: These drugs help manage symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions. Some common antipsychotic medications include risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, and aripiprazole.
• Mood stabilizers: In cases where psychosis is related to bipolar disorder, mood stabilizers such as lithium, valproate, or carbamazepine may be prescribed.
• Antidepressants: For individuals with major depressive disorder with psychotic features, antidepressants may be used alongside antipsychotic medications.
• Psychotherapy: Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and other forms of therapy can help individuals with psychosis learn to cope with their symptoms and improve their daily functioning.
• Family education and support: Involving family members in the treatment process can provide valuable support and education for both the individual with psychosis and their loved ones.

Prognosis

The prognosis for psychosis varies widely depending on the underlying cause, the severity of symptoms, and the individual's access to appropriate treatment. Early intervention and comprehensive treatment can improve the long-term outcome for many individuals with psychosis.

Glossary

• Amafufunyana - A cultural-specific syndrome found in South Africa, characterized by symptoms resembling possession by spirits, often with features of acute psychosis.
• Auditory hallucination - A form of hallucination involving hearing sounds, most commonly voices, that are not present. It is a common symptom in various psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia.
• Basic symptoms of schizophrenia - Early symptoms that might indicate the onset of schizophrenia, including subtle changes in thinking, perception, and behavior.
• Bizarre object - An item that a person with psychosis might obsess over or attribute special significance to, due to their delusional beliefs.
• Bouffée délirante - A term used in French psychiatry to describe a sudden outburst of psychosis or acute delirium that is temporary and often stress-related.
• Brief psychotic disorder - A mental disorder characterized by sudden, short-term episodes of psychotic behavior, such as hallucinations or delusions, usually triggered by stress.
• Burari deaths - Refers to a mass suicide in Burari, India, where 11 family members died. The incident highlighted the potential for shared delusional disorder or mass psychogenic illness.
• Caffeine-induced psychosis - Psychosis that can occur with excessive consumption of caffeine, leading to symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations.
• Capgras delusion - A psychiatric disorder in which a person holds a delusion that a friend, spouse, parent, or other close family member has been replaced by an identical impostor.
• Chronic hallucinatory psychosis - A psychiatric diagnosis characterized by persistent hallucinations occurring in the absence of other psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia.
• Clinical lycanthropy - A rare psychiatric syndrome that involves a delusion that the affected person can transform into, has transformed into, or is a non-human animal.
• Cocaine psychosis - A psychotic disorder that can be induced by the use of cocaine, featuring hallucinations, paranoid delusions, and disorganized thought.
• Coordinated Specialty Care - An evidence-based, team-oriented approach to treating schizophrenia and other forms of early psychosis, focusing on integrating medication, therapy, education, and support.
• Cotard's syndrome - A rare mental illness in which the affected person holds the delusional belief that they are dead, do not exist, are putrefying, or have lost their blood or internal organs.
• Debra Lampshire - A prominent advocate for mental health and an expert on lived experiences of psychosis, who has contributed to understanding and teaching about recovery from severe mental illness.
• Delusion - A false belief held with strong conviction despite superior evidence to the contrary, commonly observed in various psychiatric conditions.
• Delusional companion syndrome - A delusional belief that inanimate objects are alive or that one has an imaginary companion.
• Delusional disorder - A mental disorder characterized by the presence of one or more delusions with a duration of 1 month or longer, without other symptoms of schizophrenia.
• Delusional intuition - A type of delusion where the person has an intense belief arising spontaneously and without any apparent basis in reality.
• Delusional misidentification syndrome - A class of delusional disorders where the person believes that familiar persons, places, objects, or the self have been replaced or transformed.
• Delusional parasitosis - A condition in which individuals falsely believe they are infested with parasites, insects, or bugs, leading to significant distress and sometimes self-harm.
• Dopamine supersensitivity psychosis - A phenomenon where long-term use of antipsychotic drugs might lead to an increased sensitivity to dopamine, potentially exacerbating psychotic symptoms.
• Emil Kraepelin - A German psychiatrist whose work led to the classification of psychiatric diseases, notably distinguishing between manic-depressive illness and dementia praecox (now known as schizophrenia).
• Enemy complex - A psychological condition where an individual perceives others as enemies or threats, often seen in paranoid psychosis.
• Erotomania - A type of delusional disorder where the affected person believes that another person, often of higher social status, is in love with them.
• Family nexus - A concept in the treatment of psychosis emphasizing the importance of family dynamics and support in the recovery process.
• Folie à deux - Also known as shared psychotic disorder, a rare psychiatric syndrome in which a delusional belief is transmitted from one individual to another.
• Forced normalization - A phenomenon where the treatment of epilepsy with anticonvulsant medication leads to the emergence or worsening of psychotic symptoms, suggesting an inverse relationship between seizure control and psychiatric health.
• Fregoli delusion - A rare disorder characterized by the belief that different people are in fact a single person who changes appearance or is in disguise, a type of delusional misidentification syndrome.
• Ghost sickness - A cultural syndrome predominantly reported among Native American tribes, involving preoccupation with death and the deceased, often accompanied by hallucinations, feelings of danger, and weakness.
• Homosexual panic - An outdated term that referred to an acute, brief reactive psychosis involving intense anxiety and confusion over one's sexual orientation, now recognized as a product of social stigmatization and not a psychological syndrome.
• Hyperreligiosity - An excessive involvement or preoccupation with religious activities or beliefs, which can be a symptom of various psychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia and temporal lobe epilepsy.
• Idée fixe (psychology) - An obsession with a single thought or idea that dominates one's consciousness, potentially leading to irrational behavior and decisions.
• Intermetamorphosis - A type of delusional misidentification syndrome where an individual believes that familiar persons have exchanged identities, both physically and psychologically.
• Jerusalem syndrome - A group of mental phenomena involving the presence of religiously themed obsessive ideas, delusions, or other psychosis-like experiences triggered by a visit to the city of Jerusalem.
• Kraepelinian dichotomy - A historical classification by Emil Kraepelin that distinguished between manic-depressive illness and dementia praecox (now known as schizophrenia), based on the prognosis and clinical features.
• Matchbox sign - A term used in psychiatry to describe a behavior where patients present doctors with small containers, like matchboxes, containing "evidence" of infestation by insects or parasites, often associated with delusional parasitosis.
• Monothematic delusion - A delusion focused on a single particular theme or topic, often observed in conditions like delusional disorder or following neurological damage.
• Mystical psychosis - A controversial term that refers to states of mind that exhibit features of both mystical experiences and psychotic disorders, challenging the distinction between spiritual experiences and psychopathology.
• Occupational psychosis - Psychotic symptoms that arise as a direct result of one's occupation or workplace stress, now more commonly understood within the framework of work-related stress disorders.
• Outpatient commitment - A legal mechanism that mandates certain individuals with a history of severe mental illness to adhere to treatment plans while living in the community, aiming to improve treatment adherence and reduce the risk of relapse.
• Paranoia - An irrational suspicion or mistrust of others, often leading to delusional thinking, and commonly associated with psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia.
• Paraphrenia - A term used to describe a late-onset psychotic disorder similar to schizophrenia, characterized by prominent delusions and hallucinations without the significant cognitive impairment seen in dementia.
• Postpartum psychosis - A rare psychiatric emergency that occurs in the days or weeks following childbirth, characterized by symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, mood swings, and confusion.
• Pseudoneurotic schizophrenia - An outdated term that was used to describe a subtype of schizophrenia presenting with symptoms similar to those of anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders.
• Psychosis - A mental state characterized by a disconnection from reality, which may involve hallucinations, delusions, thought disorder, and significant social or occupational dysfunction.
• Psychotomimetism - The property of certain drugs and substances to induce states resembling psychosis, including hallucinations and altered perception, used in research to study the neurobiology of psychotic disorders.
• R. D. Laing - A Scottish psychiatrist known for his alternative approach to the understanding and treatment of psychosis, emphasizing the value of the subjective experience of mental illness.
• Sanchita Islam - An artist and filmmaker who has openly discussed her experiences with mental health issues, contributing to the conversation on psychosis and creative expression.
• Schizophrenia - A chronic and severe mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves, characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and impaired functional ability.
• Schizothymia - A personality type theorized to be associated with a predisposition to schizophrenia, characterized by introversion, sensitivity, and emotional detachment.
• Schizotypy - A psychological concept that refers to a continuum of personality characteristics and experiences related to psychosis, ranging from mild eccentricities to more pronounced symptoms akin to schizophrenia.
• Shared delusional disorder - A psychiatric condition in which two or more individuals share the same delusional beliefs, typically arising in close relationships where one person has a delusion and the other(s) adopt it over time.
• Simple-type schizophrenia - An obsolete classification for a form of schizophrenia characterized by a gradual loss of cognitive and emotional functions without prominent delusions or hallucinations.
• Somatoparaphrenia - A delusion where one denies ownership of a limb or an entire side of the body, often associated with brain injury, particularly to the right parietal lobe.
• Stimulant psychosis - Psychotic symptoms, such as delusions and hallucinations, induced by the abuse of stimulant drugs, including methamphetamine and cocaine, which can mimic acute schizophrenia.
• Substance-induced psychosis - A form of psychosis triggered by the consumption, withdrawal, or intoxication of various substances, including alcohol, drugs, and medications.
• Suicidal ideation - The contemplation of or fascination with the idea of suicide, which can be a symptom of severe mental illness, including depressive disorders and psychosis.
• Syndrome of subjective doubles - A rare delusional belief that one has a double or doppelgänger with the same appearance but different behaviors and attitudes, part of delusional misidentification syndrome.
• Tardive psychosis - A condition where psychotic symptoms emerge or worsen following long-term use of antipsychotic medication, related to tardive dyskinesia and other late-onset drug-induced disorders.
• Thought disorder - A disturbance in the organization and expression of thought, indicative of psychotic conditions like schizophrenia, manifesting as disorganized thinking, speech, and behavior.
• Ufufunyane - A culturally specific syndrome observed in Southern Africa, similar to Amafufunyana, involving beliefs of spirit possession causing symptoms resembling psychosis.
• Ukuthwasa - A traditional South African belief system and healing practice involving the ancestral calling of an individual to become a traditional healer, which may include experiences interpreted as psychotic episodes in Western psychiatry.
• Unitary psychosis - A historical concept suggesting that all psychotic disorders are manifestations of a single underlying disease process, contrasted with modern classifications of distinct psychotic disorders.
• Visual hallucinations in psychosis - The perception of seeing something that is not present, a common symptom in various psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia and substance-induced psychosis.
• Wechuge - A mythical creature in the folklore of the Athabaskan people of Northern Canada, associated with themes of transformation and cannibalism, reflecting cultural interpretations of behaviors that might be categorized as psychotic in Western medicine.
• Wendigo - A creature or evil spirit from the folklore of the Algonquian-speaking peoples of North America, associated with cannibalism, greed, and cultural explanations of behavior that resembles psychotic disorders.

See Also

• Dictionary of psychosis
• Schizophrenia
• Bipolar disorder
• Delirium
• Dementia

Psychosis Resources
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