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Psychosis

What is Psychosis?

Psychosis is a mental disorder characterised by a disconnection from reality. Psychosis may occur as a result of a psychiatric illness such as schizophrenia or can be caused by another health condition or drug use. Psychosis typically occurs in a person's late teens or early twenties. 

Symptoms of psychosis include

  • Delusions - false beliefs that are not shared by others. 
    • Paranoid delusion - for example, the person believes they are being watched and singled out for harmful purposes.
    • Grandiose delusion - for example, the person believes they have special powers or that they are an important religious or political figure. 
    • Reference delusion - for example, the person believes they are receiving special messages or code through media such as TV shows, songs or advertising. 
    • Control delusion - for example, the person believes their thoughts are being controlled or influenced by outside forces such as aliens, some real or invented group, an individual or something more vague. 
    • Somatic delusion - for example, the person believes something has happened to their body - something is wrong with it, some part of it is missing or dead, they have a disease or are infested with parasites. 
    • Depressive delusion - for example, the person believes they are guilty of some terrible crime. 
  • Hallucinations - hearing, seeing, smelling or tasting something that isn't there
  • Changed behaviours and feelings. 
  • Suspiciousness, paranoid ideas, or uneasiness with others. 
  • Trouble thinking clearly and logically.
  • Withdrawing socially and spending a lot more time alone. 
  • Unusual or overly intense ideas, strange feelings or lack of feelings. 
  • Decline in self-care or personal hygiene. 
  • Disruption of sleep, including difficulty falling asleep, and reduced sleep time. 
  • Difficulty telling reality from fantasy. 
  • Confused speech or trouble communicating

Effective Treatment of Psychosis

Treatment of psychosis includes medication, psychological therapies and social support.

Are you or someone you know experiencing psychosis?