The effects of psychosis

Mental disorders are normally divided into two categories: psychosis and neurosis. Psychosis is where the mind can lose contact with reality, whereas neurosis is where someone has forms of behaviour that they do not like. With neurosis, they are aware of their behaviour but are unable to rectify it without assistance.

Luckily, the VAST majority of psychological complaints are neurosis with just a small percentage representing psychosis. Whereas most people have some form of neurosis, they learn to live with it and get on with their lives. Psychosis is not like that, it is much more debilitating and may require hospitalisation.

Psychosis is a serious mental condition; about as serious as you can get. It is when someone loses touch with reality and sees, hears, or believes things that are not real. One of the problems with this condition is that the person does not realise or does not believe that they are mentally ill.

Someone who develops psychosis will have their own unique set of symptoms and experiences, according to their particular circumstances.

In general, four main symptoms are associated with a psychotic episode:

■ Hallucinations

■ Delusions

■ Confused and disturbed thoughts

■ Lack of insight and selfawareness

Other symptoms of psychosis include:

■ Difficulty concentrating

■ Sleeping too much or not enough

■ Anxiety

■ Suspiciousness to the point of paranoia

■ Withdrawal from family and friends

■ Disorganized speech, such as switching topics erratically

■ Depression

■ Suicidal thoughts or actions

The main ones are outlined in more detail below.

Hallucinations

Hallucinations are where someone sees, hears, smells, tastes or feels things that do not exist outside their mind. It can affect each of the 5 senses:

■ Sight: seeing colours, shapes or people

■ Sounds: hearing voices or other sounds

■ Touch: feeling touched when there is nobody there

■ Smell: an odour that other people cannot smell

■ Taste: a taste when there is nothing in the mouth

Delusions

A delusion is where a person has an unshakable belief in something untrue. A person with persecutory delusions may believe an individual or organisation is making plans to hurt or kill them. A person with grandiose delusions may believe they have power or authority. For example, they may think they are the president of a country or they have the power to bring people back from the dead.

Confused and disturbed thoughts

People with psychosis sometimes have disturbed, confused, and disrupted patterns of thought. Signs of this include: ■ Rapid and constant speech

■ Disturbed speech. For example, they may switch from one topic to another mid-sentence

■ A sudden loss in their train of thought, resulting in an abrupt pause in conversation or activity

Lack of insight

People who have psychotic episodes are often unaware that their delusions or hallucinations are not real, which may lead them to feel frightened or distressed. This is an important factor that has major ramifications.

There are several forms of psychotic disorders

Psychotic disorders can be triggered by stress, prescription or street drugs or alcohol use, injury, or illness; they can also appear on their own. The following types of disorders may have psychotic symptoms:

Bipolar disorder

When someone has bipolar disorder, their moods swing from very high to very low. When their mood is high and positive, they may have symptoms of psychosis. They may feel extremely good and believe they have special powers.

When their mood is depressed, the individual may have psychotic symptoms that make them feel angry, sad, or frightened. These symptoms include thinking someone is trying to harm them.

Delusional disorder

A person experiencing delusional disorder strongly believes in things that are not real.

Psychotic depression

This is major depression with psychotic symptoms.

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a lifelong disease that is generally accompanied by psychotic symptoms.

There are many causes of psychosis. They include too little sleep, some prescription medications, and abuse of alcohol or drugs like marijuana and LSD.

Traumatic events, like the death of a loved one or a sexual assault, can lead to psychosis in people who are vulnerable to it. So can traumatic brain injuries, brain tumors, strokes, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Psychosis is not the same as psychopath

The terms "psychosis" and "psychopath" should not be confused. Someone with psychosis has a short-term (acute) condition that, if treated, can often lead to a full recovery.

A psychopath is someone with an anti-social personality disorder, which means they:

■ Lack empathy, the capacity to understand how someone else feels

■ Are manipulative

■ Often have a total disregard for the consequences of their actions

People with an anti-social personality can sometimes pose a threat to others because they can be violent. Most people with psychosis are more likely to harm themselves than others.

According to the Hare Psychopathy checklist, the symptoms are:

1 Pathological lying

2 Glib and superficial charm

3 Grandiose sense of self 4 Need for stimulation

5 Cunning and manipulative

6 Lack of remorse or guilt 7 Shallow emotional response

8 Callousness and lack of empathy

9 Parasitic lifestyle

10 Poor behavioral controls 11 Sexual promiscuity 12 Early behavior problems 13 Lack of realistic longterm goals

14 Impulsivity 15 Irresponsibility 16 Failure to accept responsibility

17 Many short-term marital relationships

18 Juvenile delinquency 19 Revocation of conditional release

20 Criminal versatility

Treatment

It is important to obtain treatment early on, preferably after the first episode of psychosis. That will help keep the symptoms from affecting relationships, work, or school. It may also help avoid more problems later on.

Treatment will depend on the cause of the psychosis. Medication and psychotherapy are the most common solutions.

The doctor may prescribe antipsychotic drugs to lessen the symptoms. He may also recommend a complete cessation of drugs and alcohol. A hospital term may be suggested if the person is at risk of harming themselves or others, or if the person cannot control their behavior or carry out normal daily activities.

Though psychosis is the most serious mental condition, there are treatments available which can be successful. The most important thing is for the sufferer, or more likely, the families of the sufferer seek help very quickly.