What is Psychosis?
What is psychosis?
Psychosis is a symptom of various mental and physical illnesses which causes someone to interpret reality differently than others. The most common signs of psychosis are hallucinations and delusions.
How common is psychosis?
Psychosis is a symptom of many illnesses. As such, there are no known statistics on the number of people who experience it. However, the most commonly diagnosed psychotic disorder is schizophrenia, which is diagnosed in 1 in every 100 people.
Paranoia, Delusions, and Hallucinations
What is a delusion?
A delusion is a fixed belief that is not based on evidence and is not influenced by logical argument or evidence to the contrary. There are many types of delusions-- paranoid, grandiose, referential, religious, and more.
What is paranoia?
Paranoia is an obsession with unjustified suspicious thoughts about others. For example, a paranoid person may be convinced that someone is following them or stalking them, or that other people are gaslighting them.
What are hallucinations?
Hallucinations are sensorial experiences (in any of the five basic senses) that are not grounded in objective reality. The most common types are auditory (such as hearing voices) and visual.
Misconceptions About Psychosis
Misconceptions about psychosis include:
Psychosis makes a person violent or dangerous. Psychosis alone does not make a person dangerous or violent. People with psychotic disorders are typically more likely to be the victim of violence than to perpetrate it.
People who experience psychosis should be locked up in hospitals. Not everyone who experiences psychosis needs to be hospitalized. Many people learn to live with the symptoms of psychosis and go on to live functioning lives.
"Psychotic" means a person has a split personality. Psychosis refers to a break from reality. The existence of multiple personalities is a symptom of Dissociative Identity Disorder.
Murderers and other dangerous criminals are psychotic. People who commit violent crimes do not necessarily have a mental illness, even if they are not emotionally well. To learn about the difference, click here.
Once you become psychotic, your life is over. Experiencing psychosis for the first time can be incredibly frightening and it may feel like you will never be okay again. But many people recover from psychosis and go on to live happy lives. If you are experiencing signs of psychosis or you think you might be experiencing them, talk to a doctor. The sooner you receive help the better.
Symptoms of psychosis are always obvious. Many people assume that all psychotic people are sitting in a corner somewhere drooling on themselves. While psychotic episodes can be apparent to an observer, the symptoms are not always obvious. This is especially true if the individual knows they experience psychotic symptoms and are accustomed to living with them.