I CAN’T TELL
what’s real any more!

PREVIOUS: Disorders 5c

SITE: 12 types of psychosis

 

3. PERSONALITY DISORDERS
4. SOCIOPATHS & PSYCHOPATHS

5. PSYCHOTIC
Psychosis is a severe mental illness caused by a combination of inherited genes, & things a person has experienced or been exposed to in life (traumatic birth, poison, diseases of the nervous system such as epilepsy & Parkinson’s, syphilis, drug use, severe social changes/ traumatic events…..)

It’s a group of extreme disorders expressed in abnormal thinking & perception – a gradual inability to distinguish oneself from one’s surroundings, ie. losing touch with reality. Psychological defenses become overloaded by stress & the sufferer breaks down, making it hard to separate their thoughts & experiences from what’s going on outside of themself. The most common form is Schizophrenia. (See site above)

Psychosis may or may not be a part of other mental illnesses as well, such as Bipolar, suddenly after a major stress, post-partum depression (about 1 in every 1,000 mothers, within a few weeks after giving birth), when using or withdrawing from drugs….

People in the grip of psychotic disorders experience themselves & the world very differently from psychopaths & sociopaths, who are usually very grounded in reality, understand what they’re doing & the consequences of their actions, but just don’t care.
EXP: A psychopath or a sociopath might kill someone’s dog because they want to cause emotional trauma to the owner
• A psychotic might kill the dog because they thought it was robot sent to take over the world

While it’s not so easy for a person with a psychotic disorder to recognizing their own symptoms, they are acutely aware of experiencing pain & fear, which may cause the person to hurt themself or others. It can be a one-time ‘break’, episodic, or long-term.
As of 2023, around 3% of the people of the United States experience at least one psychotic episode during their lives, mostly teenagers & young adults  (about 100,000 every year)

Disordered thinking
• Delusions – fixed beliefs & ideas that are usually false, including religious or persecutory, or a false belief of superiority.
EXP: convinced someone’s plotting against them, that the TV is sending secret messages, seeing a ‘spiritual’ entity, being watched by the police because of the way cars are parked outside the house…..
• Thoughts are confused, blurred or difficult to express, can seem to speed up or slow down, or a belief that thoughts aren’t their own. They have memory loss or amnesia, trouble concentrating, following a conversation

• Speech is often rapid & frenzied, slurred or jumbled (word-salad)
• Suspiciousness – being worried or even scared of everyone they know, including family & friends. Feel uneasy without knowing why
• Superstition – belief in the unreal includes: confusion about dreams, thinking that others can read their mind, frequently experiencing déjà vu, thinking that small random events have meaningful connections, & often come up with far-fetched theories about why things happen

Disordered behavior
• Physical – disorganized or compulsive behavior, repetitive movements, self-harming, slow movement in activity, or lack of restraint
• Reactions can be infantile, prone to insults & swearing. They forget self-care such personal hygiene & housework, will be disoriented
• Social impairment – isolated, trouble with social situations, don’t conform to behavioral standards or respond correctly to social cues

Exaggerated /unreal experiences
• Hallucinations – false perceptions, affecting the 5 senses, experience more intensely what’s real.  Hear, see, feel something that’s not there, which can cause fear & paranoia
EXP: Interpret everyday sounds as having new or special meaning, hear something louder than it actually is, shadows are seen as human figures…..

• Hypochondria – an irrational / exaggerated fear of having or getting a disease or illness, causing them health-related anxiety, constantly looking for symptoms, or anything that might harm their health.

Mood changes
• Emotions – general discontent, lack of normal emotional responses, loss of interest or pleasure in activities. Tendency to be irritable & aggressive, including anger, anxiety, apathy, feeling detached from self,  inappropriate emotional responses such as easily agitated when being talked to

• Shifts in mood often throughout the day, in 2 phases: a manic period (high), feeling happy & energized — followed by low mood, feeling sad & dull, with loss of appetite or trouble sleeping.

NEXT : Myers-Briggs – INTRO