Psychosis
psychosis; schizophrenia; hallucinations; delusions; drugs; psychotic; confused; confusion; bipolar; anxiety; thoughts; thinking;
Contents
The word psychosis is used to describe conditions that affect the mind, where there has been some loss of connection with reality.
Around 3 out of every 100 young people will experience a psychotic episode, making it more common than diabetes in young people, and it mostly happens for the first time when a young person is between 15 and 30 years old. Most will recover fully from the psychotic episode, but some will have ongoing problems.
Symptoms
The following are examples of behaviours, feelings or thoughts that may be a part of a psychotic episode. Having a few of these experiences does not necessarily mean you are experiencing psychosis.
- Confused thinking. Thoughts become confused and jumbled. It can be hard to think clearly enough to talk logically. It can be difficult for a person to concentrate during a conversation or to remember what is being said. Thinking can be much faster than usual or slowed down.
- Hallucinations. People experiencing a psychotic illness may see, hear, feel, smell, or taste something that is not actually there. They might hear voices no one else can hear, see things that aren't there or feel something moving on their skin. They might feel cut off from the world around them, or that everything is unreal.
- Delusions. Some people experiencing a psychotic illness may hold false beliefs known as delusions (such as that someone is trying to hurt them or control their thinking). A person may be convinced their delusion is real even if those around them challenge it, and they may find evidence that supports their delusion that seems illogical to others.
- Changed feelings. How a person feels may change for no apparent reason. Some people may experience moods that swing from one extreme to another very quickly. For example, swinging from being very happy to feeling very heavily depressed, or extremely anxious. Some people's feelings may seem dampened or flat and they may show less emotion than other people.
- Behaviour. People experiencing a psychotic illness may behave in ways that they did not behave before they became unwell. For example, they may become angry without any apparent cause, be very active, have no energy, have trouble sleeping or eating, have trouble socialising, or be fearful. These behaviours relate to their hallucinations, delusions and disordered thinking.
Symptoms vary from person to person and may change many times during each day.
Overworking to meet study deadlines or for exams, disappointment in relationships or looking for a job can lead to some of these symptoms - but they will go away once the cause of the stress has been dealt with. This is not psychosis. Our topics Stress - how to recognise it and Strees - learning to relax may help.
Types of psychosis
Some of the types of psychosis are:
- Drug-induced psychosis can be brought on by the use of drugs or by withdrawal from drugs - amphetamines (speed), ecstasy and cannabis are drugs that can lead to psychosis when used heavily. The symptoms may go away quickly when the effects of the drug wear off, or a longer lasting illness may begin with a drug-induced psychosis.
- Brief reactive psychosis can be a reaction to a very stressful event, like a death, car accident or something else traumatic that happened to the person.
- Organic psychosis can be brought on by an injury to the brain or physical illness.
- Schizophrenia is a mental illness which causes psychosis. There is usually a period of change in behaviour and personality for many months or longer before the clear symptoms of schizophrenia emerge. See the topic Schizophrenia (in the Young Adult section) for more information.
- Bipolar Disorder is a mental illness which causes very high moods (mania) and low moods (depression). See the topic Bipolar disorder (in the Young Adult section).
What can be done?
A person who is having a psychotic episode needs expert care. It appears that the earlier treatment is started, the better is the long term result for the person.
Treatment for psychosis includes
- antipsychotic medication
- individual counselling
- family support
- practical support
No one chooses to become psychotic. If you have a friend or family member experiencing such problems, try to accept that their behaviour is not deliberate and try to continue to be a kind and supportive friend while they are having these problems.
More information
For more information, see the Fact Sheet:
South Australia
Australia
The information on this site should not be used as an alternative to professional care. If you have a particular problem, see a doctor, or ring the Youth Healthline on 1300 13 17 19 (local call cost from anywhere in South Australia).