About psychosis
Psychosis is a severe mental disorder that can cause people to lose contact with reality and have abnormal perceptions, including delusions and hallucinations. Psychotic disorders include schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, delusional disorder, thought disorder and substance-induced psychotic disorder. Psychosis can be experienced during the manic phase of bipolar disorder.
Psychosis can lead to feelings of isolation, fear and hopelessness. If you or a loved one is suffering from this distressing disorder, it is essential to seek diagnosis and treatment in order to avoid a crisis. Our highly regarded treatment programs enable many people with psychosis to recover, reconnect and live fulfilled, productive lives.
Causes of psychosis
Psychosis is a serious but not common mental illness, affecting around three in 100 Australians, usually in their late teens or early 20s. The cause of the disorder is complex, involving a number of issues including genetics. Psychotic episodes can be triggered by the experience of trauma or the use of drugs such as cannabis, amphetamines or hallucinogens.
Symptoms of psychosis
The symptoms of psychosis are described as ‘positive’ (that is, certain behaviour increases) and ‘negative’ (certain behaviour decreases).
There are three types of positive symptoms:
- delusions – bizarre beliefs that reflect an altered sense of reality, such as persecutory delusion of being spied upon or being the target of a sinister plot
- hallucinations – sensory disturbances, most commonly the hearing of disturbing or abusive voices or sounds that appear to come from nowhere and that no one else can hear
- behaviour and thought disorder – disorganised speech due to jumbled and confused thoughts, and corresponding unpredictable moods and behaviour.
Negative symptoms include:
- being unmotivated
- feeling lethargic
- lacking goals
- lacking emotion.
