TW: Psychosis

   Psychosis refers to an abnormal condition of the mind described as a "loss of contact with reality". People experiencing psychosis may display some personality changes and thought disorder, depending on its severity, this may be partnered with unusual or weird behaviour, and difficulty with social interaction and in carrying out daily life activities.

   The term "psychosis" is very broad and can mean anything from relatively normal aberrant experiences through to the complex and catatonic expressions of schizophrenia and bipolar type 1 disorder. In properly diagnosed psychiatric disorders, psychosis is a descriptive term for the hallucinations, delusions and impaired insight that may appear. Psychosis is generally the term given to noticeable deficits in normal behaviour (negative signs) and more commonly to diverse types of hallucinations or delusional beliefs, especially as regards the relation between self and others as in grandiosity and paranoia.

Hallucinations

Hallucinations are different from illusions, or perceptual distortions, which are the misperception of external stimuli. Hallucinations may occur in any of the senses and take on almost any form, which may include simple sensations (such as lights, colours, tastes, and smells) to experiences such as seeing and interacting with fully formed animals and people, hearing voices, and having complex tactile sensations.

   Auditory hallucinations, particularly experiences of hearing voices, are the most common and often prominent feature of psychosis. Hallucinated voices may talk about, or to the person, and may involve several speakers with distinct personalities. Auditory hallucinations tend to be particularly distressing when they are derogatory, commanding or preoccupying. However, the experience of hearing voices need not always be a negative one. One research study has shown that the majority of people who hear voices are not in need of psychiatric help.

Delusions

Delusions are false beliefs that a person holds on to, without adequate evidence. It can be difficult to change the belief, even with evidence. Common themes of delusions are persecutory, when the person believes that others are out to harm them, grandiose, when the person believing that they have special powers or skills, etc. Karl Jaspers has classified psychotic delusions into primary and secondary types. Primary delusions are defined as arising suddenly and not being comprehensible in terms of normal mental processes, whereas secondary delusions are typically understood as being influenced by the person's background or current situation e.g., ethnicity; also religious, superstitious, or political beliefs.