What is psychosis?
Psychosis (also called a 'psychotic experience' or 'psychotic episode') is when you perceive or interpret reality in a very different way from people around you. You might be said to 'lose touch' with reality.
Psychosis affects people in different ways. You might experience it once, have short episodes throughout your life, or live with it most of the time (e.g. schizophrenia).
Psychotic disorders are conditions with at least two of the following symptoms:
- hallucinations (usually hearing voices)
- delusions (strongly-held, false beliefs, not shared by others in the person’s culture)
- disorganised behaviour and/or speech (agitation, hyperactivity / inactivity, incoherent / irrelevant speech, signs of self-neglect)
What does psychosis feel like?
Some people have positive experiences of psychosis. For example, if you see the faces of loved ones or hear their voices you may find this comforting. Some people say it helps them understand the world or makes them more creative.
However, for other people psychosis can be a very difficult or frightening experience. You may find that it:
- affects your behaviour or disrupts your life
- makes you feel very tired or overwhelmed
- makes you feel anxious, scared, threatened or confused
- leaves you finding it very difficult to trust some organisations or people.
It can also be upsetting if people around you dismiss your experiences as untrue when they seem very real to you. You may feel misunderstood and frustrated if other people don't understand. It might help to share our section for friends and family with them.
There are a lot of misunderstandings about what it means to experience psychosis. Lots of people wrongly think that the word 'psychotic' means 'dangerous'. The media often shows people with psychosis behaving like this even though very few people who experience psychosis ever hurt anyone else.
What causes psychosis?
The cause of long-lasting psychotic disorders like schizophrenia is not fully understood but includes genetic factors, early childhood adversity and stressful environmental factors.
Delirium, dementia, severe depression, and drug-induced psychosis are all common causes of psychosis and the treatment is different for all of these conditions.
How can I get help for psychosis?
Many people with schizophrenia now never have to go into hospital and are able to settle down, work and have lasting relationships.
How to Help Myself
It’s important to keep taking your medication unless your doctor advises otherwise. This is true even if you feel well, as the medicine dampens down the symptoms. Stopping the medicine can lead to symptoms returning. Stopping suddenly can have other negative effects too, depending on your specific treatment.
If you have any worries about your medication or its side effects, speak to your doctor. There are usually ways of managing side effects, but if not then other tablets may be available.
Talk to other people with experience of schizophrenia. It can help to know you’re not the only one, and they might be able to offer advice on managing the condition.
Try to stay as physically healthy as possible - eating healthily, exercising and getting enough sleep are also good for keeping mentally well. Some medications can cause weight gain as a side effect, so keep an eye on your weight after starting a new treatment - the team looking after you should do this too.
Symptoms vary a lot between different people. Learn to recognise what happens when you become unwell and be aware of the warning signs. This should be a part of your care plan and it can be useful to share these details with your family.