What Is Psychosis?

Imagine the feeling of someone watching you as you walk down the hallway or sit on the school bus. Most people have experienced this feeling and it is uncomfortable to say the least. It amounts to impression that the on-looker’s eyes are burning holes in your head, but if you were to turn around, they would seem to be looking in the opposite direction. Most people could shake off this strange phenomenon, but a person with psychosis more than likely would not be able to. Psychosis is a range of symptoms that causes delusions or hallucinations that interrupt how the person would normally be able to function and worsens as the symptoms strengthen.

Psychosis is condition that is categorized by hallucinations or delusions and is not an illness
by itself, only a range of symptoms caused by other stressors in the person's life or body (Berger, Fred; ”Psychosis” National Alliance on Mental Health).
A basic description of psychosis it that “if you have psychosis, you might see or hear things, or hold unusual beliefs, that other people do not” (“What is Psychosis?”). A person is diagnosed with psychosis through a psychiatric assessment but other explanations can be found with medical tests and equipment (“Psychosis” Healthline). According to studies, “approximately 3 in 100 people will experience an episode of psychosis during their lives” (“Psychosis” National...).

Psychosis includes having a delusion or hallucination. Having a hallucination would be categorized by “[the] sensory perception in the absence of outside stimulus” (“Psychosis” Healthline). This means that a hallucination is when someone thinks that they have perceived something with their five senses,
that is not actually there. A delusion is a untrue view or understanding of a time in their life. With this being said, there are a few common hallucinations linked to psychosis. Some people experience voices in their heads trying to convince the them to enact a fractious crime. Others can experience something moving underneath their skin or inside of them. Another main hallucination many people experience, is seeing other people take the shape of something they are not, such as a demon or evil figure (“Psychosis” National...). There is also 3 types of specific delusions: paranoia, grandiose, and somatic. Paranoia delusions are when people think that they are being followed or being sent hidden messages. Grandiose delusions is when someone has their self-importance blown out of proportion and thinks they have a purpose in life that is greater than any of those around them. Somatic delusions are diagnosed when perfectly healthy people are convinced that they have a fatal illness (“Psychosis” Healthline). A few specific delusions include thinking that he or she is sent by God, or another supreme being, to do an important job, thinking other forces, such as the government or aliens, has power over their mind, something was sent to kill you, or possibly that the person is being paranoid into thinking that they are being followed everywhere they go (“What is Psychosis?”).

There are many myths that are associated with psychosis.
Three common myths are: People with psychosis are psychopaths, you can contract psychosis from someone, and people with psychosis are bad people or do bad things. There is much information about psychosis that contradict these statements. The first myth can be proved untrue because a person with psychosis is actually the exact opposite of a psychopath. Psychopaths are not capable of compassion and are manipulating in their relationships with other people. They are also potentially violent. Therefore, a psychopath is about the opposite of someone with psychosis. The second illusion that is affiliated with psychosis is that you can attain these symptoms from another person. This is untrue because “‘Psychosis is a medical condition that develops from an imbalance of brain chemicals, in the same way that cancer develops from an ‘imbalance’ of cancer cells’” (“Psychosis Myths and Misinformation”). Cancer and Psychosis is similar in the way that cancer only requires one cell doing it’s job incorrectly, to interrupt and overtake all the correct functions of the other cells. With psychosis, only a few chemicals in the brain need to be working incorrectly to cause people to hallucinate or have delusions. Both cancer and psychosis are caused by the overstimulation of brain or cell activity. The third myth is that people with psychosis are bad people and have malicious intentions. In fact, it is actually rare for people with this
condition to take part in a major crime. To add to this point, it is proven that “people with psychosis are more likely to be robbed, abused, assaulted or raped than people without psychosis” (“Psychosis Myths and Misinformation”). Therefore, psychosis is not caused by lack of money or lack of good parenting nor is it a result of a failure in the person’s personal life. This condition can occur in anyone’s life no matter their upbringing or lifestyle (“Facts about Psychosis”).

Psychosis has many treatment levels depending on the severity of the case. There are different types of therapies and medications (“Psychosis” Healthline). Psychotherapy treatment options include cognitive behavioral therapy, supportive psychotherapy, cognitive enhancement therapy, family psychoeducation support. Medications include 1st and 2nd generation antibiotics. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps people to think about their experience and determine if it was real or simply a figment of the mind.