Psychotic disorders are severe mental disorders that change a person's sense of reality.
People suffering from these disorders often hear or see things that aren't actually there and have trouble differentiating between what's real and what isn't, making it hard for them to live their lives normally. It can be perplexing since the person may not even believe that the delusions or hallucinations they are experiencing are not real because to them, it feels real. This feeling of confusion and overwhelmingness may even lead to hurting themselves or others, that is why treatment is essential.
While there are several types of psychotic disorders, they are also treatable by a medical professional. They require a proper diagnosis and cannot be self diagnosed. The most known psychotic disorder is schizophrenia, with a mortality rate of about 2.5.
Types of psychotic disorders
There are numerous psychotic disorders, including:
Schizophrenia
It is a chronic and severe mental disorder that impairs judgment, behavior and the ability to interpret reality. It typically develops in early adulthood through the mid-30s, and symptoms usually have to be present for at least 6 months to confirm the diagnosis. The most common cause of death in schizophrenia is heart disease.
Schizoaffective Disorder
It is a psychotic disorder that is characterized by both the symptoms of schizophrenia and symptoms of mood disorders like depression and mania. Schizoaffective disorder is relatively rare and less well known. People living with this condition face several difficulties, such as at work or at school.
Schizophreniform Disorder
It is another type of psychotic disorder that shows symptoms similar to those of schizophrenia, but unlike schizophrenia, the symptoms last for less than 6 months.
Brief Psychotic Disorder
This psychotic disorder is characterized by the existence of brief psychotic symptoms that last for at least one day and less than a month, followed by complete remission.
Delusional Disorder
In this type of psychotic disorder, which was earlier known as paranoid disorder, a person experiences delusions such as being followed, deceived, or poisoned by someone. However, in reality, these delusions are not true. Delusional disorder is rare and mostly occurs in middle to late life.
Substance-Induced Psychotic Disorder
This psychotic disorder is characterized by the presence of one or both hallucinations and delusions. These symptoms are experienced within a month of using or withdrawing from drugs or alcohol.
Paraphrenia
It is a type of psychotic disorder that is characterized by psychotic delusions. The symptoms of paraphrenia are similar to those of schizophrenia, but it usually occurs in elderly people over the age of 60.
Symptoms
Hallucinations
Hearing, feeling, and seeing things that aren't actually there are known as hallucinations. Here are a few types of hallucinations.
Auditory: The person hears voices in their head that might ask or demand them to do certain things.
Visual: The person might see people, lights, and other such related things.
Olfactory and gustatory: the person tastes and smells things and believes that they are being poisoned by someone, thus refusing to eat.
Tactile: The individual feels as if something is moving on their body, such as insects.
Delusions
Delusions are fixed beliefs that do not change, even when there's evidence that goes against them. Some common types of delusions are:
Persecutory delusion: The person feels like they are being followed, hunted, or tricked by someone.
Somatic delusions: the person feels like they have a terrible illness or ridiculous health problems.
Grandiose delusions: The person considers themselves to be a popular figure, like a celebrity or politician, when that is not the case in reality.
Disorganized thinking
The person thinks of numerous things at a single time and has trouble organizing their thoughts. It is evident when a person constantly switches from one topic to another.
Abnormal behavior
The person's behavior is disorganized and might show unpredictable agitation.
Negative symptoms
It refers to the absence of certain factors that a typical person has. Abolition and anhedonia are some of the symptoms that the person may exhibit.
Some more symptoms
Feeling detached from self
Limited range of emotions
Loneliness or nervousness
Memory loss
Inability to express emotions
Mood swings or other mood symptoms, such as depression or mania.
Causes
Although the exact cause of psychotic disorders is unknown, researchers believe that a few factors, such as genetics and brain chemical changes, play a role.
A person with a family history of a psychotic disorder is at a higher risk of developing it than those with no family history. There's evidence that has indicated that serotonin, dopamine, and glutamate disturbances in the brain can contribute to causing certain psychotic disorders. Substance abuse, brain injury, and traumatic events can also cause problems with thinking and perception.
Treatment
Generally, psychotic disorders are treated with both medication and therapy.
Medication: Antipsychotics are the main type of drug that is prescribed by a psychiatrist. This medication is not a cure for psychotic disorders, but it does aid in the management and control of their most troubling symptoms, hallucinations, and delusions.
Therapy: There are different types of therapy that are used to treat psychotic disorders such as:
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) : It is a mental health treatment that is effective for a range of mental health issues and disorders. The aim of CBT is to help identify and manage issues related to way of thinking and behavior.
Individual therapy : It is talking therapy where the client expresses their concerns of mental health issues to a therapist in a confidential environment so as to respect their privacy. The purpose of individual therapy is to help an individual work through their problems such as anger issues, anxiety and depression.
Group therapy : It is a type of therapy where one or more therapists work together with a small group of people. Group therapy not only helps an individual with their mental health, but also helps them improve their communication and socialization skills.
Psychoanalytic therapy : As many might have heard about the psychoanalytic theory by Sigmund Freud, this form of therapy is based on that. This treatment involves dealing with unconscious and deeply buried thoughts or feelings to the conscious mind.
While dealing with such disorders can be extremely challenging, recovery is still possible with proper treatment.
It can be hard to see someone you love to suffer, one might even feel helpless because of not being able to do much for them, but it's necessary to remember even if you can't help them overcome their pain and issues, you can still be there for them and that's more than enough. It's common for a person suffering, to feel broken, unloved or unheard for and the feeling of having someone with you, to listen to you, to understand, to care for you can be of huge help to them and might even make this journey comparatively easier. The symptoms along with treatments can be a lot to take in, but that is not for a lifetime. Things will change. All you have to do is be patient and optimistic in the process.
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