A New View Of The Nature Of Psychosis

Psychosis is a serious mental illness characterized by loss of contact with reality. Traditionally, psychosis has been conceived of as an illness or medical condition in itself. Nonetheless, the trans-diagnostic perspective asserts that we can understand psychosis as a common symptom in a range of mental illnesses.

We will discuss this approach here. Obviously, we will understand the term “psychosis” as the way of referring to the fact that an individual can have sensory experiences with things that do not exist or beliefs without basis in reality.

During a psychotic episode, a person may have hallucinations or delusions. She can see or hear things that are not there. It can be incredibly frightening for the individual, as well as for the people around them.

Symptoms of psychosis

The classic signs and symptoms of psychosis include hallucinations and delusions. We can also see disorganization, thought disorders, catatonia (lack of response) and difficulty concentrating. Depending on the cause, psychosis can appear quickly or slowly.

The same goes for schizophrenia. Although symptoms may start slowly and initiate milder psychosis. Some people can go through a quick transition to psychosis if they stop taking their medication. The milder initial symptoms of psychosis may include:

• Feeling of suspicion
• General anxiety
• Distorted perceptions
• Depression
• Obsessive thoughts
• Difficulty sleeping

Hallucinations can affect all the senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch). In people with psychosis, as in about two-thirds of schizophrenics, hallucinations are auditory. In other words, they hear things and believe that they are real then they do not exist.

Nature of psychosis: new vision

Psychosis is classically associated with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Although other symptoms exist, one of the defining criteria for schizophrenia is psychosis. A recent report presented by the British Psychological Society (October 2017) offers a perspective on the nature of psychosis. Which calls into question current knowledge about the nature of this mental illness.

The report provides an accessible overview of the current state of knowledge on this subject. Its findings have profound implications for our understanding of “mental illness” and for the future of mental health services.

Many people believe that schizophrenia is a terrifying brain disease that makes people unpredictable and potentially violent. And that can only be controlled with medication. However, this report suggests that this view is wrong.

The report is titled “Understanding Psychosis and Schizophrenia: Why People Sometimes Hear Voices, Believe Things Others Find Strange, or Seem Out of Touch”. This report raises the interesting questions about these mental illnesses. Let’s take a closer look:

• First of all, he says that issues that we think of as psychotic – hearing voices, believing things that others find strange or that seem out of touch with reality – can be understood in the same way as other psychological issues like anxiety or shyness.
• In this sense, the report adds, it is wrong to regard them as a disease . This approach is not shared by all professionals or by all cultures. In addition, these problems are often, in whole or in part, a reaction to what can happen in our lives. Like for example: abuse, bullying, homelessness or racism.
• The report also explains that people who experience these problems are rarely violent. However, stereotypes can lead to abuse by police and mental health services.

• Another interesting question raised by the report: no one can say for sure what caused the problems of a particular person. The only way is to sit down with them and try to understand.
• Therefore, he adds, mental health workers should not insist that people see themselves as sick. Some people prefer to see their problems as, for example, an aspect of their personality that sometimes gets them in trouble. But which she does not want to get rid of.
• The report concludes by saying that much more needs to be invested in prevention given the way we treat each other in our society. Poverty, racism and housing shortages, as well as child abuse, neglect and bullying, need to be addressed in particular. Focusing resources only on existing problems is like cleaning the floor, but ignoring the source of a leak.

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