Psychosis 

Introduction 

Psychosis: Sarah's story

Sarah, 19, describes her experience of psychosis. Find out how early help from local services can help young people who live with mental illness.

Psychosis versus psychopath

The term "psychosis" should not be confused with the term "psychopath". The two conditions are very different.

Someone with psychosis has an acute (short-term) condition that, if treated, can often lead to a full recovery.

A psychopath is someone who has an incurable anti-social personality disorder, which means that they:

  • lack the capacity for empathy (understanding how someone else feels)
  • are manipulative
  • often have a total disregard for the consequences of their actions

Unlike people with psychosis, people with an anti-social personality disorder can appear to act in a rational manner, which makes their condition hard to detect.

Psychosis is a condition that affects a person’s mind and causes changes to the way that they think, feel and behave. A person who experiences psychosis may be unable to distinguish between reality and their imagination.

People who are experiencing psychosis are sometimes referred to as psychotic. They may have:

  • hallucinations – where you see or hear things that are not there
  • delusions – where you believe things that are untrue

Psychosis is not a condition in itself, it is a symptom of other conditions. The most common cause of psychosis is a mental health condition, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder (manic depression).

Psychosis can also be triggered by physical conditions, such as Parkinson's disease, or as a result of drug or alcohol misuse.

The length of time that someone will experience a psychotic state of mind, known as a psychotic episode, will depend on the underlying causes. Drug- or alcohol-induced psychosis many only last for a few days. However, psychosis that results from schizophrenia or bipolar disorder may last indefinitely unless it is treated.

How common is psychosis?

Psychosis is more common than most people realise. It is estimated that one in every 200 people in the UK has experienced psychosis. Some people will only experience one psychotic episode, while others may experience several throughout their life.

Schizophrenia, which is one of the main causes of psychosis, will affect one person in every 100 in the population during their lifetime. 

Outlook

Prompt treatment is recommended for someone who is experiencing psychosis. Studies suggest that the earlier psychosis is treated, the better the long-term results tend to be.

In the short-term, medicines are used to treat the symptoms of psychosis to make sure that the person is no longer a danger to themselves or to others. The long-term treatment will depend on the underlying causes.

If you have psychosis, it could affect your ability to drive. It is your legal obligation to inform the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) about a medical condition that could have an impact on your driving ability. Go to the Directgov website to find out how to tell the DVLA about a medical condition.

  • show glossary terms

Mental
Mental refers to the processes in the mind.

Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a chronic (long-term) mental health condition that causes a range of different psychological symptoms, including psychotic episodes.

Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a condition that affects your moods, which can swing from one extreme to another.

Parkinson’s disease
A chronic (long-term) neurological condition that affects the way the brain co-ordinates body movements, including walking, talking and writing.

Last reviewed: 19/05/2010

Next review due: 19/05/2012

Comments

6 Comments

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Comments are personal views. Any information they give has not been checked and may not be accurate.

Sean from Lancashire said on 15 April 2012

Is it me or the sound on the video not right ?

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Jorge46 said on 16 February 2012

For anyone who has come to this page for help and hope, please don't give up. Help is available from the NHS. My brother, a smart, 25 year old with a good family life and a fairly high profile city career, has just had his second psychotic episode, 2 years almost to the day from the first. This time round it seemed to happen very quickly and seemed much more violent than the first. We were all very scared and worried but with the help of the early intervention team, Dr's and the hospital we got him the help he needed and touch wood, fingers x'd he seems to be making a very good recovery. I was worried that leaving him in a strange place with strange people would make it worse but I think having some time alone, away from home and the stresses of life have helped. He's constantly being monitored and observed in the background. He's given the medication he needs, food and is generally well cared for. They tell me he will need to take medication now for the rest of his life but if that means I get my brother back then so be it. Two days ago he tried to explain to me how he felt, he said it was like being in a drunken state but 10,000x worse. He was hallucinating and voices in his head were telling him not to do certain things like drink water as it was alcohol and food as it was poison. After just one night of sleep, once the DR's and staff managed to calm him down, he was almost back to his normal self. As I said at the start, don't give up hope, help is at hand. And the more we can share the better we can understand.

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concerned carer said on 08 February 2012

To me, this page demonstrates the totally unscientific way that mental illness is considered in this country. If a person has cancer or a heart attack, then a highly trained person treats the problem with a highly refined set of procedures. The NHS infers from this video snippet that if someone has psychosis, then they are treated by well-meaning amateurs and go sailing. Which is why when someone I know had an acute psychotic episode, the local crisis doctor, after an hours interrogation, simply walked away and him to it. A week later my friend was in a mental hospital. It seems the only practical advice is to contact the DVLA. Oh well that's the health and safety box ticked. Thanks for absolutely nothing

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JuliesMum said on 16 August 2011

My daughter (now 15) is going through something rather similar to Sarah in the video, and I found her story fantastically helpful. It really helped me understand some of my daughter's experiences.

I have a blog about my daughter's illness and how we cope with it, which can be read at http://juliesmum.blogspot.com

I started this blog because I could find nothing that was written for families supporting a child with psychosis. It is a an extremely stressful situation! But at the same time, I wanted to show that you can survive it, and that life does go on.

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MissA said on 12 February 2011

I'm going through something similar, it is very perplexing.
I'm glad it worked out for Sarah. Hope she is still doing well.

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cvsouth said on 13 May 2009

To anyone who watched the video..

Take it from me, both those guys talked a LOT of sense there. Listen to what they are saying.

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