What is Psychosis / Schizophrenia?

Psychosis is a broad term that describes one of, or a collection of, mental health issues that affect the mind, altering perception and scrambling the difference between reality and unreality. This can affect behaviour, impact thoughts and is often not recognised by the sufferer.

Psychosis is a symptom of Schizophrenia, which is a specific disorder altering the brain’s information processing, defined by symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, mental confusion and more.

To put it simply, the term Psychosis covers a range of conditions, whereas Schizophrenia is a specific mental illness, with Psychosis as a key symptom.

Anyone who is in doubt about their reality, seeing things that are not there, hearing voices or believing they are someone else, may be experiencing Psychosis / Schizophrenia.*

*There has been a common misconception that Schizophrenia describes a ‘split-personality’. The correct term covering split, or multiple, personality disorders is Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).

What are the symptoms of Psychosis / Schizophrenia?

In general, the symptoms of Psychosis / Schizophrenia involve a loss of, a disconnect from or confusion about reality. What is real and what isn’t. They can be sensory, e.g., ‘hearing things’, or cognitive – subsequently, the symptoms tend to reflect this. They may include:

hallucinations – visual, olfactory or aural, experiences of things that are not there
delusions – false beliefs about events, experiences or even people
paranoia
depression
confused thoughts
incoherent or muddled speech
anger or frustration
social withdrawal

How does Talkmind treat Psychosis / Schizophrenia?

There are a number of support systems, medications and therapies that are successful in treating Psychosis / Schizophrenia. It is a chronic condition which often requires a combination of treatments and may be a long-term process.

There are two kinds of medication that can be used. First generation, which inhibit dopamine and can manage symptoms like hallucinations, and second generation, which can help with issues like motivation.

At Talkmind, our expert psychiatrists, psychologists and therapists could use a combination of methods including:

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
Anti-Psychotic drugs such as Haloperidol (1st generation) and Olanzapine (2nd generation)

Psychosis / Schizophrenia is complex and requires handling with expertise, patience and sensitivity. Any Talkmind patient will be made to feel supported and comfortable.

In many cases, a person experiencing a psychotic illness may require a multi-disciplinary team approach, depending upon the nature of their presentation / their risk. In this scenario, we may recommend the person to contact their local mental health services.

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