Factsheets - Psychosis

There are a lot of misconceptions about psychosis and the purpose here is to provide you with as much facts as possible. Psychosis is scary for those suffering from it and also from those who are involved with a loved one who is suffering from psychosis.

The sooner the patient seeks help, the easier it is to treat. Loved ones must understand that the person experiencing their first psychotic episode may not understand what is happening. Thus the experience can be highly disturbing and unfamiliar, leaving the person confused, fearful and distressed.

What Causes Psychosis?

At the moment, the cause of psychosis, especially the first episode is unclear. However, recent research has indicated that a combination of biological factors in early development may increase the vulnerability to experiencing psychotic symptoms during adolescence or early adult life. Symptoms are triggered in response to stress, substance use or social changes in vulnerable individuals. To make diagnosis as clear as possible, a person must undergo a thorough medical examination to rule out medical causes and undergo a thorough interview with a mental health therapist.

At times and this is my personal view, that psychosis is an abreaction and should be allowed to play itself out (if it is not life threatening). We may be too quick in suppressing it with drugs and thus compound the problem for the patient. Do we not all sometimes get so overwhelmed by our peceived stresses that it pushes us into psychosis as a way for the mind to deal with the stresses and to vent it. Perhaps I am being naive. But I do trust the survival instinct that is within all of us.