What does psychotic disorder mean?
A condition of severe illness that affects the mind is called psychotic disorder. A person with psychotic disorder is unable to think clearly, poor in making judgments, emotionally weak, and sometimes don’t understand reality. Psychotic disorder can become so much severe that it is hard to manage daily life. But even complicated condition in this disorder can be treated.
Types:
There are many types of psychotic disorder.
Schizophrenia:
In this type of disorder you can see that person’s behavior changing with time, sometimes hallucinating or having delusions.
Schizoaffective disorder is a type in which you can have depression along with symptoms of schizophrenia.
Another type is schizophreniform disorder in this symptoms of schizophrenia are short term.
Brief psychotic disorder can happen after a shocking event such as a death of a beloved person. This disorder is for a short period and can be recovered quickly.
Delusional disorder:
In this type of disorder patient imagines a delusional life that feels like a reality. This situation lasts for more than 1 month.
Shared psychotic disorder:
In a relationship if one person is suffering from delusion disorder than after some time other person will start adopting this disease that.
Substance induced psychotic disorder:
This illness happens with the use of drugs or when a person is trying to withdraw them.
Sometimes psychotic disorder is caused by some medicines that affects the brain.
Symptoms:
The main symptoms are hallucination and delusions:
Hallucinations:
A person will start seeing thing, smelling odors, feeling some kind of sensation, hear different voices and even tasting something in mouth.
Delusions:
These are fake situations that a person start believing real. Even if you prove them wrong clearly the delusions will not go away.
There are other symptoms as well such as:
- Confusion
- Disorganized speech
- Dangerous behaviors
- Depression or mood swings
- Not showing emotions
- Anxiety
- Losing interest in your daily activities
- Neglecting daily hygiene
- Believing something that is not true or real
- Obsession over people or situation
Causes:
Causes are not found yet b. Scientists and doctors believe that there are many thing that cause it as it could be inherited if you have a history of psychotic disorder.
Using drugs, taking stress and severe depression can also trigger it.
In schizophrenia your mind is involved as your nerve cell receptors don’t work properly.
Diagnosis:
Doctors will ask your family and psychotic history and a brief physical exam can also be taken. The blood samples are taken and sometimes MRI is performed. If doctors don’t find any physical disease then they will refer you to a psychiatrist.
Psychiatrist will take special interview and with assessment tools they will confirm if you have psychotic disorder or not.
Treatment:
Psychotic disorders are treated with combinations of medication ad psychotherapy.
Medication:
Doctors prescribed “antipsychotic” drugs that are not a cure but they can deal with symptoms of psychotic disorder.
The older antipsychotic drugs include:
- Fluphenazine
- Haloperidol (Haldol)
- Loxapine
- Perphenazine
- Thioridazine
Newer “atypical antipsychotics” include:
- Aripiprazole (Abilify)
- Asenapine (Saphris)
- Brexpiprazole
- Iloperidone
- Olanzapine (Zyprexa)
- Paliperidone
- Quetiapine (Seroquel)
- Risperidone
At first doctor prescribed newer antipsychotics as they have less side effects.
Psychotherapy:
Family therapy or a group therapy are counseling that can help recover disorder. You don’t need any institution for recovery but sometimes patients have severe symptoms so they are hospitalized so they can not harm anyone. They are also hospitalized if they cannot take good care of themselves.
Recovery:
Recovery from psychotic disorder is different for every patient as some can show improvements quickly and others can take weeks or months to recover. It also depends on how severe your symptoms are.
Prevention:
Apparently it is not possible to prevent the psychotic disorder but it is better as soon as the treatment starts. Taking treatment can help a person in dealing in his daily or personal life.
People who have severe condition of this disorder as they have a family history of schizophrenia needs to avoid drugs and alcohol as it can prevent or delay the conditions of disorder.