Features of the prodrome may include:
-
reduced concentration, attention
-
reduced drive and motivation, lack of energy
-
depressed mood
-
sleep disturbance
-
anxiety
-
social withdrawal
-
suspiciousness
-
deterioration in role functioning
-
irritability
Note: Symptoms of the prodrome for schizophrenia are very prevalent in adolescents generally.
Acute - Psychotic symptoms, including delusions and hallucinations, are experienced.
Residual or Recovery - Psychosis is treatable and most people recover, either partially or fully.
It is often difficult for individuals unfamiliar with diagnosing psychosis to differentiate these four phases and symptoms of psychosis may be present, to varying degrees, in all four phases.
Rates of definite schizophrenia in family members where relatives have schizophrenia:
-
Both parents: 37%
-
One parent: 9%
-
Grandparent: 3%
-
Sibling: 7%
-
First cousin: 2%
-
Spouse: 1%
Myths About Psychosis
Myth #1. Having psychosis means having multiple personalities
The mental disorder in which individuals experience the presence of two or more distinct identities or personality states that recurrently take control of the person’s behaviour is referred to as Dissociative Identity Disorder. This disorder is - and always has been - distinct from psychotic disorders. Although individuals with psychosis may hear voices and hold odd beliefs, they do not experience or display multiple personality states.
Myth #2. People with psychosis tend to be violent and dangerous
Although some individuals with psychosis may experience mood swings and increased feelings of agitation, they are even more likely to present with emotional dampening and social withdrawal. While delusions and hallucinations may, occasionally, lead to violent behaviour, individuals with schizophrenia are not uniformly violent and, in fact, are at much greater risk of causing harm to themselves than to others.
Myth #3. People with psychosis never recover
The historical view of psychosis suggested a poor prognosis. However, many people who experience an episode of psychosis will make a complete recovery. Others will recover completely between episodes and will only experience psychotic symptoms again when they relapse. Only a minority of individuals with psychosis experience continued psychotic symptomatology.
What is not Psychosis?
Normal Human Experiences
Although hallucinations and delusions are usually viewed as markers of a psychotic episode, these same experiences are shared by many people in circumstances that are not usually labeled “psychotic.” For example:
In grief reactions, it is common for people to hear, see, and sense the presence of the deceased loved one.
-
Children may experience imaginary friends or night terrors.
-
In dreams, all normal bounds of space, time, and reality are broken. We see and hear things when there is no external source of these sights and sounds.
-
In some cultures, children at the age of puberty are encouraged to go to remote places and attempt to attain a “vision” through food and sleep deprivation.
-
Long distance truck drivers, after extended periods of driving, may see cars that aren’t there.
-
During periods of stress and isolation, adventurers/explorers have reported being comforted by a presence that helped “guide” them.
-
Some mystical and religious experiences contain elements that, in a different context, might be considered psychotic.
-
“Hallucinations” occurring while an individual is falling asleep (hypnagogic) or waking up (hypnopompic) are considered to be in the range of normal human experience.
|
