Psychotic disorders

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Psychotic Disorders

Psychotic disorders (/saɪˈkɒtɪk dɪsˈɔːrdərz/) are a group of serious illnesses that affect the mind. They make it hard for someone to think clearly, make good judgments, respond emotionally, communicate effectively, understand reality, and behave appropriately. When symptoms are severe, people with psychotic disorders have trouble staying in touch with reality and often are unable to handle daily life. But even severe psychotic disorders usually can be treated.

Etymology

The term "psychotic" comes from the Greek "psyche" meaning "soul" or "mind," and "-otic" which is a suffix used in the English language to create adjectives. The term "disorder" comes from the Latin "dis-" meaning "apart" and "ordo" meaning "order". Thus, a psychotic disorder refers to a condition that affects the mind and disrupts a person's ability to perceive reality.

Types of Psychotic Disorders

There are several types of psychotic disorders, including:

  • Schizophrenia: This is a chronic condition that requires lifelong treatment. Schizophrenia symptoms include hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thinking.
  • Schizoaffective disorder: This condition features symptoms of both schizophrenia and a mood disorder, such as depression or bipolar disorder.
  • Delusional disorder: The key symptom is having a delusion (a false, fixed belief) involving real-life situations that could be true but aren't, such as being followed, being plotted against, or having a disease.
  • Brief psychotic disorder: In this condition, a person has sudden, short periods of psychotic behavior, often in response to a very stressful event, such as a death in the family. Recovery is often quick — usually less than a month.
  • Substance-induced psychotic disorder: This condition is caused by the use of or withdrawal from drugs, such as hallucinogens and crack cocaine, that cause hallucinations, delusions, or confused speech.

Symptoms

Symptoms of psychotic disorders can include:

  • Hallucinations: These involve seeing, hearing, feeling, or smelling things that aren't present.
  • Delusions: These are false beliefs, often with themes of persecution, guilt or grandeur, or being controlled by others.
  • Disorganized thinking: This can be inferred from disorganized speech, including incoherence and irrelevant or tangential speech.

Treatment

Treatment for psychotic disorders often involves a combination of:

  • Antipsychotic medications
  • Psychotherapy (such as cognitive behavioral therapy and family-focused therapy)
  • Coordinated specialty care (CSC), a team approach that integrates medication, therapy, case management, employment and education services, and family involvement
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