The human brain works in mysterious ways. Sometimes people experience psychotic episodes where they have a hard time distinguishing between what is real and what is a figment of their imagination.
However, some of these psychotic disorders might not be very easy to identify. The patient might seem completely normal to the untrained eye. Whereas, inwardly the patient might be suffering quite badly.
If you want to learn more about different psychotic disorders, you have come to the right place. Mentioned here are some of the most common psychotic disorders that are becoming more and more common these days:
- Schizoaffective disorder
In this mental disorder, the patient has a combination of schizophrenia and mood disorder symptoms. The two types of this disorder are bipolar disorder and Depressive disorder.
In its initial stages, this disorder might not make a big difference for the patient, however, if left untreated it will start causing problems in the patient’s daily functioning. They might have a hard time functioning at school, work, or other social situations.
Although the symptoms of Schizoaffective disorder vary from patient to patient, some of the most common symptoms include delusions, hallucinations, depression, impaired social functioning, unusual and bizarre behavior, and small bursts of manic behavior. In extreme cases, the affected person might even experience suicidal thoughts.
If someone close to you shows such symptoms, you need to be careful in the way you deal with them. You should not force them to get professional health. However, ask them to talk to you about how they are feeling and encourage them to get help.
Schizophreniform disorder
Schizophreniform disorder is a type of psychosis where the patient can’t distinguish between what’s real and what is not. Its symptoms are similar to schizophrenia but last longer than six months. If it lasts more than a period of 6 months it is identified as schizophrenia.
Some of the most common symptoms for Schizophreniform disorder include disorganized speech, loss of interest in everything, withdrawal from loved ones, lack of energy, delusions, and hallucinations.
Doctors still haven’t been able to pinpoint exactly as to why or how this disorder is caused, however, there is a consensus that it can be because of multiple factors including genetics, brain structure and functions, and environment.
This disorder happens equally in both genders, however, it strikes men at an early age from 18 to 24 whereas women are affected between the ages of 24 to 35.
Sometimes people might buy shrooms online to self-medicate. Although it can be helpful in some cases, it is not entirely free of risk. So, do that at your own risk. Your best option is to go through the proper channels and get your medication from a doctor to avoid any unwanted side effects.
Delusional disorder
Delusional disorder is a type of psychosis where the patient suffers from extreme paranoia and delusions that are difficult to distinguish from reality. These delusions usually involve the misinterpretation of different situations and experiences that in reality are either completely made up or overly exaggerated.
People suffering from delusional disorder seem quite normal and can function normally in their daily life. However, in extreme cases, the patient might become so paranoid by their delusions that their daily life might get disturbed.
Some of the most commonly found types of delusional disorder are Erotomanic, Grandiose, Somatic, mixed, and Persecutory. Similar to some other psychotic disorders, Delusional disorders are believed to be caused by a combination of biological, genetic, and environmental factors.
Brief psychotic disorder
The brief psychotic disorder is a short-term psychotic disorder where the patient has hallucinations and delusions that are triggered by stressful events. These stressful events might include losing a loved one or going through a traumatic accident. The symptoms last for around a month and the patient recovers completely after that.
There are three types of brief psychotic disorder, BPD with obvious stressors, BPD without obvious stressors, and BPD with postpartum onset. Some of the most common symptoms for this disorder include, changed sleeping and eating habits, unusual behavior, bad memory, disorientation, difficulty in making decisions, and incoherent speech.
Substance-induced psychotic disorder
As the name suggests, the substance-induced psychotic disorder can be traced back to the use of alcohol or other drugs. The patient would experience psychotic episodes when they were intoxicated or when they were trying to give up drinking.
Some people develop this disorder when they are in recovery from substance use disorder. The psychotic episode may include hallucinations that seem extremely vivid. Some of the most common symptoms of this disorder include a lack of emotional expression, hypersensitivity to random sounds and smells, paranoia, delusions, and hallucinations.
The leading cause of the substance-induced psychotic disorder is misuse of alcohol or other drugs, however, there can also be other factors that might make you more prone to getting affected by this disorder like genetic abnormalities, dementia, stroke, or traumatic brain injury.
Psychotic disorder due to a medical condition
Psychosis is identified as a psychotic disorder due to a medical condition when it is induced by a pre-existing medical condition. For example, patients that suffer from temporal lobe epilepsy can sometimes have strong hallucinations.
It can be difficult to pinpoint why someone is suffering from psychosis, however, this type of psychosis can easily be traced back to a medical condition that the patient might have been suffering from, like a brain tumor, stroke, or migraines.
However, people who might be having delusions because of an extremely severe medical condition or withdrawal from drugs or alcohol are not considered as patients of Psychotic disorder due to a medical condition.
Some new medicines have proved to be helpful in treating this disorder, however; the long-term solution isn’t just medicine, it has to include multiple sessions of psychotherapy over an extended period of time.
Conclusion:
So there you have it. These are some of the most common and insidious psychotic disorders that have become really common nowadays. If you see anyone around you who is suffering from such problems, you need to make sure that you help them out. Make sure that they see a doctor right away and if the symptoms are really strong, they might even have to go to a psychiatric hospital.
