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Symptoms of psychosis

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Psychosis is a mental state characterized by a splitting or loss of contact with reality (World Health Organization 1992). In addition, there are other more specific symptoms that interfere with the person's daily functioning, alter their behavior and require medical help (Volkmar, 1996).

The main clinical symptoms of psychotic disorders, according to the description of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association (American Psychiatric Association, 2013), are:

  • Hallucinations: are imaginary perceptions that occur without the presence of any external stimulus. They are involuntary and are experienced intensely, generating strong anxiety in the individual. People can feel, hear, smell or see things that are not there. The most common hallucinations are auditory.
  • Delusions: are false, fixed beliefs, lived with conviction and that are not modified by logical argumentation. Their content can be very diverse. The most common are delusions of persecution and referential delusions.
  • Disorganized thinking: is the loss of logical associations in thought, of the relationship between ideas. The affected person may jump from one topic to another or may even lose the thread of their speech and become incomprehensible.
  • Very disorganized or abnormal motor behaviors or movements (including catatonia): various motor behaviors or meaningless movements that make it difficult for the person to carry out their daily activities. The person may become extremely active or, on the contrary, remain inactive all day.
  • Negative symptoms: These are those that indicate an impoverishment of the person's personality, affecting their mood and social relationships. Among the most prevalent negative symptoms are diminished emotional expression, social withdrawal, lack of energy to do things (abulia), lack of pleasure in doing things they enjoy (anhedonia) and emotional indifference.

In addition to the symptoms mentioned, other symptoms may also be present in psychosis, such as cognitive symptoms (difficulty concentrating, slow processing, memory lapses, etc.) and affective symptoms, such as depression and anxiety.

All these symptoms are not always stable, they can vary in the same person and between one person and another, both at the beginning and during the course of the disorder, and in its duration, causing great inter- and intra-individual variability (Heckers et al., 2013).

In first person

"I started hearing voices on television, in commercials, on the Internet... Internet tracking, spies... everything was related to me."

First warning signs

But psychosis is not always easy to detect. Before psychotic symptoms appear, other, more non-specific symptoms or warning signs may occur, which can occur a few days or even weeks before.

Some of the most common alarm signals are the following:

  • Feeling more tense, more afraid or more anxious.
  • Acceleration of thoughts: having many thoughts at once, not being able to concentrate on one thing.
  • Be quieter and isolate yourself.
  • Feeling low, less motivated to do things or more irritable.
  • Being more tired.
  • Having strange sensations that make me confused.
  • Having little appetite, losing weight.
  • Having frequent oversights.
  • Suddenly, not being able to sleep.
  • Neglecting physical appearance.

Detection and treatment in the initial stages of this disorder are essential for the recovery of those affected. That is why it is very important to consult a professional when these symptoms alter daily activity or cause discomfort.