Psychosis is a mental health condition in which a person is unable to differentiate between reality and fantasy. It also comprises signs like a changed perception of a person, thoughts, behaviors, and beliefs.
Psychosis can negatively impact the life of any person regardless of age, gender, or creed. The good news is that it does not develop suddenly. It develops gradually. Additionally, it occurs in stages and has a varied duration. To learn more about the stages of psychosis continue reading this informative article.
Some Common Signs Of Psychosis
Particular signs identify each mental health disorder. Likewise, psychosis also has specific signs. Some of the common symptoms are as follows:
- Poor work or academic performance
- Lack of focus
- Lack of concentration
- Feelings of being paranoid or suspiciousness
- Social withdrawal
- Development of strange and new feelings
- Lack of interest in different activities
- Trouble in communication
- Inability to separate reality from unreality
The most critical identifiers of psychosis are:
- Hallucinations
- Delusions
- Disorganized behavior
- Catatonia
- Negative symptoms
Read More: What Is Psychosis?
Different Stages Of Psychosis
There are a total of three stages of psychosis:
Stage 1: Prodromal Stage:
This is the beginning of psychosis that occurs before the actual psychosis sign.
Symptoms can be vague and are not easily noticed. Before the manifestation of the signs of psychosis, the person’s perception, behaviors, and functioning tend to start changing.
Some of the common signs experienced during this stage are:
- Issues with screening out complex information
- Lack of concentration
- Sudden changes in perceptual experiences
- Overburdened
- Inability to track thoughts
- Feelings of being disconnected
- Social withdrawal
- Changes in sleeping patterns
- Depressed mood
- Irritability
- Suspiciousness
- Decreased functioning
- Reduced motivation
- Magical thinking
- Poor personal hygiene
- Diminished expression of joy
- Substance abuse
- Bizzare writing
- Strange gestures
- Continuous staring
- No crying or excessive crying
This stage may last for several months to years or more. The prodrome phase is undiagnosable until psychosis has developed. Furthermore, these changes are much more common in adolescents and therefore, can be misdiagnosed for psychosis.
Read More: ADHD and Depression: Exploring the Connection
Stage 2: Acute Stage
This stage is merely based on the occurrence of actual symptoms. Signs of psychosis are commonly seen in this stage such as hallucinations, delusions, or confused thinking. These signs can have a significant impact on the person’s overall well-being. The affected person may exhibit strange behaviors to make their families stressed out about their condition.
Hallucinations are characterized by visualizing, hearing, and sometimes even feeling things that do not have any match with reality.
Some common examples of hallucinations include:
- Hearing strange voices
- Seeing things that are not present in reality
- Experiencing a strange taste in the mouth
- Smell odors
- Feeling different sensations on the skin without anything touching the body
Delusions are false beliefs that an affected person may experience throughout the psychosis phase. Such as if a person thinks that their food is poisoned and they have this strong belief then they will be assured that their food is poisoned even if someone proves that the food is edible.
Some of the common examples of delusions are:
- The belief that someone is following or stalking them
- Believing that someone is broadcasting their thoughts and others can hear them
- Believing that people are plotting against them
- Believing that some force or individual is controlling them
- Convicting that certain sounds and views convey a hidden message for them
- Having strong faith that people are trying to kill them
- Convinced that they possess superpowers
Confused thinking in psychosis is all about jumbled thoughts that do not make any sense, making the affected person exhibit the following signs:
- Lack of concentration
- Misunderstanding and misinterpretation of conversations
- Lack of memory
- Unable to decode new information
Other common signs of psychosis involve:
- Illogical speech
- Strange behaviors
- Slowed movements
- Lack of interest in personal hygiene
- Lack of interest in activities
- Poor academic or work performance
- Cold manner in expressing emotions
- Mood swings such as depression and mania
Stage 3: Recovery
This stage of psychosis begins when the affected person consults a mental health professional for medical intervention.
- Most people show complete progress after attaining proper mental health treatment. This shows that the treatment is effective.
- During the initial phase of mental health treatment, some of the affected people may experience acute signs lingering for some time, but they recover and start living their normal and healthy lives.
It is essential to identify the early signs of psychosis. Furthermore, treatment of these signs is also important to prevent any negative impact on the person’s well-being. If there is even a little delay in the treatment it can lead to incomplete recovery.
What Can Be The Possible Causes Of Onset Of Stages Of Psychosis
The exact cause of psychosis signs is still not detected. However, mental health professionals believe that there can be several causes contributing to the onset of the signs of psychosis. Some of the common causes of psychosis are as follows:
Psychological Causes:
Along with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, some of the common mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and stress can be the leading causes of the stages of psychosis.
Trauma:
Trauma can have a negative impact on the overall well-being of a person such as sexual assault, death of a loved one, or a war. Additionally, the type of trauma and the age when the trauma happened also matter.
Read More: The ultimate guide to Bipolar disorder symptoms in females
Some Effective Treatment Methods For Treating Different Stages Of Psychosis
Treatment for psychosis is a combination of antipsychotics, talking therapies, and lastly social support.
Antipsychotics:
Antipsychotic medicines are mostly used as a first-line treatment in overcoming signs of psychosis. They mainly work by preventing the occurrence of dopamine, which are brain chemicals that help in passing on messages in the mind.
Talking Therapies:
Talking therapy is a therapeutic technique that has been effective in the reduction of the severity of psychosis-related anxiety. Talking therapies are of many sorts.
Talking therapies are proven to be effective in reducing the intensity of psychosis-induced anxiety. There are many types of talking therapies. The common ones are:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy:
Cognitive behavioral therapy deals with an individual’s perception of events and experiences and the reason why some experiences cause distress in people.
A CBT therapist will help you change the negative thoughts into positive ones with the help of different ways.
Family Intervention:
Family intervention is one of the most effective treatments for people with psychosis. It’s the ideal way to help you and your family cope with your mental health condition.
When an affected person experiences an episode of psychosis, they rely on the family for mental support and care. Although family members are happy to help the affected person, taking care of someone mentally ill strains the caretaker.
Family therapy includes a bunch of meetings spanning over 3 months or more. The therapeutic meetings include:
- Discussion on the current mental health condition of the affected person and the best-picked mental health treatments for them.
- Exploration of different ways of supporting someone suffering from psychosis.
- Looking for productive ways to solve practical problems caused by psychosis.
Self-help Groups:
If a person is experiencing ongoing episodes of psychosis, they may benefit from people experiencing the same signs and episodes. The major goal of such help groups is to make the patient feel that they are not alone. Furthermore, the effort is that the patient connects with the other suffering people.
Read More: Bipolar Disorder – Symptoms, Causes, Types and Treatment
Conclusion!
Psychosis is a severe mental health illness that slowly develops in the form of stages. The major symptoms are hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thinking. The early signs of psychosis may go unnoticed, however, addressing and treating these signs is essential. The first stage is the acute stage of psychosis. Here the signs of psychosis are more severe and the recovery stage is all about the treatment phase. Moreover, the exact cause of the development of psychosis is not known but mental health professionals believe that trauma and different psychological factors can lead to psychosis. The best yet effective treatment methods to overcome signs of psychosis include psychiatric medications, talk therapies, and social support groups.
If you or any of your loved ones are suffering from early stages of psychosis then now is the ideal time for you to consult the best mental health professionals at Solid Foundation Psychiatry. So, wait no more and get mental help today by contacting us.r