# Detect Home Page Psychosis Mental Health Services For The Early Detection Of Psychosis And Effective Recovery – Information For Sufferers, Friends, Family, Carers, And Health Professionals Gps

Psychosis

- What is Psychosis?
- Psychosis, is a treatable condition that many people recover from especially if help is sought early.
  The word "psychosis" is used to describe a condition where someone has unusual or strange experiences which may be distressing. Someone with symptoms of psychosis may have difficulty recognizing what is real and not real.
- Symptoms of Psychosis Some of the common symptoms of psychosis are seen in this first person account from someone who experienced psychosis.
  "It was like I was having a thousand thoughts all at once. I was so disorganised, nothing was getting done. I was frightened and anxious because I felt someone was trying to harm me. More and more, I spent most of my time alone doing nothing. I wasn't bothered with friends or family. Then the TV started having special messages meant only for me and I was hearing voices commenting on what I was doing. In hindsight, I realise things just weren't making sense anymore. At the time though, I seemed normal and I didn't mention what was happening to anyone. Since starting treatment, I understand that I was experiencing a health problem called psychosis."
- Psychosis Symptoms
  - Disturbances in perception (hallucinations): This means the experience of seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling or tasting something that is not actually there.
  - Fixed false beliefs (delusions): Believing strongly that something is true that isn’t based on reality and others may find unusual, such as:
    - Believing you are being followed or monitored or plotted against.
    - Believing you have special abilities or “powers”.
    - Believing that certain songs, comments or TV programmes are specifically directed toward you or seem to be communicating a hidden message.
    - Believing that you are being controlled by outside forces or other individuals.
    - Believing that your thoughts are being broadcast so others can hear them or that other people can read your mind.
  - Confused thinking or speech
    - Having difficulty concentrating or keeping focus.
    - Feeling that your thoughts are jumbled or “mixed up”.
    - Feeling that your thoughts are racing.
    - Feeling the opposite, that your thoughts are slowed down.
    - Other people find it hard to understand you.
  - Changes in Daily Functioning
    - Difficulties performing everyday activities (e.g. socialising, self-care).
    - Experiencing unusual responses to usual life stressors (e.g. laughing while describing something sad).
  - Mood changes
    - Having mood swings e.g. feeling more irritable or “grumpy” or getting angry.
    - Feeling that your emotions have been dampened in some way or not experiencing them as strongly as you normally would.
    These experiences can seem so real that you may not realise that they are symptoms of psychosis.
- Prodromal Phase (At risk phase where there may be some symptoms of distress) The period of time that preceeds the onset of psychosis is known as the prodromal phase. Some people may experience a prodrome whereas for others the symptoms may start abruptly.
  This first person account provides a description of what might be going on during this time.
  “I found the college exams very stressful at the time and started to feel that nobody at college liked me. I thought that people who used to be my friends were talking about me and I had several arguments with them, which wasn’t usual for me. I couldn’t concentrate at lectures and felt like there was no point going anymore so I stopped attending. I was also very self-conscious thinking that other students were staring at me. Sometimes when at home I thought I heard my name being called, but I was aware that it was just my mind playing tricks with me. I wasn’t sleeping well at this time either because of the worries and anxiety, and I had several panic attacks.”
- Prodromal Symptoms It can be difficult to identify the earlier warning symptoms of psychosis.
  Common prodromal symptoms include:
  - Deteriorating self-care and hygiene.
  - Ideas of reference.
  - Suspiciousness.
  - Social withdrawal.
  - Impaired concentration.
  - Decreased motivation.
  - Suicidal thinking.
  - Drop off in performance at school or work.
- Psychosis
  - 1 in 4 of us will experience a mental health condition during our lifetime.
  - Psychosis is a word used to describe a loss of touch with reality.
  - Psychosis affects 1 out of every 33 people. One out of every 100 people will have schizophrenia.
  - Psychosis can happen to anyone.
- What causes Psychosis? We don't really know the exact causes of psychosis, but we do know of some risk factors associated with developing a psychosis including:
  - Trauma, stress.
  - Several substances of abuse, including cannabis.
  - Family history of psychosis.
  - Early infections.
  Research has shown that smoking cannabis can increase your chances of developing psychosis by over 40% especially if you start before the age of 18 years. Cannabis has also been linked to developing psychosis at an earlier age and higher rates of relapse following a psychotic episode. However, these risk factors on their own are not sufficient to cause psychosis. One thing we do know now from research is that getting help early is very important.
- What should I do if I think I am experiencing psychosis? If you think you may be experiencing any of the symptoms mentioned on this page you should contact your GP as soon as possible. As with any physical or mental illness your GP will be able to help. He / she may start treatment and will usually refer you to a specialist mental health service. It is important that you tell the GP all of the symptoms you have been experiencing. In addition, you may wish to confide in someone close to you that can support you through the process of visiting your GP and accessing services to help you. If you are using street drugs (Cannabis, LSD, Ecstasy, Cocaine etc) and / or alcohol you should seek help / advice from your GP to help stop safely.
- What lies ahead? Here is a quote from Walter, someone who experienced psychosis
  "Having a mental illness is not the end of the world, by any means, one year later and I'm doing well, I'm probably just about back to normality. Just keeping physically healthy helps and I'm working on the rest." - Walter
  Many people can have a similar outcome to Walter. You are likely to be offered medication and psychological treatments. With appropriate treatments, most people can and do successfully recover from a first episode of psychotic illness.
- Recovery: What Helps? Communicating with your family, friends, your GP and your community mental health team.
  - Getting help as early as possible.
  - Taking the prescribed medication.
  - Attending talking therapies.
  - Getting advice.
  - Managing stress.
  - A healthy diet, lots of fruit and vegetables.
  - Regular exercise.
  - Sticking to a routine.
  - Regular and healthy sleep habits / pattern.
  - Social support.
- Recovery: What Won't Help?
  - Stopping medication suddenly.
  - Using Street drugs, e.g. cannabis, LSD, ecstasy, cocaine and / or alcohol.
  - Criticism from others.
  - Not coping with stress.
  - Keeping your symptoms to yourself.
  - Isolating oneself.
  - Bottling up your thoughts and feelings.
  - Losing sight of your hopes and dreams.
  - Taking to the bed.
- Staying Well Staying well requires commitment, practice and a willingness to participate in your own care.
  Some things you can do for yourself
  - Listen to advice.
  - Learn new skills, e.g. stress management.
  - Learn to monitor and manage your own symptoms.
  - Develop a healthy lifestyle.
  - Set achievable goals, both short term and long term.
  - Maintain contact with friends and family.
  - Attend regular medical check-ups.
  - Continue medication if advised to do so.
  - Celebrate achievements and set plans for the future.
  - Pace yourself, recovery is a gradual process.

Psychosis