Disorders

 

Psychotic Disorders

What Are Psychotic Disorders?

Psychotic disorders are disorders where a person cannot determine what is reality and what isn't. Hallucinations and delusions are common among those who suffer from psychotic disorders, especially during psychotic episodes. This can further compound an already worrying and dangerous problem. Hallucinations can either be visual or auditory but both can be as potentially damaging as one another. On the other hand, delusions are inaccurate beliefs that a person continues to believe despite evidence to the contrary. In a way, delusions are a form of mental hallucination.

Who Suffers The Most?

It is believed that as many as 1% of the world's population suffers from various psychotic disorders. While they are equally common in men and women, certain psychotic disorders appear to be genetic with more than one family member being diagnosed with the same disorder.

Symptoms And Signs

Spotting the symptoms of psychotic disorders entails observing a person's behaviour. Irrational behaviour and a disorganised life and speech pattern are common to sufferers. As discussed above, delusions and hallucinations are also extremely common and can usually be spotted fairly early on in the development of the disorder. This can make the early diagnosis required for a speedy recovery more than viable. It is common for psychotic disorders to begin during teens, twenties and as late as a person's thirties. They can develop at any age but are more common during these times of life.

Forms Of Treatment

Antipsychotics are the medication that is usually prescribed to sufferers of psychotic disorders. Usually these are used on patients with acute problems and in almost all cases a program of psychotherapy accompanies them entailing single, group and interfamily sessions. While hospitalisation does occur in the cases of those with a particularly acute case, many sufferers can be treated as outpatients. Depending on the effectiveness of treatment and the availability of a helpful family network, psychotic disorders can last from days to months, years or even a lifetime.

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