Psychosis is a mental health problem that causes a person to lose some touch with reality and causes severe disturbances in behaviour, thinking and emotions; often slow to progress; and is less common than other mental health problems, such as schizophrenia.
Possible Signs of Psychosis
Behavioural Cues
- Strange posturing
- Odd or bizarre behaviour
- Feeling refreshed after much less sleep than normal
- Excessive writing without meaning
- Cutting oneself; threats of self-mutilation
- Deterioration of personal hygiene
- Hyperactivity or inactivity, or alternating between the two
- Staring without blinking – or blinking incessantly
- Agitation
- Severe sleep disturbances
Intellectual Cues
- Things around them seem changed in some way
- Rapid speech that is difficult to interrupt
- Irrational statements
- Extreme preoccupation with religion or with the occult
- Peculiar use of words or odd language structures
- Unusual sensitivity to stimuli (noise, light, colours, textures)
- Severe Distractibility
- Memory problems
Social Cues
- Sensitivity and irritability when touched by others
- Refusal to touch persons or objects; wearing gloves, etc.
- Severe deterioration of social relationships
- Dropping out of activities – or out of life in general
- Social withdrawal, isolation, and reclusive
- Unexpected aggression
- Suspiciousness
Emotional Cues
- Inappropriate laughter
- Inability to cry, or excessive crying
- Feelings of depression and anxiety
- Inability to express joy
- Euphoric mood Personality
- Reckless behaviours that are out of character
- Significantly prolonged drops in motivation or speech
- Shift in basic personality