Psychosis

Psychosis is when the individual loses touch with reality by displaying psychotic symptoms, often during a psychotic episode. A psychotic episode can be triggered by several things, including Schizo-Spectrum disorders, Bipolar, and even Severe Depression. They can also be triggered by severe stress, traumatic experiences, drugs and alcohol, medications, and brain injuries or conditions.

Symptoms

Symptoms of psychosis can be expressed in a few ways;

• Hallucinations
  • Auditory
  • Visual
  • Tactile
• Delusions
  • Ideation might increase into delusion during psychosis.
• Disordered Thinking/Speaking
  • Conversations that lead to rambling
  • Jumping around topics or leaps in logic
  • Making up words

Transient / Brief Psychosis

According to the ICD-10 Version:2019, Acute Schizophrenia-like Psychotic Disorder is classified as having psychotic symptoms that have lasted for less than one month, but can justify a diagnosis for Schizophrenia.

The DSM-5 classifies Transient Psychotic Disorder as having the sudden onset of at least one psychotic symptom lasting between 1 day to 1 month.

Both describe the same phenomena of sudden psychotic symptoms that last between a day to a month. When thinking about this from the perspective of some disorders its important to look at the symptoms regularly expressed. For individuals with StPD or Schizophrenia they already have some expression of psychotic symptoms, in which case, the definition would alter to accommodate it. Instead of sudden onset of psychotic symptoms it would be heightened or enhanced symptoms. Knowing the individual with these disorders will help in being able to spot when and which symptoms are increased to the point of Transient Psychosis.