Psychosis Symptoms Guide
Here is a bullet-point list of common symptoms associated with psychosis. Please note that these symptoms can vary in severity, and presentation, and individuals may experience some or all of these symptoms:
Positive Symptoms (Symptoms of Excess):
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Hallucinations: Hearing, seeing, or sensing things that others do not. Auditory hallucinations (hearing voices) are most common.
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Delusions: Strongly held false beliefs that are resistant to reason or contradictory evidence. Delusions can take various forms, such as paranoid delusions (belief that others are plotting against you) or grandiose delusions (an inflated sense of self-importance).
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Disorganized Thinking: Incoherent or jumbled thoughts, making it challenging to communicate or maintain a logical conversation.
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Disorganized Speech: Difficulty organizing thoughts into coherent sentences, leading to speech that is difficult to follow or nonsensical.
Negative Symptoms (Symptoms of Deficit):
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Affective Flattening: Reduced emotional expressiveness, leading to a limited range of emotional expression and a sense of emotional detachment.
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Alogia: Difficulty with fluent speech. This can manifest as poverty of speech (limited speech output) or poverty of content (speech lacks meaningful content).
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Anhedonia: Reduced ability to experience pleasure or interest in previously enjoyable activities.
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Avolition: Decreased motivation to initiate and sustain purposeful activities, often resulting in a lack of goal-directed behaviors.
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Social Withdrawal: Reduced interest in social interactions and a tendency to isolate oneself from others.
Cognitive Symptoms:
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Impaired Concentration: Difficulty focusing, sustaining attention and processing information.
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Impaired Memory: Short-term and long-term memory deficits, affecting the ability to recall and retain information.
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Impaired Problem-Solving: Reduced ability to solve complex problems or plan and execute tasks effectively.
Other Symptoms:
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Disorganized Behavior: Unpredictable or inappropriate behavior that may seem odd or erratic to others.
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Catatonia: A range of motor abnormalities, from excessive and purposeless movement to immobility and rigidity.
It's important to note that psychosis can be a symptom of various underlying conditions, including schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, some medical conditions and drug induced. Additionally, the severity and combination of symptoms can vary widely among individuals.
If you or someone you know is experiencing symptoms of psychosis, it's crucial to seek professional help and evaluation by a mental health provider. Early intervention and treatment can significantly improve outcomes and quality of life for individuals living with psychosis.