Definition:
According to the DSM-IV-TR, psychosis is a component of certain serious mental disorders in which a person looses touch with reality. A person with psychosis is said to be psychotic.
Psychosis can include delusions and hallucinations.
Delusions are represented as “fixed false beliefs” and may include being:
- followed
- poisoned
- infected
- loved at a distance
- deceived by spouse or lover
- having a disease
Hallucinations involve false sensory distortions. These distortions may involve:
- seeing (visual)
- hearing (auditory)
- smelling (olfactory)
- feeling (haptic, tactile)
- tasting (gustatory)
Illogical and disorganized thought processes and personality changes may be evident during a psychotic episode.
Source:
American Psychiatric Association. "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed., text revision" 2000 Washington, DC: Author.
