Psychosis & Schizophrenia
Psychosis is a mental health problem that causes people to perceive or interpret things differently from those around them. This might involve hallucinations or delusions. The two main symptoms of psychosis are:
- hallucinations – where a person hears, sees and, in some cases, feels, smells or tastes things that aren't there; a common hallucination is hearing voices
- delusions – where a person believes things that, when examined rationally, are obviously untrue – for example, thinking your next door neighbour is planning to kill you
The combination of hallucinations and delusional thinking can often severely disrupt perception, thinking, emotion and behaviour. Experiencing the symptoms of psychosis is often referred to as having a psychotic episode.
Schizophrenia is a long-term mental health condition that causes a range of different psychological symptoms, including:
- hallucinations – hearing or seeing things that do not exist
- delusions – unusual beliefs not based on reality that often contradict the evidence
- muddled thoughts based on hallucinations or delusions
- changes in behaviour
Doctors often describe schizophrenia as a psychotic illness. This means sometimes a person may not be able to distinguish their own thoughts and ideas from reality.