What is psychosis?

- A physical condition of the brain that affects all aspects of a person’s life.
- It may involve loss of contact with reality.
- The person has a difficult time knowing what is real and what is not.
- Usually affects people in their teens or early adult years.
- Signs include changes in behaviour thoughts, emotion, senses, and beliefs

About psychosis

- Affects 3% of population
- Results from disruption in brain functioning
- Affects males and females equally
- Tends to emerge during adolescence and young adulthood
- Biopsychosocial factors involved in development
- Can be treated effectively

Early signs of psychosis

- changes in sleep
- mood swings
- changes in eating patterns
- loss of energy or motivation
- thoughts are faster or slower
- things seem different
- friends and family say you seem different

Common symptoms of psychosis

- changes in senses - colours, sound, smell

Confused Thinking:
- problems concentrating
- hard to follow conversations
- people don’t make sense
- forget things easily
- thoughts don’t join up properly
- thoughts being put into your head
- thoughts disappearing
- thoughts spoken out loud
- hearing, seeing, smelling things that other people do not

False Beliefs:
- suspicion
- thinking everything is about our or related to you
- preoccupation with certain ideas of beliefs
- conspiracy theories

Changed Feelings:
- mood swings
- unusually high moods
- low mood/depressed
- emotions seem flat
- feeling slowed down

Changed Behaviour:
- not wanting to do thing you used to do
- acting impulsively
- bored all the time
- withdrawing from friends
- angry or upset for no reason

Other:
- problems with sleeping
- eating problems
- suicidal thoughts
- feeling anxious or nervous all the time