The 8 types of psychotic disorders (causes and symptoms)

When we hear the term ‘mental illness’ or ‘mental disorder’, the concepts of serious illness always come to mind. as is the case with schizophrenia, it is an association that inexorably leads us to always think about the darker side of this reality.

Although this is not always the case, since mental disorders, with early detection and according to the level of severity That it is suffered, can be controlled and the person, therefore, can live a quiet life and as functional as possible.

However, that dark part of the reality of mental disorders is still very latent and in In this case we will focus on what are psychotic disorders or psychoses as they are also known. So if you want to know more about these psychological effects, do not miss the following article where We will talk about everything related to the types of psychotic disorders that exist, causes and symptoms that are manifested in each one.

What are psychotic disorders?

They are defined as serious psychopathologies in which the person has a total disconnection with reality

through the delusions and the hallucinations, which cause clinically significant alterations in the perception of the person and their ability to interpret reality.

In the case of delusions, they consist of unrealistic false beliefs about a person, object, fact or object that exists in the world, whose characteristics or existence are completely altered. While hallucinations are those distorted perceptions generated by one's own mind, so they do not exist in reality, they can have a visual, auditory, olfactory or kinesthetic.

Types of psychotic disorders

These types of disorders are generally characterized by negative symptoms (hallucinations and delusions) and the You can find classified according to DSM 5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) of the following way.

1. Delusional disorder

It is one of the most common psychotic disorders, it is known as paranoia and therefore, the patient suffers from delusional ideas and thoughts that are distorted and unreal to his environment, but is still completely convinced of its veracity, even if they are shown evidence that it refute. Resulting in a complete maladjustment of the person in the society where he operates, simultaneously affecting interpersonal interactions and their performance in any area of ​​their lifetime.

These beliefs tend to be triggered by an external stimulus that is processed and perceived from altered way, in this case, is the obsessive thought that resides in the mind guiding your life according to it. They even make decisions and present behaviors or behaviors depending on their ideas.

There are also different types of delusional disorders, depending on the distorted belief that the person has. Like: persecutory, greatness, somatic, jealousy, erotomaniac. The most common is that they feel that they are being persecuted, used, exploited, that they are conspiring against them or that everyone is speaking behind their backs.

2. Schizophrenia

Another of the most common psychotic disorders, but in this case the person suffers from both hallucinations and disturbing thoughts that lead to disconnection from reality in its totality, they can even become so aggressive that they commit acts of violence to calm their mind. In this sense, they can experience hallucinations of all kinds (visual, kinesthetic, auditory, etc.) of things who are not in their environment, reaching the point of even beginning to hallucinate with people who do not exist in absolute.

The symptoms of schizophrenia are of two types: positive and negative, according to which people can have different types of treatment to cope with their symptoms.

In this sense, we can describe positive symptoms as striking manifestations that are not common in the rest, such as hallucinations, delusions or disorganized thoughts, but which can be controlled with medications and therefore, the person may have a degree of adaptation functional. .

While negative symptoms represent significant brain damage, due to neuronal loss, but they go unnoticed because they are not manifest, among them we can highlight: apathy, lack of interest, impoverishment of emotional expression, apathy and withdrawal in relationships social. The most serious thing about these symptoms is that they cannot be treated with medication.

There are several types of schizophrenias, depending on their symptoms:

2.1. Paranoid

As the name implies, delusions predominate, but in addition there is a constant feeling of persecution and manipulation coupled with hallucinations.

2.2. Catatonic

In this the person can experience episodes of paralysis and immobilization, it is an alteration of mobility.

2.3. Hebephrenic

Also known as disorganized, disorganized thoughts, languages ​​and behaviors, as well as emotional imbalances, take precedence.

2.4. Undifferentiated

This classification occurs when different symptoms are manifested but, without there being one in particular that is more strongly present than the rest. So they do not fall into any subtype.

2.5. Residual

In this schizophrenia, the negative symptoms predominate and the positive symptoms do not occur (or present at a very low level).

This is a disorder where some symptoms typical of schizophrenia (hallucinations and delusions) but also show significant mood alterations, which are shown as mania or depression. In this sense, the person may experience fictitious beliefs and hallucinations, along with an emotional state unbalanced, which can be only with episodes of extreme sadness or in combination with states of exaltation abnormal.

4. Schizophreniform Disorder

This type of disorder is commonly confused with schizophrenia, since they present the same symptoms of criterion A of this (hallucinations, disorganized thoughts, catatonia, delusions, negative symptoms, etc.) but they can be distinguished with the time of duration, which is from one to six months, while schizophrenia can last longer weather.

5. Brief Psychotic Disorder

This is usually a natural response of the body to a traumatic event experienced by the person or if you are subjected to an overwhelming amount of stress, where the symptoms you experience are identical to the schizophrenia. It is distinguished from the same because these episodes last a few days and tend to disappear without any negative consequence for the person, in addition to not experiencing it again never more.

6. Shared psychotic disorder

Called in turn as 'Folie à deux', it is one of the most unusual psychotic disorders, as well as one of the most striking in psychopathology. It consists in that two people can share the same symptoms of hallucinations and delusions at the same time, usually occurs with people who are family members or share close ties and who have gone through some traumatic event or a isolation.

7. Substance-Induced Psychotic Disorder

As the name implies, they are hallucinations or delusions that are a consequence of the administration of substances to the body, either due to drug use, secondary reactions to medications or abuse of alcohol. These episodes usually last for about a few hours or days and disappear when the effect of the drug has worn off.

8. Psychotic Disorder Due to a Medical Condition

In this case, the psychotic episodes are caused because they are the result of some illness or disease. brain injury that affects the functioning of perception and interpretation of stimuli external. As is the case with brain tumors.

Causes

There is no one cause that completely causes psychotic disorders, They can have organic, hereditary causes, as a result of brain diseases and injuries or consequences of substance or drug abuse. Which cause a considerable alteration in the brain regions that are responsible for processing the perception of the environment, as well as the synaptic connections of neurotransmitters, generating distorted beliefs of what happens in reality, as well as the stimuli that come from the herself.

The causes can also be differentiated taking into account the diversity of the types of psychotic disorders, that is, if the prevailing delusions or hallucinations, if other disorders are combined or involved (such as the disorder schizoaffective).

Treatments

The most important thing to take into account in these cases is to identify the symptoms present in the person, in order to assess the level of severity and know which is the most indicated treatment for your case, in order to eliminate them completely or reduce your hurt. This in turn will define if the person can continue to function in their environment with the treatment or if It is necessary for him to go to a psychiatric institute so that he can have special and greater care surveillance.

The treatments that are usually recommended for these cases are the following:

• Psychiatric antipsychotic medications, which can enhance the effects of hallucinations and delusions.

• Psychological therapy, in which the person learns to control their changing moods, understand the origin of their false beliefs and recognize them, as well as identify any hallucination. So that you can have an adequate adaptation to the reality of your environment.