Psychosis: Understanding the Break From Reality

And what I'm gonna revisit, there-- I, it's been a long time since I, I, I focused on this, is psychosis.

Um, I think it's really one of the most misunderstood, feared, uh, certainly stigmatized topics in mental health, along with like the personality disorders.

And I think when a lot of people hear the word psychosis, they automat- automatically think, "Oh, it, it's schizophrenia." Uh, and then essentially, well, they're violent, and someone is completely detached from reality.

And, and Hollywood, movies, television, I think they've done an incredible amount of damage in shaping public perception, because the, the truth is, is, in my opinion, far more nuanced, far more human, um, and actually far more hopeful than, than most people realize, because psychosis is not a character flaw.

It's not, it's not weakness.

It's not moral failing.

Uh, it's some-- It's not something someone chooses.

Psychosis is essentially, um, a symptom cluster, um, that reflects disruption in how the brain processes information and reality.

And, uh, one of the heartbreaking things that I see in psychiatric practice is how frightened families become when psychosis emerges, emerges, especially in early to late adolescence.

And, um, pa- parents have often told me they feel that they've, they've suddenly lost their child or that they're losing, losing their child.

Um, you know, spouses tell me that they no longer recognize the person that they loved for years.

And patients, they, they're often terrified and confused and, and overwhelmed.

And an important point that I want to make is that psychosis doesn't usually appear overnight.

Uh, there are warning signs, subtle changes, and opportunities for intervention, uh, before symptoms become severe.

So, you know, I think it's important, you know, to really talk about a fundamental distinction that psychosis is not a diagnosis.

It's a symptom.