Psychosis

Psychosis refers to a range of mental health symptoms that can change how a person experiences and makes sense of reality. This may include hearing or seeing things others don’t or having beliefs that feel very real at the time.

When an individual is experiencing psychosis they may not be able to tell the difference between what is real and what isn’t. This is because they could be experiencing hallucinations – seeing something that isn’t real or hearing voices that aren’t there.

Psychosis can result from mental illnesses or the use or misuse of drugs.

Psychosis occurs on spectrum. The episodes of psychosis may last for an hour, a few hours or even a few months.

Psychosis symptoms

Psychosis affects each person differently, and the symptoms they experience vary depending on their individual circumstances and life experiences.

These symptoms can include:

• Hallucinations: when you see, hear, or feel something that doesn’t exist. Auditory hallucinations (hearing voices) are the most common.
• Delusions: your beliefs or ideas about the world are not shared by others and may be very unusual and difficult to change. Delusions can take the form of variety of paranoia, such as feeling constantly watched or singled out, believing you have special powers or you are guilty of a crime you haven’t committed.
• Disordered thinking: jumbled and disrupted thoughts that make it difficult for others to understand what you are saying when expressed as speech.
• Disordered behaviour: becoming extremely agitated and upset or displaying inappropriate social behaviour or emotional responses.

Causes of psychosis

There are many causes of psychosis. Some medical conditions have been known to cause psychosis such as head injuries, brain tumours and epilepsy. Psychosis can also be caused by a range of mental health conditions.

You may be more likely to experience episodes of psychosis if you are affected by:

• Schizophrenia: is a mental health condition that is characterised by disruption in thoughts, emotions and behaviour that cause significant stress and affect the ability to function. Symptoms of schizophrenia may include psychosis, disordered thinking and disordered behavour.
• Bipolar disorder: a chronic mental health condition which causes extreme mood changes and periods of emotional highs (mania) and low (depression).
• Drug induced psychosis: some drugs such as cannabis, methamphetamines and other stimulants can trigger psychosis.
• Severe depression or major depressive disorder: persistent and overwhelming sadness that affects a person’s ability to function with frequent thoughts of suicide or suicidal attempts.

Treatment for psychosis

Our treatments focus on treating the mental health condition associated with the psychosis.

Our programs use a combination of evidence-based treatments and supports. These may include medical treatments, such as medications tailored to your individual symptoms and needs, and in some cases other treatments such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), where this is clinically appropriate and discussed with you.

Psychological therapies (such as cognitive behavioural therapy) are also an important part of care, helping you to better understand your experiences and develop coping strategies.

Our programs may use a combination of therapies and activities. Early intervention leads to better long-term outcomes and we provide treatment when you are in the early phases of psychosis, either in hospital or through an outpatient program.

Sessions are run by a psychologist or mental health specialist, using therapies.

We focus on providing tailored care, taking into account your psychological, physical, spiritual and emotional needs.

In the community

Community mental wellbeing services across New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia.

Mental health enquiries

It’s important to get the right treatment for your needs.

If you’re experiencing a crisis or emergency, please call Triple Zero (000) for emergency services or visit our emergency assistance page to find more crisis services.

If you’re feeling that something isn’t right but it’s not an emergency, you can take the first step by sending us an enquiry.