What is psychosis exactly?are anti psychotic helping people?

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Hi,

I have a learning disorder since I am child, and have problem coping with daily life (can't hold on a job have problem living my homosexuality and yes I am a woman) which puts me in the category "adult whit childhood psychotis" even thaugth I was never insitutionalised, or never had a big crises where the police comes.

Docs insist so I take the meds, firts they said because it was going to help, then because I was nervous when they made me stop one day to another the anti anxiety klonopin, and now that I am better than when I stopped Klonopin they say need to take meds for trying to improve my "childhood psychosis"

What is psychosis anyway ?

It seems like category that fits all social outsiders, from the guy that hears voices, to the one whit paranoia, the woman with mood disorder, the very shy guy half depress , half laisy and the people with learning disorder (including stragely enough a lot of autistic people who do not speak often put in psychiatric institution for life once there parents are dead) and even hard core very left wing activist ( one of the first cases of the unvoluntary outpatient treament in France was a anarquist who fougth with the police whitout no other reason than political view).

How do the docs decide what is psychosis ?

I stopped my antipsychotics six months ago, (by reducing it little by little) not feeling better but not feeling worse alost.

After how much time without anti psychotic do you know if it was agod idea or know to stop them ?
I go no better except for the relieve not to have to worry about dangerous side effects: I had two serous side effects in two years and had three friends dying under 35, because of physical condition that mostly affect very old people (brain cancer, hearth stopping and Brain stroke), alla of the 3 where on anti psychotic, there is also a woman I knew a bit that died around 48 of hearth problems, nobody I know that does not take anti psychotic as dying execpt my two grandmothers aged over 75.

Why do they insist to give anti psychotic, is it actually helpping some people, or are they just paid by big pharma and the goverment to reduce the cost of welfare and repression for social outsiders ? (repression is what happens when they reduce the welfare and social outsiders go crazy and start demonstration and burning police cars to get food, because there is less and less jobs).

What is psychosis exactly?are anti psychotic helping people?

Psychosis can come in different ways. One of them can be schizophrenia. That is usually the most severe form of psychosis. Hearing voices and seeing visions are one of the major symptoms of psychosis. Also are delusions which is believing things that are not real. Something like someone out to kill you or something even more bizarre such as the Sun is made out of an orange. Seriously it can get that bizarre or worse. Another symptom is something known as disorganized speech. I am sorry for saying "something" over and over again. It means that you say sentences or things that make no sense to outsiders. Also catatonia which is freezing in one position for long periods of time. That is what the definition of psychosis is technically. As for anti psychotics I hate them because it made me so fat and ugly. Man am I massive! Bigger than a planet because I USED to be thin and beautiful. Now if I was interested in dating no guy (I am female) would be interested because honestly the first thing they notice is the looks. I know that shouldn't be true but why would someone walk over to someone so massively overweight as myself. I used to be the perfect weight. Now I am so massive I would break scales because of the anti psychotics and other pills I take. Anti psychotics can help people with psychosis but the side effects can be dangerous. Many people die early because of them. I wish I don't take them because then I would lose weight and have more energy to do things. I think the reason why I have no energy is because of my massive weight. My hair itches as well. It feels like crawling and slithering snakes and bugs. Sometimes it goes into my eyes! Actually I have been diagnosed as schizoaffective disorder bipolar type. Some people the anti psychotics are desperately needed to save their lives. My psychosis is mild compared to others since I only hear and see things a few times a day if that. I am terrified of dying early from the pills. I wish they have pills that don't cause such severe side effects including deadly ones. I have had side effects of nearly all pills I have been on. The doctors decide based on symptoms and presentation. Also they observe your behavior. The doctors also take your medical history. With schizophrenia some form of symptoms must be going on for at least 6 months with active psychosis for at least a month. The reason why people have psychosis in the first place is too much Dopamine in the brain. The anti psychotics reduce it. Therefore it reduces the symptoms. With me it helps like I said but I still get symptoms anyways but not as severe but side effects. One time I did stop all my pills with the doctor's permission and I lost 50 pounds within a couple of months but I started developing bizarre symptoms out of the blue. Weird ones that I suddenly couldn't read very well, time was distorted, I felt drunk without alcohol, and of course I had the psychotic symptoms come back. OK that is my story I guess.

the pills are sedatives, I don't think they help because they don't help alter your perception. It's funny really, I think the level anti psychotics work on is being able to say to yourself 'I'm too tired to think about what I think about when I'm psychotic, so I won't...' - which doesn't work if you actually have Asperger's - at least not for me - my thoughts repeat themselves, and it's often voluntary. The difference is I'd be more heavy/slow on the drug. 'Remission' would actually mean to me I show less - to the point of partial mutism, even.

I dislike the meds and I don't so much believe in the definition of psychotic illnesses - but I do laugh at psychosis sometimes as a coping mechanism.

Seeing, hearing, smelling, or feeling things that aren't there; paranoia; irrational, unrealistic thinking that seems real and true; a disorder affecting the organization of your thought patterns; anger for totally irrational reasons; those are common psychotic symptoms. Not everyone experiencing those symptoms realizes they are having them. Antipsychotics work by regulating the dopamine level, and sometimes that affects other neurotransmitters as well. Some work better than others for different people, and sometimes none of them work properly even if they really are experiencing psychotic symptoms or radical mood swings.

Are you using some sort of government healthcare service? Where are you at?

Good evenin' Ms. Olga, you've asked a lot of questions, and I'd like to take a moment to answer them as accurately as possible for you. If you'd like, you can scroll down to the bottom of this post and I'll answer your question more directly, and perhaps provide a link or two you can follow to help.



Learning disorders, problems coping, and homosexuality are not in-and-of-themselves "psychoses." In the United States, we don't have a proper diagnosis for "childhood psychosis", though we have a couple of "psychotic disorders" that we have allotted for children, or those we believe are still in early neurological development (up to 25).

Some people with psychotic disorders never end up being institutionalized, and even less end up having the police/law enforcement called on them. Some even live "crisis free" for long periods of time. It all depends on the person, their available supports, and the community.



I don't quite follow what you're saying above. Let me assume you're saying the doctor "strongly urged" you to take your medication. He or she might have even coerced you. It happens, sadly. In the United States, it's not legal without a specific filing (Reese). You always have the option of refusing medication, for any condition, whether it's psychotic, cardiac, or menstrual.

Klonopin is a long-acting anti-anxiety medication often given to patients experiencing high levels of persistent anxiety. Doctors have been known to prescribe it as a type of "chemical restraint" for those living with certain psychotic disorders; particularly those of atypical antipsychotic medication since the combined affect is multiplicative. This accounts for a lot of the sedation you see in people with severe psychotic disorders such as Schizophrenia. It's an unfortunate course of action, and is often frowned upon, especially by outpatient physicians.



"Psychosis" is a generic term to identify one or more signs or symptoms identified as outside the realm of reality. People will often mention it like, "He's had a psychotic break." Or, "He's had a break with reality." Both typically mean the same thing, and both are equally as unhelpful. It's unhelpful the same way as if a medical doctor wrote on your chart, while you were in the hospital, "Sick."

A "psychosis", or "break" can present it self in different ways. It can be something like believing something that's not true, such as believing your Wonder Woman, believing your Jesus, believing you have rats living in your breasts, believing Aliens visit your house every night in a blue Hummer with florescent pink and purple elephants dancing on top! A psychosis can present it self as audio, visual, or tactile hallucinations (hallucinations can affect all senses, really, but these three are the most common). Psychosis, can, too, though it's rare, present itself as catatonia, tics, palsy, mutism, etc.

None of this matters, however, if it doesn't: 1. cause a disturbance, 2. impact your daily life functioning, 3. cause distress.

Otherwise, there's no "sis" in your "psycho", and you're just left with ... well, being psycho.



You're mostly correct, though there are some fallacies here. Being isolative, lazy, depressed, shy, having a learning disorder, being autistic, having other neurological disorders, being blind, deaf, mute, and even being a fanatic does not, alone, qualify you for "psychosis" - though I'm fairly certain I've met my fair share of psycho-fanatics!



Deciding if someone is living with a psychosis or not can be difficult, but it can be easy, too. "Delusions" tend to be the hardest. So you have a patient that comes in claiming to be a secret government agent... is he delusional? Who knows! A patient says, "Someone is coming into my house EVERY NIGHT and taking my photo!" Delusional? Maybe... but maybe it's happening. Patient comes in talking to the invisible demon on his shoulder, and starts telling you the demon can read your mind - only not right now because he's miffed that he didn't get tea with apple jam this morning. Visual/Audio Hallucinations? I'm going to side with "Yes, Psychosis." At least... until I meet a soothsaying demon for myself.

Deciding what is a psychosis can be difficult. Regardless if the skill level needed, identifying a psychosis alone is only very little of the doctor's/clinician's job.



I'm glad to hear you reduced your medication little by little. Stopping all at once can be dangerous! Smart woman



There are two questions here, really. The first one is hard. Each antipsychotic works a little differently, and depending on how it's administered and how it's metabolized... some antipsychotics can take months to reach an effective "steady state." Others can reach full effectiveness within 2-4 weeks. Depending on the person, you can start feeling the medication in a few hours, depending on the medication, or a few days.

Secondly, what you're describing is an exposure bias. All medications have side effects. All medications have dangerous side effects. We're trained to find, and hold on to the bad experiences far more than the good experiences. It sounds like that's what you might be describing. I've met thousands of patients being treated with a range of psychotropic medications, and a great many of them have had absolutely no apparent long-term negative affects. Many of those patients, however, have been on low-dose medication, that haven't been "cocktailed." (Don't get me started on cocktailing meds!).

The higher your medication dose, the more medications you consume, and the less you take care of yourself, the greater your chances are of developing complications. But isn't that true of, for instance, food? The higher the amount of calories you consume, the MORE food you consume, and the less you take care of yourself... And I've seen far, FAR more people die of complications to weight than I have of complications to psych-meds!

At least in the US.



I work for the government. In California, and in the US Military, pharmaceutical reps Are Not Allowed In The Clinics. We don't keep note pads, pens, fancy magnets, or anything else with a drug name on it. It's not allowed. Anti-psychotic medications are prescribed because they help. They help a LOT of very ill people. They don't help everyone. New research indicates, too, that therapy helps people living with psychosis, too.

Also, keep this in mind: If we wanted to reduce people on welfare and "social outsiders" - we'd stop giving the medication. The medication keeps many of the people (at least the people I treat) from killing other people. I want you off welfare? I'll just stop supplying the meds. Not only will YOU be off welfare, but so will everyone in your apartment complex! You see... some psychotic disorders can be ...dangerous when left untreated.



Psychosis is a break with reality; at least, the reality in which the majority of the population lives. Antipsychotic medications are helping a great many people; that doesn't mean it is/was helping you.

As always, open honest communication with your doctor is the only way to safely move forward in your recovery. The relationship should be collaborative. If you don't have that type of relationship with your doctor, find another one, or find your local Patient's Rights Advocate.

I hope this helps.

Good luck to you.

Sorry to hear about your losses. Antipsychotics have more dangerous side effects than big pharma would have you believe, although often times there are other contributing factors other than the meds (substance abuse, lack of diet, lack of exercise, smoking, etc.)

I wish doctors would be more up front about the side effects. Sometimes I feel they are afraid to tell about the side effects out of fear that the patient won't take them, but I know I would have regardless of the side effects, even if it means cutting off a year of two of my life. Sometimes psychosis gets so bad that the only way out is meds. I may very well be dead if I didn't take them. People look at me like I'm crazy when I say that but they don't understand.

Psychosis is definitely real and, contrary to popular belief, there are many people with schizophrenia who take meds voluntarily because it makes them feel better.

You say you stopped 6 months ago and feel the same. I think that is enough time for you to make a judgment call. Nobody can force you to take meds, unless you are a danger to yourself or others. Just take care of yourself, and if you notice any return of symptoms, see a doctor.

Well said, Heavenly.

Bravo

In the simplest terms, psychosis is defined by the presence of delusions and/or hallucinations. Different types of delusions are seen in different individuals and different disorders. In psychotic mood disorders, delusions are often what is called "mood congruent," meaning that the delusion matches the abnormal mood. For example, grandiose delusions in euphoric mania are classified as mood congruent. Sometimes, though, they will be mood incongruent and either not be related to the mood or be the opposite of the mood state. Delusions in schizophrenia specifically usually have themes of paranoia, reference (thinking symbols have a hidden meaning), and/or thought control/broadcasting. WIth hallucinations, they also differ from individual to individual, and like Bloom said, they can occur in any of the five senses. However, auditory hallucinations tend to be the most common and gustatory the rarest.

Did anyone ever get a destruction of social inhibitions on antipsychotics?

^ Not sure I can report of anything like that, primarily because I had a lack of social inhibitions (hugging, etc.) before taking the drug.

Bun: you're like on MDMA constantly? (The kind of destruction I'm thinking of didn't result in a desire to connect to other people, but an apathy towards anything said.)

It's something I've pondered, post-hospitalisation post-Risperidon... To be accurate, I asked myself if I used to be manic all the time, because the behaviour was something innate in me, though I've stopped hallucinating when I was about 9 y/o (the people who diagnosed me knew nothing about my childhood psychosis, they were looking only at my executive dysfunction).

About apathy towards anything said - I think it's possible, but I wasn't very aware about my behaviour on Risperidon. I had at least one meltdown, though.

Yes, it really comes down to the lesser of 2 evils sometimes. Untreated mental illness or side-effects form meds. The question is which sucks less?

I also read somewhere that the big difference is having trouble differentiating between internal and external stimuli. I don't have personal experience with pyschosis, so I really can't comment more.

Though like the OP said, in some places there are "problem patients" who are not psychotic who get told they're Schizophrenic, they react to external stimuli - like someone else's behaviour, and the psychiatrists try to convince them they're reacting to internal stimuli, they're lumping people with no psychotic features with those who do have them, so really in that situation they're the ones who can't tell the two apart. Plus devaluing your patient's experience is obviously going to have an affect on how they distinguish reality from non-reality - by learning not to trust themselves, and becoming dependent on caregivers or the mental health system.

My psychosis even when I get it its very mild compared to others who suffer from it. I am lucky to be able to say that. If it was more severe when I have a breakdown (actually I am in mild psychosis according to others right now and have been since March of this year along with depression) I would be wanting to take the pills and not care as much about the side effects. If I heard voices more than a few times a day then I would be glad to take my poison. With me the side effects are worse than the disorder itself. Yes, I do act on the so called delusions by hurting myself but not severely. I am still gaining weight and I bet within a year I would be up to 300 pounds. To put in perspective, before I started on these poisons, I was 130 pounds. I barely eat. So, its not the food. I had to get a lot of new clothes recently because I went up a size due to the poisons. And since my psychosis is so mild, the side effects are very dangerous to me. Things like heart disease and diabetes are most likely in my future. Then death.