Psychosis

Question 1

What does psychosis mean?

Answer 1

Any disorder that causes the individual to lose contact with reality (eg. schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, DID etc.)

Question 2

What are some symptoms of schizophrenia?

Answer 2

Positive and negative:

• pervasive (unwelcomed) thought disturbance
• difficulty ignoring irrelevant stimuli
• cognitive deficits (eg. planning, language skills, learning and memory etc.)
• withdrawal from personal contact
• hallucinations and delusions
• emotional disorder (lack of/inappropriate emotions)
• behavioural disruption (catatonia or disorganised)

Question 3

What are some potential causes of schizophrenia?

Answer 3

• genetics (eg. increased risk if identical twin/both parents have it)
• physiology (dopamine hypothesis - overactive dopaminergic signal transduction, serotonin hypothesis - dysregulation etc.)
• anatomy (less grey matter especially in frontal and temporal lobes)
• psychosocial (eg. social class, minority position, urban/family environment etc.)

Question 4

Describe some treatment options of schizophrenia

Answer 4

• drug therapies (antipsychotics (classic/atypical))
• psychological interventions (family intervention/CBT/social-skills training)
• care from psychosis services or specialist community based-team
• monitor overall health regularly as well and side effects

Question 5

Describe the diathesis model of schizophrenia

Answer 5

Proposes that stress, through its effects on cortisol production, acts upon a preexisting vulnerability to trigger and/or worsen the symptoms of schizophrenia.