Syndromes characterized by a loss of reality testing, including schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, schizoaffective disorder, delusional disorder, brief psychotic disorder, and shared psychotic disorder.
Mental disorders characterised by severe impairment in reality testing, as evidenced by delusions, hallucinations, and disorganised or agitated behaviour without insight, eg, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, postnatal psychosis.
A group of severe psychiatric disorders characterized by prominent psychotic symptoms, including loss of reality testing, hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech or behavior, and others. Schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, schizophreniform disorder, and delusional disorder are principal psychotic disorders in the DSM-IV.
Youth who are psychotic have an impaired sense of reality. They may have hallucinations: hearing or seeing things that are not really there. They may have delusions: holding on to irrational beliefs even though there is much evidence that the belief is not true. These youth may behave in bizarre ways and often have a difficult time relating to others. Psychosis can result from a variety of causes including schizophrenia, severe mood disorders, or a medical condition. Substance use can also result in psychotic symptoms. Some youth who use LSD report visual hallucinations even after discontinued drug use, and youth who use large amounts of drugs, particularly methamphetamines, can become extremely paranoid and develop delusions that people are after them.
Psychoctic Disorders is a generic psychiatric term for mental states in which the components of rational thought and perception are severely impaired. Persons experiencing a psychosis may experience hallucinations, paranoid delusions, demonstrate personality changes and exhibit disorganized thinking. This is often accompanied by lack of insight into the unusual or bizarre nature of such behavior, difficulties with social interaction and impairments in carrying out the activities of daily living. A psychotic episode is often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality".
An extreme disorder marked by distorted perceptions of reality and n many cases accompanied by hallucinations and delusions.
