How common is psychosis? Isn’t it more common than stated? Doesn’t everyone hear voices sometimes? Doesn’t everyone have delusions? What makes us psychotic and normal people not?
1 Like
I don’t hear voices
80% of people go through life without MI. About 1% of the remaining 20% have sz. Most people do not suffer from psychosis. Everyone has delusions, but not the medical kind which are caused by disordered brain chemistry. Those of us with sz have disordered brain chemistry.
1 Like
No, everyone does not hear voices sometimes. There are some people that hear voices that are not considered psychotic though. No, everyone doesn’t have delusions. As to what makes us psychotic and other people not…well you just mentioned the two biggest factors right in your post: Hallucinations and Delusions. 
1 Like
not very common.
they can smoke pot, and I can’t.
Everyone has delusions? How do you tell if it’s medical or not?
Everyone has delusions, such as thinking they have a good chance of winning the lottery, or that their political views are the correct ones, that god exists, vaccines are more dangerous than they actually are, someone will not like them if they introduce themselves, etc. Is there a difference between a medical delusion and a non medical one? This has changed over time, and the practical difference is that a doctor decides what a medical delusion is. Classifying it otherwise usually has something to do with other signs and symptoms that the doctor notices, if the delusion is typical of someone with psychosis, is the delusion common to healthy people etc.
1 Like
I can sort of agree with you to a certain extent. But there is a huge difference between someone who believes that they could win the lottery and someone who believes that the alien mothership will arrive on October 13, 2021 to begin repopulating the earth. It doesn’t really take a rocket scientist to tell the difference between someone who is a little deluded and someone who is having a psychotic delusion generally. I have heard terminology before that used the word “bizarre” to describe psychotic delusions. I think that is generally a good term. “that God exists” would not be considered a delusion because it is within cultural norms to believe so. I have heard this as one of exclusionary criteria for a psychotic delusion.
P.S. We only have 10 days before the invasion begins 
!
3 Likes
Some people believe they can win the lottery and spend all of their money on it and become homeless and hungry. If they encounter a doctor, the doctor might decide they have a delusion and impulse control problem or something and give them medication etc. There’s probably dozens of factors to consider:
are they able to take care of themselves financially
hygiene
behavior
prensentation of self
medical history
alcohol drug use
contact with police
inappropriate laughter
aggressive
phobic
high energy
low energy
trouble at work and school
etc.
2 Likes
Someone who is certain that they will win the lottery to the point of spending all their money on it probably IS delusional.
Your second example is a little more extreme than your first. Hoping that you will win the lottery and dreaming of a big payout and spending a few dollars on it here and there probably is not delusional, it’s just dreaming and hoping.
those aren’t delusions.
1515
Then that is an example of a delusion I have.
something you conjure out of nowhere, convinced it’s typically something to do with you,
and then in kindness, someone has to tell you you’re not right with this thought.
By definition a delusion is a false belief. I think one determining factor on whether or not it is medical and needs to be treated would be if it limits your ability to live your life and function in society.
People may have a false belief simply because they are uneducated which wouldn’t be a medical condition. If you believe YOU WILL win the lottery that wouldn’t require medical treatment unless you developed some kind of addiction and spent all your money on lottery tickets. When I was in the psych ward there was a guy there being sent to a special treatment facility for his gambling addiction.
If you have a delusion that occupies your mind all the time and interferes with your life that may require medical attention, like my delusion was that I thought I was being mind controlled by people, and I was worried more people would mind control me and it made me anxious about going out.
3 Likes
From the DSM-5:
"
Delusions
Delusions are fixed beliefs that are not amenable to change in light of conflicting evidence.
Their content may include a variety of themes (e.g., persecutory, referential, somatic, religious, grandiose). Persecutory delusions (i.e., belief that one is going to be harmed, harassed,
and so forth by an individual, organization, or other group) are most common. Referential
delusions (i.e., belief that certain gestures, comments, environmental cues, and so forth are
directed at oneself) are also common. Grandiose delusions (i.e., when an individual believes
that he or she has exceptional abilities, wealth, or fame) and erotomanic delusions (i.e., when
an individual believes falsely that another person is in love with him or her) are also seen.
Nihilistic delusions involve the conviction that a major catastrophe will occur, and somatic
delusions focus on preoccupations regarding health and organ function.
Delusions are deemed bizarre if they are clearly implausible and not understandable to
same-culture peers and do not derive from ordinary life experiences. An example of a bizarre delusion is the belief that an outside force has removed his or her internal organs and
replaced them with someone else’s organs without leaving any wounds or scars. An example of a nonbizarre delusion is the belief that one is under surveillance by the police, despite a lack of convincing evidence. Delusions that express a loss of control over mind or
body are generally considered to be bizarre; these include the belief that one’s thoughts
have been “removed” by some outside force (thought withdrawal), that alien thoughts have
been put into one’s mind (thought insertion), or that one’s body or actions are being acted on
or manipulated by some outside force (delusions of control). The distinction between a delusion and a strongly held idea is sometimes difficult to make and depends in part on the
degree of conviction with which the belief is held despite clear or reasonable contradictory
evidence regarding its veracity"
2 Likes
I’ve been wrong before all hyped up chasing something that wasn’t true.
not too often, but it’s happened.
İn my case environment factor played huge role on my sz.i grew up in very bad conditions
I’m pretty sure that psychosis is the one thing that ties us all together despite where we lie on the spectrum. I mean either someone is psychotic now or has been at some point in their life, that’s what brought them here.
4 Likes
Non psychotic patients rarely experience hallucinations unless they are doing drugs.
I know that conspiracy theorists and brainwashed people experience delusional states but that’s a bit different than the psychosis experienced by schizophrenics and other severely mentally I’ll patients.
But they sometimes overlap.
This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.