Like many other mental health disorders, psychosis is subject to lots of misconceptions. Understanding what psychosis truly is – and what it is not – is crucial for people experiencing issues.
Psychosis causes a person to break from reality. Some people experience delusions, which are strongly held, yet inaccurate beliefs. Hallucinations can also accompany psychosis, and these hallucinations can make a person believe they are seeing, hearing, or even smelling something that is not really there.
Psychosis can be challenging to manage, and treatment is needed to prevent future issues from occurring. However, the following myths do not apply to psychosis and the people who experience it.
Psychopathy is associated with anti-social personality disorder, which causes people to lack empathy for others and pursue immoral acts to achieve their desires. Psychosis is a temporary state that causes a person to break from reality. Psychosis does not typically occur with anti-social personality disorder. It can accompany schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other mental health conditions, as well as medical conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.
Psychosis does not make a person inherently dangerous. In fact, people experiencing psychosis pose the greatest risk to themselves, as their judgement and reasoning ability may be impacted. Psychosis does not make a person more aggressive, and it cannot bring about a personality change that causes a person to be violent or threatening.
In some cases, a person may have a single episode of psychosis in their lifetime. In others, medication and therapy can help manage a person’s mental health and reduce the chance of psychosis from recurring. In both instances, it is fully possible to lead a happy and healthy life after experiencing psychosis with the right treatment and support.