Psychotic Symptoms Of Bipolar Disorder And Depression
Psychosis occurs when the person experiences hallucinations or delusions. The psychotic symptoms are sensory or cognitive misperceptions that are not based in reality.
Most people think of hallucinations as being visual, but hallucinations can be auditory, olfactory, or tactile. A person may hear, smell, or feel things that are not present in the environment.
Delusions are thoughts that are not realistic. A person may have the delusion that their identity or purpose is supernatural. Paranoid delusions can be of being watched or monitored by the government or others.
The psychiatric illness that is most often associated with psychosis is schizophrenia. Psychotic symptoms can also occur with bipolar disorder and depression.
The hallucinations and delusion of schizophrenia may be of paranoia or seem random. Paranoid schizophrenia may cause delusions of being watched or having their thoughts read by outside forces.
Psychotic features of bipolar disorder are not as random as those that can be caused by schizophrenia. The psychotic symptoms of bipolar disorder are related to severe depression or mania.
An example of a hallucination due to a depressive episode is hearing voices telling the person to commit suicide. Depression can cause delusions that the earth is a hellish place from which they must save their loved ones by killing them.
The psychotic symptoms of bipolar disorder from mania can be delusions of grandiosity. The person may believe they are immortal, have superpowers, or are chosen by God or somehow more special than humans.
Bipolar disorder and depression do not commonly cause psychotic symptoms. Most people living with these psychiatric conditions will never experience psychotic episodes.
Treatment for psychosis typically includes anti-psychotic medication such as Haldol. If the person is resistant to taking the medication regularly, Haldol injections may be prescribed. Often, a Haldol injection is only needed on a monthly basis.
The psychotic symptoms of bipolar disorder typically subside once the bipolar disorder or depression is stabilized. It may be hard for people to understand that the hallucinations and delusions are realistic to the person at the time they are experienced. If the person is having periods of psychosis and periods without psychosis, the person may develop anxiety and be fearful and frustrated about the psychotic symptoms.