What are the symptoms of psychosis?

Psychotic symptoms are a group of abnormal manifestations affecting perception, thinking, emotion, and behavior, commonly including hallucinations, delusions, disorders of thought form, emotional blunting, and disorganized behavior. A detailed analysis is as follows:

1. Hallucinations: Patients perceive things that do not exist objectively. Common types include auditory, visual, and tactile hallucinations. For example, hearing voices when no one is speaking, seeing images that are not present, or experiencing unusual bodily sensations. These perceptual experiences feel real to the patient and can significantly affect their judgment and behavior.

2. Delusions: Patients hold fixed, false beliefs that are inconsistent with reality and are resistant to correction. Common types include paranoid delusions, referential delusions, and grandiose delusions. For instance, firmly believing they are being followed or persecuted, thinking that unrelated events around them have special personal significance, or exaggerating their own abilities or identity. Even in the face of contradictory evidence, they remain unable to change their beliefs.

3. Disorders of thought form: Patients exhibit abnormalities in the coherence and logic of thinking, manifesting as disorganized speech, frequent topic shifts, and unclear expression. For example, speaking in fragmented, illogical sentences, or repetitively uttering meaningless words or phrases. Others often find it difficult to understand their intended meaning, making normal communication impossible.

4. Emotional blunting: Patients show diminished responsiveness to external events and their own emotions,表现为 reduced emotional expression and lack of inner emotional experience. For example, showing indifference to care from family and friends, losing interest in previously enjoyable activities, displaying flat facial expressions, and being unable to experience normal emotions such as joy or sadness.

5. Disorganized behavior: Patients display aimless, bizarre, or impulsive behaviors. Common manifestations include wearing inappropriate clothing, talking to oneself, wandering without reason, or engaging in aggressive acts toward others or self-harming behaviors. These behaviors are disconnected from the surrounding context and cannot be explained by normal reasoning, potentially posing safety risks to themselves or others.

If you or someone else exhibits the above psychotic symptoms for a prolonged period and these symptoms interfere with daily functioning, it is important to seek timely evaluation at a professional medical facility. Once a diagnosis is established, standardized treatment should be initiated promptly.