Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- Factsheets for young people
- Factsheets for parents, carers and anyone who works with young people
- 1 Good parenting
- 2 The restless and excitable child
- 3 Dealing with tantrums
- 4 Children who soil or wet themselves
- 5 Sleep problems in childhood and adolescence
- 6 Behavioural problems and conduct disorder
- 7 Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- 8 The child with general learning disability
- 9 Specific learning difficulties
- 10 Autism and Asperger syndrome
- 11 Depression in children
- 12 Worries and anxieties: helping children to cope
- 13 Divorce or separation of parents: the impact on children and adolescents
- 14 Death in the family: helping children to cope
- 15 The emotional cost of bullying
- 16 Traumatic stress in children
- 17 Domestic violence: its effects on children
- 18 Child abuse and neglect: the emotional effect
- 19 Drugs and alcohol: what parents need to know
- 20 Self-harm in young people
- 21 Psychosis
- 22 Schizophrenia
- 23 Bipolar disorder in children and adolescents
- 24 Obsessive–compulsive disorder in children and young people
- 25 Eating disorders in young people
- 26 Chronic physical illness: the effects on mental health
- 27 Medically unexplained physical symptoms
- 28 Chronic fatigue syndrome: helping your child get better
- 29 Parental mental illness: the problems for children
- 30 Who's who in CAMHS
21 - Psychosis
from Factsheets for parents, carers and anyone who works with young people
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 January 2018
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- Factsheets for young people
- Factsheets for parents, carers and anyone who works with young people
- 1 Good parenting
- 2 The restless and excitable child
- 3 Dealing with tantrums
- 4 Children who soil or wet themselves
- 5 Sleep problems in childhood and adolescence
- 6 Behavioural problems and conduct disorder
- 7 Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- 8 The child with general learning disability
- 9 Specific learning difficulties
- 10 Autism and Asperger syndrome
- 11 Depression in children
- 12 Worries and anxieties: helping children to cope
- 13 Divorce or separation of parents: the impact on children and adolescents
- 14 Death in the family: helping children to cope
- 15 The emotional cost of bullying
- 16 Traumatic stress in children
- 17 Domestic violence: its effects on children
- 18 Child abuse and neglect: the emotional effect
- 19 Drugs and alcohol: what parents need to know
- 20 Self-harm in young people
- 21 Psychosis
- 22 Schizophrenia
- 23 Bipolar disorder in children and adolescents
- 24 Obsessive–compulsive disorder in children and young people
- 25 Eating disorders in young people
- 26 Chronic physical illness: the effects on mental health
- 27 Medically unexplained physical symptoms
- 28 Chronic fatigue syndrome: helping your child get better
- 29 Parental mental illness: the problems for children
- 30 Who's who in CAMHS
Summary
How common is it?
‘Psychosis’ can affect people of all ages, but becomes increasingly common as people reach young adulthood.
What causes psychosis?
When a person has a psychotic episode, it can be a signal of an underlying illness. You can have a ‘psychotic breakdown’ after a stressful event such as losing a close friend or relative. It can also be the result of a physical illness like a severe infection, the use of illegal drugs like cannabis, or a severe mental illness like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Sometimes it is difficult to know what caused the illness.
What are the symptoms of psychosis?
When a person has psychosis, they may have unusual thoughts and experiences. These may appear suddenly, or develop gradually over time. People may have one or more of the symptoms.
• Unusual beliefs called delusions. These unshakeable beliefs are obviously untrue to others, but may not be so to the young person themselves. For example, when a young person is ill, they may think that there is a plot to harm them, or that they are being spied on by the TV, or being taken over by aliens. Sometimes they may feel they are a special person or have special powers.
• Thought disorder is when they are not able to think straight. It may be difficult to understand what they are saying; their ideas may seem jumbled, but it is more than being muddled or confused.
• Unusual experiences called hallucinations are when they can see, hear, smell or feel something that isn't really there. The most common hallucination people experience is hearing voices. In psychosis, hallucinations are totally real to the person having them. This can be very frightening and can make them believe that they are being watched or picked on.
Having these strange thoughts and experiences can affect a young person at school, at home or when with friends. They may find it difficult to concentrate and enjoy what they normally did. It can even affect their sleep, appetite and physical health.
How to get help
The earlier it is recognised that a young person is ill, the better the chances of getting effective treatment. This speeds recovery and reduces long-term harm. Some people can make a complete recovery.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Mental Health and Growing UpFactsheets for Parents, Teachers and Young People, pp. 109 - 110Publisher: Royal College of PsychiatristsPrint publication year: 2013