Psychosis is a term used to describe a person experiencing things differently from those around them.

Epidemiology:

• The lifetime prevalence of psychosis in the general population is about 3%
• The peak age of first-episode psychosis is around 15-30 years.

Aetiology:

Psychotic symptoms are usually associated with a condition:

• schizophrenia
  • not all patients with psychosis will develop schizophrenia. Most people make a good recovery following a first episode of psychosis.
• depression (psychotic depression, a subtype more common in elderly patients)
• bipolar disorder
• puerperal psychosis
• neurological conditions e.g. Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease
• prescribed drugs e.g. corticosteroids
• certain illicit drugs e.g. cannabis, phencyclidine

brief psychotic disorder: where symptoms last less than a month and are not associated with another condition

PC

Psychotic features include:

• hallucinations (e.g. auditory)
• delusions