Psychosis

If you or a loved one is experiencing hallucinations, delusions, or exhibiting disordered thinking or speech, you or they might be struggling with psychosis. At Spectrum Behavioral Health, with offices in New Lenox and Hinsdale, Illinois, highly skilled psychiatric care professionals offer excellent psychosis care to patients 4 and older. You can benefit from supportive psychotherapy, medication, or coordinated specialty care. To book an in-person or telehealth consultation, call the friendly staff today or reach out online.

What is psychosis?

Psychosis, also called a psychotic experience or psychotic episode, is when you lose some contact with reality.

You might see or hear things that other people don’t (hallucinations) and believe things that aren’t true (delusions). You might also experience disordered thinking and speech.

What causes psychosis?

Psychosis is a symptom of a mental health condition, not a condition itself. 

Your provider might be able to determine that the cause of your psychosis is a mental health condition like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or severe depression.

Other psychosis triggers include:

• Traumatic experience
• Unusually high levels of stress or anxiety
• Misuse of alcohol, recreational drugs, or prescription medications
• Medical conditions like a stroke, brain tumor, or dementia
• Head injury
• Childbirth

The length and duration of a psychotic episode depends on what’s causing it.

What are the symptoms of psychosis?

The primary symptoms of psychosis are hallucinations, delusions, and disordered thinking and speech.

Hallucinations are hearing, seeing, or feeling things that aren’t real outside of your own mind. Hearing voices is a common hallucination.

Delusions involve strong beliefs not shared by others. A common delusion is believing there’s a conspiracy to harm you (paranoia).

Disordered behavior causes you to experience rapid thoughts and ideas, causing a fast, confusing way of speaking.

How is psychosis treated? 

Your Spectrum Behavioral Health provider conducts a thorough psychiatric evaluation before developing a treatment plan tailored to your needs.

Supportive treatments include: 

• Antipsychotic medication
• Long-acting injectables, which allow for the slow release of medicine into your blood
• Talk therapy (psychotherapy)
• Family psychoeducation and support

The team also provides coordinated specialty care (CSC), combining medication and psychotherapy with social services. They can treat an underlying condition and help you with daily challenges like employment, accommodation, education, and overall well-being.

You might also benefit from local support groups and self-care techniques like meditation and improved exercise.

If you or a loved one’s psychotic episodes are severe, your provider will recommend seeking in-treatment care at a psychiatric hospital.

Call Spectrum Behavioral Health today or schedule a consultation online to learn more about exceptional psychosis treatment.