With those persons suffering from psychotic disorders like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder life can be faced with many challenges. Treating acute outbursts and continuing treatment so relapses will be less or not happen can be a full time job for those affected. Each individual is unique; no one will have the exact same symptoms as another but one or more common warning signs is likely to be evident. There are several common warning signs of psychosis that the person and those closest should be aware of. Some of the signs and symptoms are just like other mental illnesses, such as depression. Other signs may be more aggressive or apparent to those around the person. One needs to be aware of the difference between a normal phase or bad day and the warning signs of psychosis. Sometimes they look the same. The psychotic symptoms won’t go away with a few days or week they will just get worse as time goes on.

Sleeping too much too little, or any other major sleep change

Withdrawing from family, friends, and other enjoyed activities

Difficulty understanding what the person is saying

Lack of speaking, not having much to say about anything

Expression of emotions diminishing, acting like a robot instead of a person

Hoarding objects or rummaging through other belongings

Wearing strange clothing or inappropriate combinations of clothes

Suspiciousness or hostility

Diminished motivation and lack of any enthusiasm

Decreased ability to concentrate or focus on anything

Having strange behavior that makes no sense

Think that people are after them or trying kill them

Hearing voices or seeing things that others can’t see or hear.

Common signs and symptoms of psychosis typically are having delusions and/or hallucinations, and very strange atypical behavior. These persons may see, smell or taste things that appear to be real but which are not being experienced at that time by anyone else. People who have hallucinations often try to find an explanation for what is happening they don’t people to think they are crazy. They may invent and attribute them to beliefs that others may see as strange, which are called delusions. Many people believe that the voices are coming from the television or someone has their home bugged, speaking directly to them. They tend to believe someone is plotting against them and are trying to turn everyone away from them. The voices may be critical and abusive. This kind of distorted thought pattern could cause very severe anxiety or paranoia.

Psychosis may also involve ‘mania’, when a person is in a very excited energetic state. There will be increased energy and physical activity, racing thoughts and speech, which may be confused and irrational. Or alternatively the opposite may happen and the individual may become extremely withdrawn, inactive, perhaps neither moving nor speaking for long periods. Most medical professionals use a cluster of symptoms that last for long periods of time to diagnose most mental illnesses, like schizophrenia or manic depression. Sometimes an individual may have symptoms of both these conditions together. This will involve many episodes of psychosis in which the person affected loses touch with reality. They can experience very high or low moods that affect the way they behave and react. Some people will only experience one ‘psychotic episode during their life and other people will have recurring episodes at different times during their life. Every person with a mental illness is different and there is no way of predicting how many psychotic episodes and individual will have.

It is very important to seek professional help right away if someone is in one of the above-mentioned states. Hospitalization and medication might be needed if the individual is out of control. They might try to harm themselves or others, call 911 for assistance. Do not try to force the individual to go with you, it could make the symptoms worse and people could be hurt. Recognizing the symptoms early enough can help avoid a crisis, and get the individual help before symptoms worsen. During a crisis remove all dangerous objects out of immediate reach and call a mental health professional right away. The important thing to bear in mind is the safety of the affected individual and any other people that are present during the episode.

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