Hiding behind, what may look like an average person, can be a delusional mind distancing further away from reality. How does one recognize living in a world full of delusions and hallucinations? There is a chance you're experiencing psychosis symptoms without realizing it. The early signs of psychosis that someone with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) can display are discussed in this article.
One might say, psychosis is a mental disorder. In fact, psychosis is a set of symptoms that can occur from many different mental disorders. The goal of this article is to raise awareness by diving deeper into the world of deception. This should in no case be used to self-diagnose. Seek professional help if needed.
What is Borderline psychosis?
Someone with BPD who is experiencing psychotic symptoms is referred to as having 'borderline psychosis'. Psychosis is a set of symptoms that impact a person's thoughts and behaviors. Someone experiencing these symptoms is slowly losing touch with reality, becoming confused, and misinterpreting what's happening around them.
A human mind is an extraordinary place containing imagination, sensation, thoughts, will, and memory. It's so complex that we'll never fully comprehend it. Unfortunately, some of us do not control our thoughts, emotions, and/or behaviors to the extent most other individuals do. To this day, researchers are still studying why delusional thinking occurs inside our minds.
Early symptoms psychosis
It may not always be easy to identify the early warning signs of psychosis. However, if you know what to look for, you may be able to treat it before it worsens.
Strange and/or intense beliefs about people and the world.
Trouble thinking clearly or concentrating.
Suspiciousness or uneasiness with others.
A decline in self-care or personal hygiene.
Strong, inappropriate emotions or having no feelings at all.
Hearing, seeing, tasting, or believing things that others don’t.
Persistent, unusual thoughts or beliefs that can’t be set aside regardless of what others believe.
Withdrawing from family or friends.
Psychosis usually first appears in a person's late adolescents or early twenties. Approximately three out of 100 individuals will experience an episode of psychosis in their lifetime.
5 Causes for psychosis symptoms
1. Genetic
Some genes can help develop into psychosis symptoms, but just because someone has one of these genes doesn’t mean they will experience psychosis. However, they have a higher chance that psychosis gets triggered by traumatic events, health conditions, or substance usage.
2. Mental Health Disorders
Psychosis symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusional thinking, can appear from schizophrenia, delusional disorder, major depressive disorder, borderline, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and more.
The amount and impact of the psychosis symptoms can differ in which disorder the person has. For example, people with borderline experience a higher emotional impact from psychosis symptoms.
3. Substance use
Alcohol and drug use can develop into psychosis. It can also occur from the withdrawal of these substances.
4. Physical injury
Psychosis symptoms can occur from brain injury, strokes, tumors, HIV, and different brain diseases.
5. Trauma
Traumatic events like death, war, and sexual assault can trigger psychosis symptoms. Someone's age and the type of trauma are both important factors for the symptoms to develop into psychosis or not.
These are psychosis symptoms
Delusions are fixed false beliefs that don't change after facing the evidence of reality. There are many different types of delusions someone can experience.
Someone believing in a false belief isn't always delusional. Sometimes a false belief has never been challenged before. The evidence that contradicts the false belief could be misunderstood by the person. In this case, we are not speaking of someone with delusions but just misunderstanding the facts of reality.
For example, some people that believe in certain conspiracy theories are delusional and some are not. We can't jump to conclusions when someone has a false belief. Not everyone is delusional, even some conspiracy theories turned out to be true.
Factors for distinguishing a false belief from a delusional mind are:
Does it affect the individual once in a while or is it an everyday occurrence?
How much time is spent thinking about the delusion?
Are the behaviors made based on delusions?
How committed is someone to the false belief?
Does the individual take extra steps that initially could be dangerous?
Is it a pattern?
Examples delusional thinking
Persecutory or paranoia
The false belief that an individual is being mistreated, or out there to harm them. The individual might believe that they are being followed and strangers can hear their thoughts.
Paranoia can be caused by trauma, bullying, and social exclusion. There are theories that paranoia is to relieve stress to protect the sense of self. When an individual blames someone else it helps them gain control and get themselves oriented. Around 80% of delusions involve some persecutory paranoid component.
Grandiose
The false belief of an over-inflated sense of worth, power, knowledge, or identity. Somebody can believe they are royalty, god, wealthy businessperson, celebrity, or thinking they are selected for a deity to accomplish something important. Also, claiming they know a lot of very important people is common. This can also come from a narcissistic personality disorder that doesn't rise to a delusional level.
Erotomanic
The false belief that another person is in love with you. This can be a celebrity giving the individual the feeling through movies, televisions, or telepathy. Stalking is common for someone with this false belief.
Jealousy
The false belief of your partner being unfaithful.
Somatic
The false belief of having a physical defect or medical problem.
Hallucinations
Hallucinations are often confused with delusions but are constructed differently. Hallucinations are sensory experiences that only exist in the mind. They go hand in hand with delusions and often enforce them. However, they don't always have to appear together.
Someone with hallucinations can experience voices inside the mind discussing something bad is going to happen, feeling strange sensations or unexplainable feelings, seeing glimpses of people that are not there, or seeing distortions.
How to help someone with psychosis
It's very real to the person experiencing psychosis so everyone should be careful. Clear and calmly communicate with the person. Lead them to a professional where the person feels comfortable.
The recovery will be long and hard. Therapy and medication can often manage and solve symptoms of psychosis.
Read more on Can you have BPD and be a psychopath?
Delayed Treatment Can Result in:
Interference with psychological and social development.
Loss of relationships with family, friends, and other social supports.
Disruption of the parenting role.
Distress and increased psychological problems.
Disruption of study.
A slower and less complete recovery.
Depression and suicide.
Substance abuse.
Illegal behavior.
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