Drug for Psychosis

AntiPsychotics aka

drug that is used to reduce anxiety, fear, tension,
agitation, and related states of mental disturbance

symptoms of delusions, hallucinations, and disorders of
thought

– Mental illness that can cause gross impairment in reality testing

• Characterized of having positive and negative symptoms

mental condition rep by heterogeneous syndrome
(meaning a lot of symptoms should be considered for a px to
be diagnosed as schizophrenic)

A disorder represented by a heterogenous syndrome of:
○ Disorganized and bizarre thoughts
○ Delusions
○ Hallucinations
○ Inappropriate affect
○ Impaired social functioning.

Schizophrenia only occurs in (?) (it is inherited)
• Not common

● Onset and buildup of schizophrenic symptoms
● BEFORE SCHIZOPHRENIC SYMPTOMS

Full-blown symptoms: severe disturbances in thinking,
deterioration in social relationships, and flat or inappropriate
affec

● Symptoms no longer prominent
● Complete recovery is rare, but schizophrenics can lead
productive lives

Symptoms that are not normal in normal individual but are
added to a schizophrenic patient

– auditory, visual, tactile, and/or olfactory
hallucinations; voices that are commenting

– voices that are commenting
• Common type of hallucination experienced by schizophrenic
patients

– persecutory, grandiose, paranoid, religious;
thought broadcasting, thought insertion

– fixed false beliefs

– false beliefs that one is about to be harmed or
mistreated by others in some way

– unfounded or inaccurate beliefs that one has
special powers, wealth, mission, or identity

– aggressive/agitated, odd clothing or appearance, odd social behavior, repetitive-stereotyped behavior

● affective flattening, alogia, asociality
● Present in normal but absent in schizophrenic px

(little or no emotion in situations in which
strong reactions are expected)

(poverty of speech)

(inability to take action or to become goal oriented)
○ Loss of voluntary work
○ May indicate irreversible neuronal loss in a structurally
abnormal brain

→ Inability to form close personal relationships (isolate self)

→ Inability to feel pleasure

Inability to organize ideas

(Formal thought disorder)

Rambles, difficulty sticking to one topic

○ Odd or peculiar behavior
■ Silliness, agitation, unusual dress
■ e.g., wearing several heavy coats in hot weather