Psychosis

Someone who develops psychosis will have their own unique set of symptoms and experiences, according to their particular circumstances.

But in general, four main symptomsare associated with a psychotic episode:

• hallucinations
• delusions
• confused and disturbed thoughts
• lack of insight and self-awareness

These are outlined in more detail below.

Hallucinations

Hallucinations are where someone sees, hears, smells, tastes or feels things that don't exist outside their mind.

• sightseeing colours, shapes or people
• soundshearing voices or other sounds
• touchfeeling touched when there is nobody there
• smellan odour that other people can't smell
• taste a taste when there is nothing in the mouth

Delusions

A delusion is where a person has an unshakeable belief in something untrue.

A person with persecutorydelusions may believe an individual or organisation is making plans to hurt or kill them.

A person with grandiose delusions maybelieve they have power or authority. For example, they may think they're the president of a country or they have the power to bring people back from the dead.

Confused and disturbed thoughts

People with psychosis sometimes have disturbed, confused, and disrupted patterns of thought. Signs of this include:

• rapid and constant speech
• disturbed speechfor example, they may switch from one topic to another mid-sentence
• a sudden lossin their train of thought, resulting in an abrupt pause in conversation or activity

Lack of insight

People who have psychotic episodes are often unaware that their delusions or hallucinations aren't real, which may lead them to feel frightened or distressed.

Postnatal psychosis

Postnatal psychosis, also called puerperal psychosis, is a severe form of postnatal depression , a type of depression some women experience after having a baby.

It's estimated postnatal psychosis affects around 1 in every 1,000 women who give birth. It most commonly occurs during the firstfew weeksafter having a baby.

Postnatal psychosis is more likelyto affect women who already have a mental health condition, such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia .

As well as the symptoms of psychosis, symptoms of postnatal psychosis can also include changes in mood:

• a high mood (mania) for example, feeling elated, talking and thinkingtoo much or too quickly
• a low mood for example, feeling sad,a lack of energy,loss ofappetite, and trouble sleeping

Contact your GP immediately if you think someone you know may have developed postnatal psychosis. If this isn't possible, call NHS 111 or your local out-of-hours service .

If you think there's an imminent danger ofharm, call 999 and ask for an ambulance.