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Article: Psychosis
- Article from:
- Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Psychosis
Definition
Psychosis is a symptom of mental illness characterized by a radical change in personality and a distorted or diminished sense of objective reality.
Description
Psychosis appears as a symptom of a number of mental disorders, including mood and
personality disorders
,
schizophrenia
,
delusional disorder
, and substance abuse. It is also the defining feature of the psychotic disorders (i.e.,
brief psychotic disorder
,
shared psychotic disorder
, psychotic disorder due to a general medical condition, and
substance-induced psychotic disorder
).
Patients suffering from psychosis are unable to distinguish the real from the unreal. They experience
hallucinations
...