Definition

Noun: A severe mental disorder characterized by a loss of contact with reality or a significant distortion of it. This condition typically involves symptoms such as delusions (false beliefs) and hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that are not there).

Usage

"Psychosis" is used as a non-count noun to refer to the general condition or state. It can also be used as a count noun when referring to specific episodes or types of this disorder (e.g., "a psychosis," "psychoses").

Examples

• The patient was hospitalized after experiencing an acute psychosis.
• Severe stress can sometimes trigger a brief reactive psychosis.
• The symptoms of psychosis can be very frightening for the individual.
• Schizophrenia is one disorder that often involves psychosis.

Advanced Usage

• "To experience/enter/suffer from psychosis": These are common collocations describing the onset or state of having the disorder.
  • During the episode, he suffered from psychosis and believed he was being followed.
• "Drug-induced/Psychotic/Postpartum psychosis": These are compound terms specifying the cause or context of the disorder. They are considered separate lexical items.
  • The doctor diagnosed her with postpartum psychosis.

Variants and Related Words

• Psychotic (adjective): Relating to or suffering from psychosis.
  • He was having a psychotic episode.
• Psychotic (noun): A person who has psychosis. (Note: This term can be considered stigmatizing and is often avoided in clinical settings in favor of "a person experiencing psychosis.")
• Psychoses (noun, plural): The plural form of psychosis, referring to multiple distinct instances or types of the disorder.

Synonyms

• Insanity (Note: This is a broader, less clinical, and often legal term that can be considered offensive.)
• Madness (Note: This is an old-fashioned, non-clinical term that is now considered pejorative.)
• Lunacy (Note: This is an archaic and offensive term.)

Key Distinction

• Psychosis vs. Neurosis: A key distinction in older psychiatric classifications. Neurosis refers to less severe mental distress (e.g., anxiety, depression) where contact with reality is largely maintained. Psychosis involves a break from reality.

Noun

1. any severe mental disorder in which contact with reality is lost or highly distorted