Is Your Partner Dealing
With Psychosis?
Are you supporting your partner with diagnosed or suspected psychosis?
This experience may be confusing, overwhelming and isolation especially if you cannot recognise your partner anymore.
The following information may help you understand what your partner is going through and how you can look after yourself.
What is Psychosis?
Psychosis is a condition that affects the way the brain processes information. It is a temporary loss of contact with reality in which the individual displays obvious changes in personality, sometimes seeing and hearing things that aren’t real and experiencing delusions that are fixed false beliefs.
Adult Psychosis is not uncommon but is often confused with/for other behavioural and/or mental health conditions. Symptoms of psychosis can be temporary and can be treated effectively with antipsychotic medications and therapy. Some conditions such as Schizophrenia, in which psychotic symptoms occur, can be long-term.
Symptoms of Psychosis in Your Partner
Symptoms of psychosis in adults vary depending on their age. Some of the earliest indications may present themselves during their late teens or their early twenties. In rare cases, some people past 40 start to experience signs of psychosis.
As adolescents grow into adults and well into their years, their symptoms may include:
- Changes in personality such as social withdrawal and isolation
- Changes in emotions such as uncharacteristic anxiety, anger or moodiness
- Challenges in sleeping such as insomnia or having few deep periods of sleep
- Disordered thinking – slow, muddled, disrupted thoughts which may be expressed through speech
- Disordered behaviour – unusual, inappropriate, extreme or risky actions
- Delusions – fixed false beliefs that can’t be changed by evidence; for instance, the person can be convinced that “they are God” or that “someone is trying to kill them” despite there being no real reason for this belief
- Hallucinations – hearing voices or otherwise sensing things that aren’t real; this can include seeing, smelling, tasting and hearing things that others can’t sense
- Occurring social or professional problems at work
- Tendency to seek or depend on illegal substances such as alcohol and drugs
- Lack of interest or aversion to physical intimacy
What Causes Psychosis?
- Hereditary – genetic predisposition; sometimes runs in the family
- Biochemical – shortage or excess of certain chemicals in the brain
- Lifestyle – stress, lack of sleep, substance abuse such as alcohol, marijuana and LSD
- Trauma – experiences such as death, war or sexual assault
- Psychological – a symptom of mental challenges such as schizophrenia, bipolar, severe depression or Alzheimer’s Disease
Diagnosis of Psychosis
As people grow older, they are more prone to mental health challenges such as psychosis. Almost 1% of the world’s population experiences psychosis as a result of their genetic disposition alone.
If you suspect your wife, husband and/or partner is showing signs of psychosis, get them to a GP or a Psychiatrist as soon as possible to get a diagnosis. A diagnosis involves systematic interviews alongside ruling out other behavioural and mental health conditions.
Treatment for your Partner with Psychosis
Treatment with antipsychotics is the most common therapy for people with psychosis or a psychotic condition. However, the medication does not treat or cure the underlying condition that triggered the psychosis. Additional therapy should be sought to address the underlying triggers. This may require a lifestyle change, for instance, stopping the use of recreational drugs, trauma therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy or another form of therapy and/or treatment tailored to the individual. The first step is a diagnosis by a GP or Psychiatrist, along with the prescription of antipsychotic medication to stop the psychosis and connect the person back to reality. An appropriate treatment plan should be discussed with the treating clinician.
How to help your Partner with Psychosis
As a partner to someone experiencing mental health challenges, the best way to support them is by getting them the appropriate help they need, starting with a visit to a professional. You can also consult through a mental health phone line or by searching for mental health services online.
How to help yourself
Taking care of your partner with mental health challenges can be exhausting, frustrating, confusing and isolating. But you don’t have to go through it alone.
HelpingMinds® offers free and confidential support to people who are caring for people experiencing mental health challenges. We offer free counselling, support groups as well as rest and revive activities. We also conduct school holiday programs, family programs, and youth programs to advocate for the mental health wellness of people living in WA.
Get Support from HelpingMinds®
Would you like to know more about free and confidential mental health carer services and how we can support you? Please feel free to contact HelpingMinds® via the form below or on (08) 9427 7100. For one of our team to get back to you, we will require your email address and/or phone number. Please know all information provided will be treated completely confidential and in line with our privacy policy.