What is Psychosis? Look at the DSM, Common Mimics, and a Framework for the Differential

Podcast: Psychofarm Podcast · Psychiatry, Skepticism, and Integration.

Opublikowano: 2026-01-13

What does “psychosis” actually mean, and how do clinicians recognize it in practice? In this episode, we define psychosis as a syndrome (not a single diagnosis) and walk through the core symptom domains: delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking/speech, disorganized behavior, and negative symptoms. We focus on the differential diagnosis, including how to distinguish schizophrenia-spectrum and schizoaffective disorders from mood disorders with psychotic features, trauma-related phenomena, borderline personality disorder, neurodevelopmental presentations (including autism spectrum traits), and substance-induced psychosis. We share red flags that can be easy to miss, like new-onset suspiciousness, functional decline, social withdrawal, and subtle thought disorganization, and we e...