Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Mental Health (Expert Forum)
Thought Disorder, Delusions, Hallucinations, Paranoia
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD) , bipolar disorder , dementia , electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) , learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) , panic , personality disorders, phobias , post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) , schizophrenia , stress , transitions, and work problems.
Thought Disorder, Delusions, Hallucinations, Paranoia
by raina, Jun 06, 2000 12:00AM
Are hallucinations, delusions, thought disorders, and paranoia all psychotic? If not, would you please explain when they are not? Especially, please tell me what a thought disorder is.
I know my doctor has told me I have delusions along with saying I have psychotic features. But now he says I have a thought disorder and I would like to know if that is psychotic, too. Along with this, if it is psychotic, could you tell me when a thought becomes psychotic? Like...is it the intensity or the fear accompanying it?
Thank you for your time.
I know my doctor has told me I have delusions along with saying I have psychotic features. But now he says I have a thought disorder and I would like to know if that is psychotic, too. Along with this, if it is psychotic, could you tell me when a thought becomes psychotic? Like...is it the intensity or the fear accompanying it?
Thank you for your time.
Doctor's Answer
by HFHS MD - RG, Jun 06, 2000 12:00AM
By definition, psychosis is loss of reality testing with delusions and hallucinations.
Thought can be divided into process and content.
Process refers to the way in which a person puts things together. An individual may have either an overabundance or a lack of ideas. Terms like flight of ideas(used in mania), and racing thoughts are used in this criteria.
Content refers to what a person is actuallyisthinkingabout: ideas, beliefs, preoccupations, obsessions. Delusions, paranoia, phobias are included in this category.
Depending on one's presentation, a thought disorder can either be psychotic (paranoia, delusions) or not (obsessions, phobias)
Thought can be divided into process and content.
Process refers to the way in which a person puts things together. An individual may have either an overabundance or a lack of ideas. Terms like flight of ideas(used in mania), and racing thoughts are used in this criteria.
Content refers to what a person is actuallyisthinkingabout: ideas, beliefs, preoccupations, obsessions. Delusions, paranoia, phobias are included in this category.
Depending on one's presentation, a thought disorder can either be psychotic (paranoia, delusions) or not (obsessions, phobias)
