What is a thought disorder?
Also known as psychotic disorders, any of several illnesses or disease processes that primarily:
- disrupt reality-testing and/or perception,
- create symptoms such as:
- delusions = fixed, false, idiosyncratic belief;
- hallucinations = perceptual disturbances:
- auditory: hearing voices, sighing, mumbling;
- visual: "visions";
- olfactory = smells;
- tactile;
Thought disorders are generally differentiated from "mood disorders" which may also sometimes cause psychotic symptoms
As an organizing principle, all psychiatric illnesses can be divided into 3 main categories:
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MOOD DISORDERS |
THOUGHT DISORDERS |
ORGANIC DISORDERS |
Examples: |
Major Depression Bipolar Disorder Cyclothymia Dysthymia |
Schizophrenia Delusional disorder |
Substance Abuse Metabolic derangements Psychiatric symptoms secondary to a medical condition |
Overlap: |
Schizoaffective disorder |
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Substance Abuse & Schizophrenia |
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