The West Kent & Medway Early Intervention in Psychosis Service

Effects of psychosis
Psychosis can influence the following:
Cognition – thought processes, ideas and memories, e.g. racing thoughts,
intrusive thoughts, problems with thinking
Feelings – mood changes, depression, anxiety, elation, paranoia, feeling
isolated and detached
Behaviour – unusual behaviour, or loss of interest and motivation;
Perception – possible difficulties in understanding and interpreting reality,
e.g. beliefs that have no clear basis
Personality – sense of self and identity, e.g. loss of identity
Myths and misconceptions
Psychosis is not…
• About having a split personality (i.e. Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde)
• A condition that only affects certain types of individuals. In theory,
anyone – male or female, regardless of ethnicity – can develop
psychosis
• Always easy to spot. The early stages of psychosis are often confused
with other difficulties that many young people experience as part of
adolescence and growing up
• Always linked to aggressive or violent behaviour
One thing that can make it particularly difficult to come to terms with having
psychosis is the stigma attached to mental health problems. Misunderstanding
can lead to fear and discrimination. It is not surprising that people who
experience psychosis often feel they are “different” or “don’t fit in”, and that
they are not valued or respected. This in turn can lead to social withdrawal
and can become the most disabling feature of psychosis.
The Early Intervention Team can play a pivotal part in reducing stigma by
educating clients, families and friends, in addition to schools, colleges and GP
surgeries, about psychosis and about recovery.
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