Non Psychotic vs Psychotic Symptoms
The piles and piles of notes on my psychosis post saying "I thought this was normal..."
So I need to make a follow up.
(Disclaimer that I'm not a professional; this post is based on personal experience, conversations with others who have psychosis, and personal research on the topic).
About 6% of people will experience a hallucination or delusion within their lifetime; the vast majority do not have a psychotic disorder.
Normal (not psychotic symptoms):
- Occasionally thinking you saw a shadow in the corner of your eye.
Example: Once in a while you see a shadow or shape in your peripheral vision that is only there for a split second.
- Occasionally thinking you may have heard a noise that probably wasn't there.
Example: Once in a while you're unsure if you just heard your phone vibrate or not.
- Occasionally misinterpreting visual or auditory input.
Example: Once in a while you mistake a piece of trash in the road for an animal but soon realize it's just trash, or if you listen to white noise long enough it starts to sort of sound like people whispering (or another sound).
- Mild hallucinations when very sleep deprived, extremely hypervigilant, or when falling asleep or waking.
Example: You're very stressed about something, and not getting much sleep. You've been repeatedly seeing shadows in your peripheral vision, just for a split second, and sometimes think you hear a brief tapping sound but aren't sure it's actually there.
- Superstitious or "magical" beliefs that are part of a cultural or spiritual/religious practice.
Example: Based on spiritual teachings, you believe that seeing a certain animal is a good omen. You believe (based on cultural norms) that a certain event is bad luck.
Also not psychosis:
- Hallucinations due to sleep paralysis.
- Hallucinations/paranoia due to substance use.
- Walking into a room and being anxious that others are looking at you.
NOT normal (psychotic symptoms):
- Often seeing shapes or shadows in your peripheral vision, especially lingering, or more formed to look like a person or animal. Seeing flashes of images directly in front of you.
Example: Seeing a bug crawling across the floor towards you, only to realize there's nothing there.
- Often hearing noises that aren't there.
Example: Regularly thinking that a family member was speaking to you when they haven't said anything. Regularly thinking that you heard soft/vague music playing when there wasn't any. Outright hearing obvious noises like a door slam, but it didn't.
- Perceptual distortions involving a complete failure to identify an object and/or seeing a completely different object in place of the real one. Ongoing auditory perceptual distortions that are difficult to distinguish from reality.
Example: Often having experiemces such as looking at your face in the mirror and seeing it distorted, so that you don't look like you/ you look like someone else. TW body horror - seeing your body part look injured or infected, but later realizing it looks completely fine and you imagined it. Often hearing ongoing, complete conversations with voices talking through white noise.
- Ideas/delusuous of reference, where normal things take on a personal and specific meaning.
Example: You read a post on social media. Because the post can loosely be applied to you or your current circumstances, you believe that this person somehow knows private information about you and that the post was intended for you to read. May also be persecutory in nature, believing that the post was meant to "out" you or "shame" you in front of others.
Also psychotic symptoms:
- Seeing fully formed, realistic, hallucinations of people/things that are not there.
- Hearing clear sounds or voices with your ears that you know cannot be there.
- Paranoid or persecutory delusions in which (without evidence) you believe that someone is plotting against you, a partner is cheating, etc.
