Psychology
Stress
Each one of us is affected by stress in different ways. Some people will become depressed, anxious or angry. Some will drink more. Others will take drugs. Some people will feel tired or get ill. Some people have difficulty sleeping. These problems are quite common. In fact, 1 in 5 of us will have this sort of problem at any one time.
But for some people, stress can trigger unusual experiences. Maybe these people have a certain type of biology. Or a certain type of personality. This might make them more prone to having unusual experiences.
Certain types of stress are important here too. Example's include; going a night without sleep; losing a loved one; drinking too much; taking too many drugs.
Unusual experiences are a lot more common than once thought. As many as 1 in 10 people have heard or seen something that isn't there. A recent study found that 1 in 20 people in the UK had this sort of experience in the previous 5 months. For most people, it is very brief and passes quickly. Others may have it more often. It can be enjoyable for some. Other people might find it scary. This is not serious enough to call it psychosis. It is better just to call it an unusual experience.
A small number of these people have it very often though. They might be much more prone to unusual experiences. Or they might have much more stress in their life. For most it will be a mixture of both. Some will be very upset and very scared. This is the level of problems that is likely to be called psychosis.
Stress on its own rarely causes psychosis. But it becomes important when combined with other things. Such as biology, personality, and various social factors.
Learning better ways to cope with stress is helpful in reducing unusual experiences.
Unusual experiences themselves can be very stressful. Learning how to cope with them is important.
Personality
People are the way they are because of a mixture of biology, genetics, and upbringing. It seems that some types of people are more prone to psychosis than others.
As we've seen already, lots of people have strange experiences. Lots of people have strange beliefs. We all act in strange ways from time to time. If we do it a lot, people might call us odd or eccentric. But people vary in how eccentric they are. Some people are just a little bit. Some people are a lot. People who are very eccentric may have more unusual beliefs though. They may have more strange experiences. If this becomes distressing, it might be called psychosis.
We need to be clear here though. Being eccentric alone does not cause psychosis. But when combined with other things, like biology or stress, it becomes more important.
Beliefs
Like our personality, our beliefs are formed over time. Some types of beliefs are quite important in psychosis. These include the beliefs we have about ourselves. For instance, do we like ourselves? Or the beliefs we have about the world around us. For instance, do we believe the world is a fair place? The beliefs we have about psychosis are important too. For instance, someone might falsely believe psychosis is a sign of weakness. Different cultures have different beliefs about psychosis.
The beliefs we have can shape how psychosis affects us. If we think psychosis is something to be ashamed of, then we will feel ashamed. This causes more stress, which makes things worse.
It is clear beliefs matter a lot in psychosis. But only when combined with other things. How they are important is discussed in more detail here.
Ways of thinking
The way people think matters a lot too. For example, most of us only notice things that prove us right. We tend to ignore things that we can't explain. People with psychosis do this as well. Only they might do it more often. This is one reason why people with psychosis have strong beliefs.
It is hard to know if this is because of psychosis. It could just as easily be something that makes people more prone to it.
The way people think matters a lot in psychosis. But again, only when combined with other things.
