104 posts shown.
Q. Why does American culture draw such a sharp line between mental health struggles and physical illnesses?
A. Honestly, it’s mostly fear. People are spooked by mental illness, and there’s this deep-seated anxiety about realizing we might actually share some common ground with those struggling. Everyone’s secretly wondering, "will i catch IT"
Q. In what ways does the stigma surrounding mental health impact someone's road to recovery?
A. It’s brutal—sometimes even harder to deal with than the actual condition. Instead of being seen as a person like Instead of John or Susan, they get pigeonholed as "that Guy with Schizophrenia" or "The Woman with Bipolar." It creates this massive divide in how people are treated.
Q. What kind of percentage of people living with schizophrenia are able to lead successful lives?
A. Generally speaking, about a third of people with schizophrenia do really well. Another third stay fairly stable but still run into regular hurdles. Then you have the final third who face a constantly uphill battle.
Q. Since several U.S. states still haven't fully implemented mental health parity in insurance, is treating mental illness significantly more costly than something like heart disease or cancer?
A. The idea that mental health care is prohibitively expensive or that people are just faking it is pure fiction. Realistically, investing in prevention is way cheaper than trying to fix a crisis later. Plus, most folks actually tend to hide their symptoms rather than over-report them.
Q. What’s the best way to support someone through their recovery process?
A. Providing support is what builds hope. You have to remember that recovery isn't the same thing as a total cure. Just like someone managing cancer, they have to live with the possibility of it coming back. We aren't saying schizophrenia just vanishes; we're talking about helping them build the most full and meaningful life possible. We just have to drop the unrealistic expectations.
I still haven't figured out how to rename a link so it actually looks decent instead of just pasting the raw URL
I feel pretty dumb right now, honestly lol
Does anyone know the trick to doing this?
Amanda Morris3 said:Which really brings us to two different ways of looking at psychiatry.
The old-school European style... which still seems to view Freud as if he were God, treating depression as a purely individual matter stemming from genetic predispositions or something similar.
Then there's the American approach... which recognizes that society plays a massive role in how people actually behave.
Personally, I think it’s much better to follow the American school of thought whenever possible... for instance, instead of just handing out meds, we might suggest someone struggling with depression take a break, travel somewhere far away, move to a new city, or just shake things up. But if those options aren't on the table, then we fall back on the European way and prescribe antidepressants.☕ Though, honestly, that older approach tends to lead to more relapses.
Look, I've known all of this since the very beginning—right from when the illness first started, the advice has always been about making changes.
Staying in certain places can be absolute game-changers for getting into remission, but honestly, you've gotta make sure you're also taking care of the mental side of things too.
I just don't have it in me today. Even if I force myself to head out and face the world, it’s just not happening. I've listened to all the advice out there, but honestly? Still feeling the same.
I might need to grab something to help me sleep later, but just to be clear, I’m not dealing with depression—it's psychosis.
Amanda Morris3 said:True, though I really think having a strong sense of character and practicing a little autosuggestion can make a huge difference too.
I honestly think some people just let their illnesses linger because they secretly love having someone there to look after them. 😲
I’ve actually just recently managed to pull myself out of a really heavy depressive episode, though thankfully I didn't have to deal with any psychotic symptoms this time around.
Even without any antidepressants, I’ve somehow managed to block out the source of my depression by finally leaning into the things I actually love doing.
Honestly, once you've navigated through two or three heavy depressive episodes, you almost develop this strange kind of immunity, and when the darkness eventually rolls back in, you just find a way to pull yourself out on your own.
Antidepressants just kind of numb you out, but hey, at least they help you find a little bit of that positive headspace, right?
That’s true, but antidepressants aren't actually curing your hallucinations; they just make you feel better because of the meds. There isn't even a theoretical chance they'll change what's actually messing with your head—I'm talking about psychosis here, I don't know much about neuroses.
omg wow
Even though the term "schizophrenia" hasn't even been around for a full century, the
condition has likely been riding shotgun with humanity since the dawn of time. Schizophrenia can be traced in written documents to Ancient Egypt, dating all the way back to the era of the Egyptian Mummies. You can find detailed accounts of depression, dementia, and those specific thought patterns seen in schizophrenia inside The Book of Hearts. This book is part of the Ebers Papyrus, named after the German Egyptologist Georg Ebers, who bought and published the papyrus in the 19th century. Back then, Heart and mind were synonymous in Ancient Egypt. People thought mental struggles were tied to the heart or the uterus, often blaming things like blood vessels, infection, waste, toxins, or even demons. Basically, Egyptians viewed mental diseases as physical illnesses.
source:
http://www.hubin.org/facts/history/h...hrenia_en.htmlTemple sleep therapy Treatment usually involved "temple sleep," or what people called incubation. Basically, if you were sick, you’d spend the night in a sacred space. Before drifting off, people would be given certain suggestions, all in the hopes of triggering dreams sent directly by the gods. Priests and priestesses would then interpret those dreams to figure out how to handle the illness. Incantations and prayers were used to invoke the healing powers of the gods, and these rituals often incorporated herbal remedies and other medicinal substances as part of the whole process.
Pyramids in Egypt; the tradition of temple sleep dates back to Imhotep, a legendary Egyptian vizier, architect, and super respected doctor from around 2600 BC. Imhotep actually built the first step pyramid! He was eventually worshipped, and people practiced sleep therapy in the temples dedicated to him. Later on, in Greece, the god of healing, Asclepius, took over that role. Sleep therapy survived in the temples of Asclepius, which were put up by the Greeks in the 5th and 4th centuries BC.
Brain science of ancient times The word brain is used in the Edwin Smith Papyrus, which was written around 1700 BC but pulls from much older texts dating back to roughly 3000 BC. As far as we know, the Smith Papyrus is the first medical document in human history. It gets its name from Edwin Smith, an American Egyptologist who bought the papyrus in the 19th century. Within the Smith Papyrus, the brain anatomy, the meninges, the bone marrow, and the cerebrospinal fluid are all documented for the very first time. The papyrus covers 48 different cases recorded by an Egyptian surgeon thousands of years ago—most likely patients who had been injured in battles or by falls. One description indicates the surgeon may have known the brain controls movement. There's even a case involving a patient who couldn't speak due to a fractured temporal bone, describing aphasia thousands of years before Paul Broca identified the link between brain injury and speech loss in 1861. What's cool is that the Smith Papyrus is written with a really logical, scientific vibe, and most of the diagnoses and treatments are actually pretty free of magic and superstition.
Human brain: Even early on, Greek natural philosophers were obsessed with the human brain and nervous system. A physicist named Alcmaion, living in the early 5th century BC, believed the brain was the true hub for thoughts and perceptions. Over the next two hundred years, doctors like Herophilus and Erasistratus performed human dissections, making huge strides in understanding how brain nerves work. Herophilus believed the brain was the center of intelligence, and alongside Erasistratus, he basically helped found neuroscience.
A long period of stagnationBack in the day, Herophilus and Erasistratus were pretty much the only Greeks doing human dissections. It’s wild to think that nearly 1,800 years went by before guys like Leonardo da Vinci and Andreas Vesalius actually picked up where they left off with studying human anatomy. A few things probably caused such a massive stall in progress. You've got wars, rough economic times, and a general vibe of hostility toward the intellectuals in Alexandria following the era of Herophilus and Erasistratus. Plus, there's a good chance the writings from those two doctors were lost forever when the Library of Alexandria burned down in 391 AD.
stormyseal4 said:Are you serious? Everything...
Yeah, it’s pretty straightforward
When I called the cops, they actually gave me a cigarette to light up while waiting for the ambulance to show up
Once you get checked into a psych ward, you get treated and then the doctors decide how long you have to stay there
thatz oll
Man, just imagine how it is for people with severe disabilities or those in wheelchairs
Just call 911 and they'll take care of you!
emergency services, doctors, paramedics, and the police get called 👍
my dad always used to call them, and once I did too
I love my dad
NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) and the Center for Retirement Research teamed up to host a public rally called Pride 2007 to mark World Mental Health Day on October 10th. The whole goal was to push for better rights and social standing for folks living with mental health challenges. The organizers made it clear they wanted to shine a light on how people with mental illness often get stripped of their basic human rights within the state care system and end up pushed right to the fringes of society. source: CNN
Man... major props to them
Honestly, my favorite part is when people try to play it off with "Oh, you're not really crazy"
or even better: "We know you're just super wise and love stirring up trouble."
At the end of the day, we guys dealing with mental illness hurt just as much as anyone else.
Like I mentioned earlier in this thread, if you really want to secure your future, you'd head over to Sweden—they actually take care of people there. But hey, look where we are now.
David Nelson74 said:Hey Dubravka. A few years back, everyone started obsessing over destigmatizing people with mental health issues, which is fine, I get it. But what about the psychiatrists? How much stigma do they actually deal with? Just imagine how exhausting that is for them. They spend years grinding through medical school just to help people, only to have half the population resent them. Every time someone mentions psychotherapy or suggests seeing a specialist, you see the same reaction: "A psychiatrist? What is he going to tell me, that he knows better? Who does he think he is?" People act like they're just going to take $67 and pretend to listen to you for an hour. Honestly, forget psychiatrists...
In a weird way, the doctors end up being the ones stigmatized!
Let's actually try helping the psychiatrists for once, so they don't have to face all this judgment from the public.!!!
I remember a friend telling me once that psych doctors pull in $10 $0.00 a month just by selling snake oil and blowing smoke. I told him straight up: look, Dr. Ivan Šain actually saved my life when he wouldn't let me rot in the asylum for a month and kept giving me shots because I was hell-bent on ending it all. So, people can cry all they want about the cost—it doesn't mean anything to me.
I mean, they've got other psychiatrists to lean on for support 😵 ☕
Am I going blind or deaf? Because I definitely didn't see anything on ABC News about mental health patients hanging out in front of the Brooklyn facility.
My buddies actually suggested I transfer over to Brooklyn, but honestly, things are totally fine for me over in Queens.
I think it’s called Saint John now, right?
And I even had a buddy move from Rib over to Queens once.
The way I see it, mental illness is just like cancer: some people get eaten alive by it, some beat it, and for others, it just keeps coming back.
edit: I'm doing alright right now, but I know there'll be more ups and downs until the end.
That's just how it is, and I've made my peace with it.
David Nelson74 said:But hold on, have you actually seen A Beautiful Mind starring Russell Crowe? It follows the life of John Nash, who struggled with schizophrenia, and there's this one heavy scene where he's left alone with his child, and the kid nearly drowns in the bathtub while his wife steps away for just a second.
Oh, totally.
I've actually been at a psych ward with a woman who might finally get permission to live with her son once he turns 18. She was never really the one looking after him, though. She gets incredibly aggressive, even if she clearly loves the kid to death.
It’s possible they’ll never actually live together.
Then there was this other woman who was pregnant, and when she went into labor, Catholic Charities took the baby.
That's just how it goes sometimes. Honestly, it’s probably better for those kids that way.
David Kern14 said:Stigma is what happens when a close friend walks away from you, leaving you behind in a cloud of judgment or pure disgust just because you’re dealing with a mental health struggle—and they never come back.
It’s also there in those nasty labels people throw around, using words like "psycho," "nutcase," or "crazy" to tear you down.
You feel it when a job application gets tossed out, when people act weird about you being around their kids, or when you get the cold shoulder at a party because folks are scared of your diagnosis. That’s stigma, plain and simple.
Honestly, almost everyone living with mental illness knows this feeling deep down; even if you keep your struggle a total secret, that internal shame is just another version of stigma.
If you've ever had someone you trusted pull a disappearing act because they couldn't handle your mental health journey, you know exactly what stigma feels like.
.......
Whether it's outward judgment or that quiet, heavy weight you carry inside by keeping your diagnosis a secret, people with mental illness everywhere in America deal with this sense of stigma.
Here’s where I’m at right now.
I’ve got the official paperwork saying I’m "not okay," stamped and filed.
I used to have way more friends—or at least, that’s how it felt back then.
Now, some of them won't even give me a nod when we pass.
And honestly? Even though I have a clinical diagnosis, there are times I think maybe they’re the ones who are actually off.
Because I still have some friends who’ll tell me straight up, "Man, you were impossible when you hit your breaking point."
I just try my best to explain things to them, and hey, it’s fine.
As for those first ones who walked away, I just have to accept that there’s nothing I can do.
Morning, everyone.☕
Stigma is what happens when a close friend walks away from you, leaving you behind in a cloud of judgment or pure disgust just because you’re dealing with a mental health struggle—and they never come back.
It’s also there in those nasty labels people throw around, using words like "psycho," "nutcase," or "crazy" to tear you down.
You feel it when a job application gets tossed out, when people act weird about you being around their kids, or when you get the cold shoulder at a party because folks are scared of your diagnosis. That’s stigma, plain and simple.
Honestly, almost everyone living with mental illness knows this feeling deep down; even if you keep your struggle a total secret, that internal shame is just another version of stigma.
If you've ever had someone you trusted pull a disappearing act because they couldn't handle your mental health journey, you know exactly what stigma feels like.
.......
Whether it's outward judgment or that quiet, heavy weight you carry inside by keeping your diagnosis a secret, people with mental illness everywhere in America deal with this sense of stigma.
World Mental Health Day
Date: October 10, 2007
Location: Everywhere
Every single year on October 10th, we observe World Mental Health Day to help get the word out and boost awareness about mental health struggles. This year’s World Mental Health Day theme is focusing on "Mental health in a changing world: the impact of culture and diversity."
Since we’re living in such a massive melting pot here in the States, where millions of people move across borders every year, we see so many different languages, faiths, and traditions all rubbing shoulders in the same neighborhoods. That kind of cultural diversity in mental health can change pretty much everything—from how someone actually describes what they're feeling and how they cope, to the way their family supports them and whether they even feel comfortable reaching out for professional help.
When it comes down to the actual cultural impact on mental health care, it really shapes how people:
* put a name to their pain and talk about it;
* figure out what's actually causing their mental health issues;
* view doctors and therapists; and
* actually follow through with treatment.
This whole 2007 campaign is being run by the World Federation for Mental Health, and it’s all about shining a light on the need for mental health services that actually respect and understand different cultural backgrounds.
Mental health resources
- Learn more about World Mental Health Day 2007
- Check out the World Federation for Mental Health website
- Deep dive into the topic: mental health
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/event.../en/index.html
ICD-10
10th Revision
Version for 2007
Tabular List of inclusions and four-character subcategories
Chapter List
Chapter Blocks Title
I A00-B99 Certain infectious and parasitic diseases
II C00-D48 Neoplasms
III D50-D89 Diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism
IV E00-E90 Endocrine
V ICD-10
VI G00-G99 Diseases of the nervous system
VII H00-H59 Diseases of the eye and adnexa
VIII H60-H95 Diseases of the ear and mastoid process
IX I00-I99 Diseases of the circulatory system
X J00-J99 Diseases of the respiratory system
XI K00-K93 Diseases of the digestive system
XII L00-L99 Diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue
XIII M00-M99 Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue
XIV N00-N99 Diseases of the genitourinary system
XV O00-O99 ICD-10
XVI P00-P96 Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period
XVII Q00-Q99 ICD-10
XVIII R00-R99 ICD-10
XIX S00-T98 ICD-10
XX V01-Y98 External causes of morbidity and mortality
XXI Z00-Z99 Factors influencing health status and contact with health services
XXII U00-U99 Codes for special purposes
__________________________________________________ ______________
ICD-10(F00-F99)
F00-F09 Organic, including symptomatic, mental disorders
F10-F19 ICD-10
F20-F29 Schizophrenia
F30-F39 Mood disorders
F40-F48 Neurotic disorders
F50-F59 Behavioural syndromes associated with physiological disturbances and physical factors
F60-F69 Disorders of adult personality and behaviour
F70-F79 Mental retardation
F80-F89 Disorders of psychological development
F90-F98 Behavioural and emotional disorders with onset usually occurring in childhood and adolescence
F99 ICD-10
George Garcia9 said:Thanks everyone 😘 I'll try to get through this somehow... just taking it day by day... learning, living...
Patrick Alvarez20 lol, honestly, I’m secretly hoping some famous professor will end up teaching my subject ha ha 😛 Good luck!!!!
I seriously hate going to campus because the commute is driving me insane—the traffic, crowded subways, people smelling gross, lectures so packed you can barely breathe, and if I sit by the window, I freeze (during winter). Plus, waking up early... I mean, HOW is anyone supposed to actually focus on a lecture if they have to roll out of bed at 6 AM??? 😠 Who came up with this? I’d much rather be an online student, but my university doesn't allow that... It would be so much better to study from home and just show up to campus once in a while, haha, but nope, they won't let me 😬
I'm not studying psychology; I wanted to back then, but the thought of statistics absolutely terrified me 😬
I can't tell if I have social anxiety or if people just genuinely annoy the hell out of me...
redotter1 thanks for the offer, and thanks for the info, because the last thing I need in my life right now is to gain EVEN MORE weight 😛 I don't take much Lexapro, just one in the morning and two before bed.
thanks again everyone 🙂
Back when I first had a total breakdown, I went to see a psychiatrist, and my dad kept insisting to her that it was all because of school, school, school...
but the doctor just looked at him and said, "Sir, the school isn't the issue here."
I totally saw right through her though.
Hope this helps someone out
A group of experts from the University of Bristol just dropped a warning in The New England Journal of Medicine, telling young people they really need to watch out for the dangers of using marijuana, especially since the risks jump up the more often someone uses it.
The stats are pretty heavy—experts say about 800 cases of Schizophrenia in the United States every year are linked to marijuana use, making it a factor in roughly 14% of psychotic issues among young people across the US.
That said, they did mention they can't totally rule out the idea that people who are already at a higher risk for mental health struggles might just be more drawn to using the drug in the first place.
The lead author of the study, Professor Glyn Lewis, a professor of psychiatric epidemiology, noted: "It’s possible that marijuana users possess other traits that independently bump up their risk for psychotic disorders. But since every single study has turned up this connection, we have a responsibility to let the public know about these potential risks."
He also gave some solid advice, specifically telling anyone already dealing with mental health issues—or those with a family history of psychotic disorders—to definitely steer clear of marijuana.
MANIJA
The clinical picture.
Here’s how you can spot this mental health condition—it usually boils down to these core symptoms:
Hyperhormicity—it's basically when all those core life dynamics get way too loud and totally out of sync.
Hyperthymic temperament—basically, it just means you’re living life with the volume turned all the way up on your emotions. Everything feels more intense, more vivid, and more alive.
3. Hyperactivity—basically just a massive surge in physical energy, no matter how it shows up.
So, let's talk about vegetative and life hyperhormicity—basically when all your vital rhythms just kick into overdrive and everything starts moving way faster than usual.
Manic episodes can hit you like a freight train out of nowhere, often triggered right in the middle of some heavy psychological trauma or even just following a brief bout of feeling down. When things ramp up more gradually, you’ll see it coming through erratic behavior—basically, the person starts acting super loud and reactive, snapping at things that have nothing to do with them. Then there's the spike in sexual drive, dressing way too flashy, and that classic, relentless insomnia. At its core, mania is all about this pathological surge in emotion. We're talking full-blown euphoria, where everything feels incredibly optimistic and they're just riding a wave of absolute bliss. They become completely unbiased about their own actions, totally oblivious to how they're acting, and honestly, nothing you say is going to touch that high.
Mania can take on all sorts of vibes—sometimes it’s just naive and childishly fun, but other times it gets super aggressive and irritable, which honestly makes things pretty awkward for everyone around. A person dealing with this often has an inflated sense of self-importance and will dig for any excuse to claim their ego was bruised. They’ll straight-up lash out, throwing a barrage of insults at whoever they're talking to just because they're unhappy with how that person is acting. Usually, they'll act all high and mighty, condescendingly telling people they "just don't realize who they're dealing with" and aren't showing them the respect they deserve.
Because they’re riding such a massive high, these patients just can't stop singing—they'll belt it out for hours on end until they lose their voice, occasionally pausing just to drop a cheesy joke or a flirtatious little comment. With their energy levels through the roof, you see all this non-stop talking and constant movement, plus they can't sleep a wink at night and seem way too hyperactive. A manic patient honestly can't sit still for even a second; their facial expressions are super intense, their eyes are glowing, and they’ve got all these weird little mannerisms. They’ll scarf down huge amounts of food and drinks whenever they actually find a spare moment between all the distractions pulling them in every direction, though it’s pretty obvious that whatever they eat isn't where that endless supply of energy is coming from. You also see a major spike in sexual drive during these episodes, where things get pretty vulgar or even inappropriate, sometimes leading them to act on those impulses in public without a care in the world. They’re also notorious for blowing through cash on absolutely everything until they're broke, racking up massive debt in the process. To top off all that restlessness, they’re constantly jetting from one place to another, always picking the fastest and most expensive ways to travel.
When someone’s going through a manic episode, their wardrobe basically becomes a direct reflection of that wild headspace. They go all out—we’re talking loud, flashy, totally over-the-top outfits with neon colors thrown together without any sense of balance or style. You'll see women wearing way too much makeup, usually leaning hard into those super bright red tones. The guys? They might strip down to the waist, get covered in tattoos, or even try on full-blown Native American costumes with feathers in their hair. And they don't just stop at themselves; they completely overhaul their entire environment, too. They'll deck out their rooms with paintings that scream unbridled optimism, decorating everything like it’s New Year's Eve in Times Square. They become these social butterflies, trying to hype up the other patients and organizing game nights in the ward. Their attention is hyper-vigilant, just bouncing from one thing to the next, jumping from detail to detail without ever really settling. Because their focus is so fragmented, they can't stay on topic during a conversation; they just comment on every single little thing their sharp senses pick up. It’s like a constant flood of ideas and plans is racing through their heads—they start a dozen different things, but they can never actually finish a single one because they just can't lock in on one task.
Manic thought processes move at such a crazy speed that it basically becomes a "flight of ideas." Everything feels scattered because external triggers are constantly pulling the patient's focus in a million different directions. They talk fast, they get super loquacious, and while you can follow their train of thought, they never actually finish a single sentence before jumping to the next. Honestly, in some cases, a manic patient might just go dead silent because their brain is racing so fast they physically can't get the words out quickly enough to keep up. Their associations are incredibly vivid, too. You’ll hear them dropping puns, playing with double meanings, and throwing out witty quips—the whole vibe is pretty lighthearted, jokey, and even a bit mocking. Because they jump from one association to another so rapidly, it creates this sense of "pseudo-incoherence," where their speech and thoughts seem disconnected even when there's an underlying logic. Interestingly, memory isn't impaired; if anything, it feels refreshed, like they’re suddenly recalling things they learned ages ago. Their passive attention is hyper-alert, making them notice every tiny detail in the room, but because they're so hyper-vigilant, their active attention is actually pretty weak—they can't really stay focused on one thing for more than a few seconds. Consciousness and orientation remain totally intact. The delusions you see in manic patients stem directly from that pathologically elevated mood—what we call "mood-congruent delusions"—so these ideas wax and wane right along with their high. We're talking big, grandiose stuff here: the patient genuinely believes they are invincible, that they possess massive wealth and influence among the elite circles of New York City, or that the fate of the entire world rests on their shoulders. They feel like the strongest, most beautiful person ever. Sensory distortions like illusions or pseudo-hallucinations are pretty rare in these cases.
With their tendency to blow through cash, cause public scenes, indulge in physical impulses that can cross the line into criminal behavior, and carry that arrogant attitude born from inflated self-importance and delusions of grandeur—not to mention bizarre schemes, neglecting responsibilities—these folks just aren't cut out for society. Hospitalization is a must. It’s not just about protecting everyone else from a manic patient; you also have to protect the patient from themselves. And I don't just mean they'll face financial ruin or run afoul of the police because of an unbiased view of their own actions, but they also risk physical collapse. They lose weight fast because they're too hyperactive to sit down for a meal, all while dealing with constant movement and total insomnia.
Beyond the milder hypomanic phase we already talked about, there's also what’s known as furious or delirious mania, which Luther Bell described back in 1849—which is why people sometimes call it Bell's Mania. This is a super aggressive version where the psychosis is dialed up to eleven. It can hit suddenly, either during an acute manic episode or totally out of the blue. The psychomotor agitation is intense; the person is constantly moving, screaming, cursing, smashing everything in sight, exposing themselves, or acting out in extremely graphic, uninhibited ways. You see illusions and auditory, visual, or tactile hallucinations because their sensory centers are basically overstimulated, leading to disorientation and an altered state of consciousness. Because their thought processes become incoherent, paranoid ideas often crop up. Their thoughts race so fast that "logorrhea" kicks in—they talk so much and so fast that you can't even hold a conversation. Insomnia is absolute, and the agitation is so high they won't eat at all. Euphoria dominates the clinical picture, but once this furious phase breaks, the patient settles down and sleeps for a long stretch, usually having no memory of what happened during the episode.
When it comes to diagnosing this kind of psychosis, doctors really have to rule out other things through differential diagnosis. Lots of different mental illnesses or organic syndromes can mimic mania, such as: bleeding near the third or fourth cerebral ventricles, CNS intoxication from stuff like chloroform, amphetamines, or steroids, hypothalamus tumors, schizophrenia, progressive paralysis, brain contusions or hemorrhages, toxic buildup from liver or kidney failure, infections (like the flu, encephalitis, or even certain tick-borne illnesses), general agitation, or catatonic stupor seen in schizophrenia, etc.