Psychotic depression is very specialized form of depression. Not only do the sufferers experience all the classical signs of depression they will also exhibit psychotic features as well. They will have delusions and hallucinations, they will see and hear things that other people do not see or hear. It is said that about one in every 250 people may be suffering from psychotic depression. Furthermore, about 25 percent of all cases where people are hospitalized for depression turn out to be psychotic depression, making this disease pretty widespread and alarming. Psychotic depression is a major and most severe illness.

People suffering from psychotic depression have delusions, which are irrational thoughts based on irrational fears. Hallucinations and delusions are shared with other mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder, however with psychotic depression there is a qualitative difference. People suffering from psychotic depression are generally aware that these thoughts are false thoughts. Unfortunately they may also be embarrassed or too ashamed to report these irrational thoughts to their doctor and thus go untreated. Going untreated also increases the risks for worsening the symptoms, and developing into Bipolar depression.

Researches do not know the causes of severe major depressive disorder with psychotic features. However, it has been linked to high levels of cortisol in the blood. The adrenal glands produce cortisol which is a hormone. There is a pattern to the release of cortical within the blood stream. The levels are usually at their lowest around 4:00pm. However, when a person is stressed either physically due to an illness or psychologically due to any biological or environment factor this stress will produce higher levels of cortisol in their bloodstream.

No definite risk factors have been determined at this point in time. However, there seems to be some link between a family history of depression and other psychotic type disorders.

Even though this condition is most commonly found among people suffering from major depression, in Bipolar patients the condition can occur among people who exhibit moderate or mild forms of depression as well. Normally, the depression with psychotic features will last for a set period called an episode. It can also be a chronic condition as well.

Psychotic Depression Symptoms

Psychotic Depression symptoms will include anxiety and agitation, inability to move or to sleep, cognitive impairment, hypochondria, and constipation.

People suffering with this disorder often feel that they are being punished for something they did. They also fear that something is radically wrong with their body. They will feel ill and are convinced that they are ill even when other people or the medical profession cannot find a single illness to account for these feelings. Even though delusions are most common in psychotic depression some people will also experience hallucinations.

Because of the delusions and the hallucinations, people suffering from psychotic depression are often misdiagnosed with schizophrenia, which includes both the hallucinations, the delusions, irrational thoughts and depression. However, schizophrenia can have other devastating characteristics which are not present in psychotic depression, such as inappropriate affect or garbled and nonsensical speech, Also the symptoms know as flight of ideas and echolalia which is repeating words over and over again is not present in psychotic depression.

The usual medication for psychotic depression includes tricyclic antidepressants used in combination with antipsychotic medication. Lithium has also been used successfully for treating the sufferers who also have Bipolar Disorder. Another therapy, which is used as a second line of treatment, is electroconvulsive therapy. It has proven to be effective. New research is being done on the morning after abortion pill, RU-486, which appears to relieve the psychotic symptoms.

The sufferers of psychotic depression usually recover within a year. The psychotic symptoms are actually easier to treat then the regular depression symptoms. It is important that suffers get a proper diagnosis because the treatment for psychotic depression is different from other forms of major depression. Also the risk for suicide is much greater in sufferers of psychotic depression than for major depression without psychotic features.

Related Articles

• Bipolar Psychosis
• Bipolar Diagnosis
• Signs of Bipolar Disorder
• Schizophrenia Diagnosis
• Paranoid Schizophrenia
• Mood Disorder
• Bipolar Symptom

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