Symptoms of psychosis

The two main symptoms of psychosis are hallucinations and delusions.

Hallucinations involve you seeing, hearing or feeling things which aren’t there, such as:

• Hearing voices
• Seeing things which other people do not see
• Feeling someone touching you who is not there
• Smelling things which other people cannot

Delusions are beliefs that aren’t true and may seem irrational to others, such as:

• Feeling you’re being followed, monitored or there is a conspiracy to harm you
• Believing you have special powers, are on a special mission or in some cases that you’re a god

You may not always find these experience distressing, although some people do. You may be able to stay in work and function at a high level in your life, even if you have these experiences.

Cognitive experiences relate to mental action, such as learning, remembering and functioning. Some cognitive experiences associated with psychosis are:

• Difficulty concentrating
• Memory problems
• Unable to take in information
• Difficulty making decisions