Psych 101 Reflection Paper: Psychosis and Biological Abnormalities

Psychosis is a feature of mental illness defined by radical changes in personality, distorted sense of objective reality, and impaired functioning. The causes of psychosis are manifold. It can occur through an interaction of psychosocial and biological factors, but can be due to purely social factors, without a biological component. Some of the biological factors include malignancy, endocrine disease, and nutritional deficiency. Others include sleep disorders, poisoning and acquired metabolic disorders. The commonly acknowledged causes of psychosis are the psychosocial factors such as stress and trauma. This is because the disease affects human behavior. According to medical research, biological factors also cause psychosis. However, the link between biological disorders and the causation of the condition is unclear. The critical question, therefore, is: is it a mere coincidence or it is there a real, underlying connection?

Psychosis is a defining feature for schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, delusional disorder, and psychotic disorders. In schizophrenia, psychosis has its cause connected to the chemistry and structure of the brain. Its cause has a strong genetic link. However, its development and severity is a function of social factors such as stress or lack of family support. The connection between schizoaffective disorder and biological factors is not clear cut. The exact causative factors for delusional disorder are not clear, but potential causes are changes in brain chemistry, heredity, and neurological abnormalities. Trauma and stress are some of the cause of brief psychotic disorder. In relation to the review of causes, biological and social factors interact and create cause the onset and development of psychotic conditions. Biological factors trigger the onset of schizophrenia while social factors act to propagate the development of disease. However, in short-term psychosis, social factors, stress and trauma, are the sole causes.

Psychosis has psychosocial components that influence and aggravate behavior. The extreme disorder of schizophrenia involves influence on brain structure and function. Therefore, we cannot overlook biological factors in the diagnosis. Children suffering from psychosis show imbalances in some forms of biological components implying heredity of the disease. Biological factors promote the onset and development of long-term psychosis, with an effect on severity. In cases where biological abnormalities are the primary causes, social factors exacerbate the development and severity of the condition. Therefore, cases of psychosis that involve biological abnormalities are severe and long-term. Their prognosis is poor as compared to psychotic disorders involving only social causes. Social causes tend to produce mild and short term forms of psychosis with better prognosis than those involving schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders associated with biological abnormalities.

In conclusion,the diagnosis of psychosis is a complicated process. The suspect causes are diverse and range from biological abnormalities to socio-cultural factors. The onset and development of psychotic conditions may involve purely psychosocial causes but may also involve interactions of both the biological and social factors. Future research is necessary for adequate knowledge of the biological abnormalities in primary psychotic disorders and the connection to the biological brain function. It is a fascinating but complex field of psychology. The difficulties of diagnosing patients with psychosis persist as differential diagnosis remains large. The real challenge is in establishing how the human mind regulates biological structure, function, and physical development of the body.

Works Cited

Rudolf, N. & Bullmore E. (2011). “The Diagnosis of Psychosis”. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

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