Do I Have Shared Psychotic Disorder?
Shared psychotic disorder is a very difficult disorder to diagnose even for a professional. The reason for this is due to the person suffering from it is actually exhibiting signs and symptoms as a person with a true mental illness.
This disorder tends to happen to someone that is perfectly healthy, but is in close proximity to someone with a type of mental illness. Usually they are both socially withdrawn and rely on only themselves for support. This can also make the symptoms shown by the more submissive person even worse.
Many cases of shared psychotic disorder may not be diagnosed because only one out of the group usually seeks treatment. Sometimes, the disorder is recognize during the course of treatment. A psychologist may notice the symptoms in the submissive if there is any contact with the other during treatment.
How Can I Tell if I Have Shared Psychotic Disorder?
There are a few signs that a person is suffering from shared psychotic disorder. If they are noticed early enough, the person will have a better chance of recovery with proper treatment. Some ways to tell if you or someone you know is suffering from shared psychotic disorder:
1. Exhibiting signs of a disorder or delusions while in constant and close contact with another person, or group of people, that also show symptoms of a mental disorder.
Shared psychotic disorder is exactly that, induced symptoms that have been brought on by close contact with someone that is suffering from a mental disorder, according to the Cleveland Clinic. An example of this would be a husband and wife that live together. The both of which are exhibiting signs of mental disorders.
Shared psychotic syndrome occurs between two people, and usually involves one person who already struggles with their mental health.
2. The symptoms or delusions of the secondary, or previously healthy person, are very similar in context to the primary.
Shared psychotic disorder is when a healthy person shows signs of having the same delusions, or signs of having a similar disorder as the person they are in contact with. Continuing on with the example in number one, assuming the wife is the more dominant person in the relationship. The husband, being the more submissive person, may have been healthy up until a certain point in the marriage. He can start to exhibit some of the same symptoms as his wife.
3. If the symptoms or delusions cannot be explained by drug abuse, identifying them as suffering from another psychotic disorder, or the symptoms are not caused by any type of medical condition.
There are a lot of different types of disorders people are suffering from. Professionals must rule out all of the known mental illnesses and other various environmental factors affecting a person before they can make a diagnosis.
Identifying yourself or someone else as a person that is suffering from shared psychotic disorder can be very difficult . The treatment cannot help if they do not seek it. The options for treatment of shared psychotic disorder will depend on the actual diagnosis from a professional. They can vary from individualized treatment which would start off by separating the submissive person from the dominant. With time, the symptoms usually will lessen and can even disappear.
