Table of Contents
- Overview
- Symptoms
- Treatment
- Prevention
- Images
Psychotic depression; Delusional depression
Symptoms
People with psychotic depression have symptoms of depression and psychosis.
Psychosis is a loss of contact with reality. It usually includes:
- Delusions: False beliefs about what is taking place or who one is
- Hallucinations: Seeing or hearing things that aren't there
The types of delusions and hallucinations are often related to your depressed feelings. For example, some patients may hear voices criticizing them, or telling them that they don't deserve to live. The person may develop false beliefs about their body, for example that they have cancer.
For information on symptoms of depression, see:
Signs and tests
Your health care provider will perform a physical exam and ask questions about your medical history and symptoms. Your answers and certain questionnaires can help your doctor diagnose this condition and determine how severe it may be.
Blood and urine tests and possibly a brain scan may be done to rule out other medical conditions with similar symptoms.
Images
Previous Section
Review Date: 02/24/2011
Reviewed By: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Medical Director, MEDEX Northwest Division of
Physician Assistant Studies, University of Washington, School of
Medicine; David B. Merrill, MD, Assistant Clinical Professor of
Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical
Center, New York, NY. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA,
Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
