Induced psychosis occupies a special place among mental illnesses. This pathology is observed in persons living with the mentally ill. A patient suffering from various forms of delusions may pass on his false ideas to loved ones. This is especially true for relatives. People around begin to believe in those ridiculous ideas that the patient expresses. In this case, doctors talk about induced delusional disorder in a he althy person.
Why are people so suggestible? And how to get rid of such psychosis? We will consider these issues in the article.
Case history
Induced delusional disorder was first described in 1877 by French psychiatrists Falret and Lasegue. They observed the same delusional ideas in two patients who were closely related. At the same time, one patient suffered from a severe form of schizophrenia, and the other was previously completely he althy.
This disease is called"double madness". You may also come across the term "psychosis by association".
Pathogenesis
At first glance, it seems strange that a mentally ill person can inspire delusional thoughts in his immediate environment. Why are he althy people susceptible to strange ideas? To understand this issue, it is necessary to consider the mechanism of the development of pathology.
Specialists have long been investigating the causes of induced psychosis. Currently, psychiatrists distinguish two participants in the pathological process:
- Delirium inductor. In this capacity, a mentally ill person acts. Such a patient suffers from a true delusional disorder (eg, schizophrenia).
- Recipient. This is a mentally he althy person, constantly communicating with a delusional patient and adopting his strange thoughts and ideas. This is usually a close relative who lives with the psychiatric patient and has a close emotional connection with him.
It should be noted that not one person, but a whole group of persons can act as a recipient. In the history of medicine, cases of mass psychoses are described. It was not uncommon for one sick person to communicate his delusional ideas to a large number of overly suggestible people.
Often, the inductor and the recipient communicate closely with each other, but at the same time lose contact with the outside world. They stop contacting other relatives, friends and neighbors. Such social isolation increases the risk of induced psychosis in a he althy family member.
Inductor personality traits
As already mentioned, a mentally ill person acts as an inducer of delirium. Most often, such patients suffer from schizophrenia or senile dementia. At the same time, they enjoy great prestige among relatives and have dominant and imperious character traits. This gives sick people the opportunity to transmit their distorted ideas to he althy people.
The following forms of delusional disorders in mental patients can be distinguished:
- Megalomaniac. The patient is convinced of the great significance and exclusivity of his personality. He also believes that he has special unique talents.
- Hypochondria. The patient believes that he is ill with severe and incurable pathologies.
- Delirium of jealousy. The patient unreasonably suspects a partner of infidelity, and is constantly looking for confirmation of infidelity. Such patients can be aggressive and dangerous to others.
- Persecution mania. The patient is very distrustful of others. He sees a threat to himself even in the neutral statements of other people.
The recipient always has the same type of delusional disorder as the inducer. For example, if a mentally ill person suffers from hypochondria, then over time, his he althy relative begins to look for symptoms of non-existent diseases.
Risk group
It should be noted that not every person in close contact with delusional patients develops induced psychosis. Only some people with certain character traits are subject to this pathology. The risk group includes the following categories of persons:
- having increased emotional excitability;
- overly receptive and gullible;
- fanatically religious;
- superstitious;
- persons with low intelligence.
Such people blindly believe any word of a sick person who is an indisputable authority for them. They are very easy to mislead. Over time, they develop a mental disorder.
Symptomatics
The main symptom of induced psychosis is delusional disorder. First, such a violation manifests itself in the inductor, and then it is easily transmitted to the suggested recipient.
Until recently, a he althy person becomes anxious and suspicious. He repeats crazy ideas after the patient and sincerely believes in them.
In this case, doctors diagnose paranoid personality disorder. This violation does not apply to severe mental illness, but it is a borderline state between the norm and pathology.
An experienced psychiatrist can easily distinguish an induced disorder in a recipient from a true delusion in a sick person. It is characterized by the following features:
- Recipient articulates delusional ideas quite logically.
- A person has no clouding of consciousness. He is able to prove and argue his thoughts.
- Auditory and visual hallucinationsextremely rare.
- Patient's intelligence is intact.
- The patient clearly answers the doctor's questions, is oriented in time and space.
Diagnosis
Mental disorder cannot be confirmed by laboratory and instrumental methods. Therefore, the main role in the diagnosis is played by the questioning of the patient and the collection of anamnesis. Induced mental disorder is confirmed in the following cases:
- If the inductor and the recipient have the same delirium.
- If constant and close contact between the inductor and the recipient is detected.
- If the recipient was previously he althy and has never had a mental disorder.
If both the inductor and the recipient are diagnosed with a serious mental illness (for example, schizophrenia), then the diagnosis is considered unconfirmed. A true delusional disorder cannot be induced by another person. In such cases, doctors talk about simultaneous psychosis in two sick people.
Psychotherapy
In psychiatry, induced psychosis is not a pathology that requires mandatory drug therapy. After all, strictly speaking, a person suffering from this form of the disease is not mentally ill. Sometimes it is enough to separate the delirium inducer and the recipient for some time, as all pathological manifestations instantly disappear.
Paranoid personality disorder is treated mainly with psychotherapeutic methods. An important conditionis the isolation of the recipient from the delirium inducer. However, many patients experience such separation extremely hard. At this moment, they need serious psychological support.
Patients with induced delusions should attend regular behavior therapy sessions. This will help them learn how to properly communicate with the mentally ill and not perceive other people's delusional thoughts.
Medicated treatment
Medical treatment of induced psychosis is rarely practiced. Drug therapy is used only for severe patient anxiety and persistent delusional disorders. The following drugs are prescribed:
- small antipsychotics - Sonapax, Neuleptil, Teraligen;
- antidepressants - Fluoxetine, Velaxin, Amitriptyline, Zoloft;
- tranquilizers - Phenazepam, Seduxen, Relanium.
These drugs have anti-anxiety effects. There are times when delusional ideas disappear after the sedative effects of drugs on the psyche.
Prevention
How to prevent induced psychosis? It is useful for relatives of delusional patients to periodically visit a psychotherapist. Living together with a psychiatric patient is an ordeal for a person. Against the background of such stress, even he althy people can develop various deviations. That's whyit is important to remember that relatives of the mentally ill often need psychological help and support.
You should be critical of the statements and judgments of a sick person. You can not blindly believe every word of a psychiatric patient. It is important to remember that in some cases, delusional representations can look very believable.
A person living with a patient needs to take care of his psyche. Of course, mentally ill people need serious care and attention from relatives. However, it is very important to distance yourself from the crazy ideas of a sick person. This will help avoid induced mental disorders.
