BBB: Understand what an acute psychotic condition is – 02/18/2024 – Mental Health

On January 19, influencer Vanessa Lopes, 22, a participant on BBB24, withdrew from the program after experiencing mental confusion.

This Sunday (18), she tells Globo’s Fantástico program that she had an acute psychotic condition.

Psychiatrist Adilon Harley Machado, from the Espaço Arquétipo clinic, explains that the acute psychotic episode is a psychiatric emergency characterized by an alteration in the perception of reality, disorganization of thought and the content of speech, which can manifest itself with delusions and hallucinations, psychomotor agitation and loss of critical judgment.

“An acute episode can mark the beginning of a psychotic disorder, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or psychotic depression, or be caused by organic factors, infectious conditions, brain trauma or even oncological factors,” says Machado. “We must still consider extrinsic factors in the investigation, such as the use of chemical substances, such as alcohol and other psychoactive substances.”

The psychiatrist notes that anyone can develop a psychotic episode, but specific risk factors increase the incidence considerably, such as substance use, family history, another previous psychiatric condition and even factors such as immigration can be triggers.

“It is important to emphasize that acute episodes, when identified early, have a good clinical evolution. When the origin is organic or due to the use of substances, it is essential to treat the cause and stop the use of these substances”, says Machado.

During the course of the episode, says the doctor, it is important to use antipsychotic medications to stabilize the condition. “It is important to highlight that many cases can evolve into definitive diagnoses in psychiatry and require chronic treatment, as in the case of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.”

To help a person who is experiencing this condition, the psychiatrist says it is important to identify a sudden change in behavior. “A strengthened support network and more urgent contact with specialized professionals for clinical diagnostic investigation are essential, remembering that in many cases hospitalization may be necessary to safely observe the evolution of the patient’s condition”, he says.

“I emphasize that the investigation of a psychotic episode is thorough, requires laboratory and imaging tests, in addition to an extensive clinical evaluation, and any diagnosis made based on clippings extracted from TV or the internet is completely irresponsible”, says Machado.

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