Psychosis can be defined as a series of disorders that involve delusions and loss of touch with reality. People with various forms of psychosis including paranoid schizophrenia are perceived to be dangerous at first, But they are not as dangerous as people perceive them to be. We are mislead by the media into thinking that every serial killer and criminal is mentally ill, When in reality most criminals are really mentally normal and they commit crimes for their own selfish reasons (greed, revenge, jealousy). When a person has psychosis their image of reality is somewhat distorted compared to a normal person's. One example of distorted reality would be sensory hallucinations (i.e.: hearing voices, seeing monsters, and tasting sounds. The Human Brain is a organic machine and psychological research will someday help us understand how that machine malfunctions.
What causes psychotic disorders? Interesting Theories have risen, but the most common is that it is a trait passed on from parent to child. People with psychotic disorders tend to lean toward this theory. Another theory is that psychotic disorders can be caused by head trauma or cancerous tumors. Bacterial infections like spinal meningitis can cause damage to the brain and induce psychosis. Constant stress can bring about a mild to severe case of psychosis. Abusive parents can bring about psychosis in children, but another question to ask is "If you"re not born with a form psychosis and you contract it from an outside influence, is it still passed on to your offspring?" The most likely explanation is chemical imbalance, or exposure to drugs or other substances.
Characteristics Delusions are a usual characteristic of psychotic disorders, they are in two different categories, Grandiose and Persecutory. Grandiose is characterized by the feeling that you are someone important or someone with "special powers" It appears to be the brain's way of living out a fantasy in the real world.
