Holistic Natural Treatment for Psychosis

The treatment for psychosis may involve a combination of medications and therapy. Most people will experience an improvement in their symptoms with treatment.

Listed below are the most common methods of treatment for psychosis:

Medications for Psychosis

Medications for psychosis, like antipsychotics, can help reduce hallucinations and delusions and help people think more clearly. The medications for psychosis that is prescribed will depend on the symptoms experienced.

In many cases, people only need to take antipsychotics for a short time to get their symptoms under control. People with schizophrenia may have to stay on medications for life.

Therapy for Psychosis

Therapy for psychosis, like cognitive-behavioral therapy, involves meeting regularly to talk with a mental health counselor with the goal of changing thinking and behaviors. This therapy for psychosis has been shown to be effective in helping people make permanent changes and better manage their illness. It’s often most helpful for psychotic symptoms that don’t completely resolve with medications.

What is Psychosis?

Psychosis is characterized by an impaired relationship with reality. It’s a symptom of serious mental disorders. People who are experiencing psychosis may have either hallucinations or delusions.

Hallucinations are sensory experiences that occur within the absence of an actual stimulus. For example, a person having an auditory hallucination may hear their mother yelling at them when their mother isn’t around. Or someone having a visual hallucination may see something, like a person in front of them, who isn’t actually there.

The person experiencing psychosis may also have thoughts that are contrary to actual evidence. These thoughts are known as delusions. Some people with psychosis may also experience loss of motivation and social withdrawal.

Psychosis involves a loss of contact with reality and can feature hallucinations and delusions. It's a symptom of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, but there are many other causes.

These experiences can be frightening. They may also cause people who are experiencing psychosis to hurt themselves or others. It’s important to see a doctor right away if you or someone you know is experiencing symptoms of psychosis.

What Causes Psychosis?

Each case of psychosis is different, and the exact cause of psychosis isn’t always clear. There are certain illnesses that cause psychosis, however, there are also triggers like drug use, lack of sleep, and other environmental factors. In addition, certain situations can lead to specific types of psychosis developing.

Possible causes of psychosis are:

• Genetic factors: Research shows that schizophrenia and bipolar disorder may share a common genetic cause.
• Hormones: Some people experience postpartum psychosis after giving birth. Due to this, and the fact that the early signs of psychosis often occur first in adolescents, some experts have suggested that hormonal factors may play a role in those with genetic susceptibility.
• Brain changes: Tests have found differences in brain chemicals — specifically, the activity of the neurotransmitter dopamine — in people who experience psychosis.

Types of Psychosis

Some types of psychosis are brought on by specific conditions or circumstances that include the following:

Brief Psychotic Disorder

Brief psychotic disorder, sometimes called brief reactive psychosis, can occur during periods of extreme personal stress like the death of a family member. Someone experiencing brief reactive psychosis will generally recover in a few days to a few weeks, depending on the source of the stress.

Drug-or-Alcohol-Related Psychosis

Psychosis can be triggered by the use of alcohol or drugs, including stimulants such as methamphetamine and cocaine. Hallucinogenic drugs like LSD often cause users to see things that aren’t really there, but this effect is temporary. Some prescription drugs like steroids and stimulants can also cause symptoms of psychosis.

People who have an addiction to alcohol or certain drugs can experience psychotic symptoms if they suddenly stop drinking or taking those drugs.

Organic Psychosis

A head injury or an illness or infection that affects the brain can cause symptoms of psychosis.

Schizoaffective Disorder

This disorder is similar to schizophrenia but includes periods of mood disturbances.

Delusional Disorder

The person has a strong belief in something irrational and often bizarre with no factual basis.

Bipolar Psychosis

Some people with bipolar disorder experience psychosis, either during a very high or very low mood.

Severe Depression

Also known as a major depressive disorder with psychotic features.

Postpartum (Postnatal) Psychosis:

This type of psychosis can present after giving birth.

Substance-Induced Psychosis

The misuse of alcohol, some recreational drugs, and certain prescription drugs can cause this.

Symptoms of Psychosis

The signs and symptoms of psychosis include:

• Hallucinations: The person hears, sees, smells, tastes, or feels things that do not exist.
• Delusions: The individual believes things that are false, and they may have unfounded fears or suspicions.
• Disorganized thinking, speech, and behavior: The person may jump between unrelated topics in speech and thought, making connections that appear illogical to other people. Their speech may make no sense to others.
• Catatonia: The person may become unresponsive.
• Unusual psychomotor behavior: The person makes unintentional movements, such as pacing, tapping, and fidgeting.

The mild, early symptoms of psychosis might include:

• General anxiety
• Depression
• Social isolation
• Problems focusing
• Mild or moderate disturbances in language, energy levels, and thinking
• Difficulty taking initiative
• Lower tolerance to stress
• Sleep problems
• Neglecting self-care
• Feelings of suspicion
• Thoughts and ideas that seem strange to others

Other symptoms of psychosis are:

• Mood changes
• Difficulty focusing
• Sleep problems

Depending on the cause, psychosis can appear quickly or slowly. It can also be mild or severe. In some cases, it may be mild when it first appears but become more intense over time.

Schizophrenia vs Psychosis

While sometimes erroneously used interchangeably, psychosis and schizophrenia are not the same things.

Psychosis refers to losing touch with reality.

Schizophrenia is a disorder characterized by a number of symptoms, including psychotic symptoms.

People who have schizophrenia experience psychosis; however, people experiencing psychosis do not necessarily have schizophrenia.

Natural Treatment for Psychosis

Natural treatment for psychosis is another type of treatment for psychosis that has been proven to be effective without causing any side effects.

Below are the most popular approaches to natural treatment for psychosis described in detail:

Natural Products for Psychosis Treatment

Natural antipsychotic agents are an important area of current research and are in high demand around the world because they are better than synthetic drugs as they do not possess severe side effects and chronic toxicity. Natural products are secondary metabolites of animal origin or chemical compounds that possess enormous structural and chemical diversity that is unmatched in any synthetic library. The ancient systems of traditional medicine in the world revolve around the use of a rich heritage of extracts from plant sources and phytochemicals derived from them.

There are various herbs in Ayurveda such as Bacopa monnieri, Glycyrrhiza Glabra, Acormus Calmus, Withania somnifera, Carumrox Burghianum, Cuminum Cyminum, Carum Carvi, ZingiberLOfficinalis, Piper Nigrum, Piper longum, and Cissampe Lospareiraosa, which help to cope with the disease. and maintain good brain health. In the current scenario, the number of herbal pharmaceutical products available. A large number of health products, dietary supplements, and beauty products, as well as food, contain adapted phytoextracts and phytochemicals as their main active ingredients.

Many species of plants have been used as traditional medicine in the world for a long time, which exerts the most powerful approach to drug discovery through systematic monitoring of the ethnomedical (traditional medicine) use of plants. Traditional medicines derived mainly from plant sources have been prescribed for various types of illnesses and disorders, including psychosis, due to their economic choice and fewer side effects. The chemistry of natural products is a divergent area of ​​research in drug discovery and development that is associated with the isolation, purification, characterization, and identification of the chemical’s pharmacological areas.

Some of the molecules derived from plants are useful as antipsychotic drugs, while the others have been semi synthetically modified to produce a greater effect as a drug. Most of the time, appropriate structural modifications have provided new leads or new drugs, with improved activity and less toxicity. Recently, a suitable example of systematic activity has guided the extraction and isolation of antipsychotic compounds, namely; an isomeric mixture of 11-demethoxyreserpiline (v) and 10-demethoxyreserpiline (vi), α-yohimbine (vii), and reserpine from the leaf of Rauwolfia Tetraphylla were studied. All of the isolated composites disclosed noteworthy antipsychotic effects without any further pyramidal symptoms or side effects. Hence, numerous plant species show respectable antipsychotic effects in plants and extracts and are conventionally applied to the treatment of psychosis.

Acupuncture for Psychosis – An Ancient Chinese Treatment for Psychosis

Although acupuncture or Traditional Chinese Medicine has been practiced for over 2000 years in China and the Far East, especially in Korea and Japan, it's a relatively new form of treatment for physical and psychological conditions in the West. Acupuncture inserts needles into the skin to stimulate specific points of the body (acupoints). The aim is to achieve balance and harmony of the body.

Psychosis is a serious mental illness and is usually treated using antipsychotic medication. However, although effective, antipsychotic medication can cause side effects (such as sleepiness, weight gain, and even dribbling).

Acupuncture for psychosis has been shown to have very few negative effects on the individual and could be more socially acceptable and tolerable for people with mental health problems. Acupuncture for psychosis may also be less expensive than drugs made by pharmaceutical companies, so reducing costs to individuals and health services.

Homeopathy for Psychosis

Homeopathy for psychosis is a deep-acting remedy that aims to work on correcting the cause from which the whole disease is initiated so as to bring about remarkable recovery in psychosis. Delusions of varying kinds, hallucinations, and the other attending features of Schizophrenia are treatable with natural homeopathic medicines. With the use of Homeopathy, the intensity of symptoms is seen to reduce gradually with the regaining of a sense of general wellbeing.

Below are homeopathic remedies for psychosis:

Lachesis – For High Degree of Suspiciousness

• Lachesis Muta is a highly reputed homeopathic remedy for psychosis. Paranoid delusions are mainly indicative of the use of Lachesis Muta. These delusions include high suspicion of being poisoned, of being harmed, and of being followed by enemies.

Anacardium Orientale – For Auditory Hallucinations

• Anacardium Orientale is an important medicine for psychosis where a person hears voices. The voices are mostly of spirits or dead people. A few patients narrate that the voices say that they are going to die soon. Some patients say that the spirits call their name and command them to follow them. Some patients state that the voices inside them speak in abusive language.

Hyoscyamus Niger – For Delusion of Being Poisoned

• Hyoscyamus Niger is useful in cases where the patient thinks someone is going to poison them. In most cases, as a result, they avoid eating or drinking. There is also a suspicion that family members are keeping a watch over them all the time. Sometimes the patient does things that appear foolish. Laughing loudly at everything is also markedly present. An impulse to strike and bite others may also arise along with delusions. Unintelligible chattering can also appear.

Baryta Carbonica – For Suspicion That a Person is Being Talked About

• Baryta Carb is helpful in treating psychosis where sufferers have a high suspicion that other people are talking about them. There is also a feeling that they are being made fun of and people always laugh at them. Other symptoms that attend accompany are difficulty in concentration and confusion of mind. Childish behavior is also common among patients needing Baryta Carb.

Stramonium – Where Patients Talk with Imaginary Spirits

• Stramonium works well in cases of psychosis where the patient thinks that they can talk with spirits. Patients needing this remedy say that they are under the influence of these spirits. They may also say that they are in communication with God. They carry out conversations with imaginary people. A feeling of restlessness attends this talking with spirits and imaginary people. Delusions of the presence of multiple persons in the room may also arise though none are there in reality. The patient sees people coming out of all corners of the chamber.

Plumbum Metallicum – For Delusions of Conspiracies of Being Murdered

• Plumbum Met is well indicated for psychosis in persons suffering from delusions of others conspiring to murder them. These individuals think everyone around them is a murderer and their life is in danger. Sadness, melancholy, restlessness, anxiety, aversion to talking, and absent-mindedness also prevail among them.

Thuja Occidentalis – For Sensation of Being under Superhuman Control

• Thuja Occidentalis is of help in cases where the patient feels as if he is under the control of some superhuman power. The patient has a vacant look with staring eyes and may talk in a hasty way or use wrong words while talking. They are also sad, irritable, and suffer from insomnia. They are usually unable to manage daily life tasks.

Hypnosis for Psychosis 

Hypnotherapy, also known as hypnosis, is a type of non-standard treatment or “complementary and alternative medicine”. While performing hypnosis for psychosis hypnotist uses guided relaxation technique, powerful concentration, and focused attention to attain a delicate state of mindfulness, commonly referred to as a hypnotic trance.

The patient’s attention is so fixated in this state that everything that is happening around the person is temporarily hidden or ignored. In this natural state, a person can focus their attention on specific thoughts or tasks with the help of a trained therapist.

Hypnosis for psychosis allows patients to explore painful thoughts, feelings, and memories they might have hidden from their conscious minds. In addition, hypnosis enables people to perceive some things differently, such as blocking an awareness of pain.

Hypnosis for psychosis can be used to control unwanted behavior or to better manage anxiety or pain. It is important to recognize that while you are in a hypnotic trance, you are more exposed to suggestions but you do not lose control of your behavior.

Hypnosis for psychosis directed by a well-trained hypnotherapy medical doctor or psychologist is considered safe, complementary, and alternative medical treatment.

Your hypnotherapist will explain the hypnosis process to you and review your treatment goals. Then, the hypnotist will speak and describe imageries that develop a sense of relaxation, safety, and comfort.

When you are in a receptive state, the therapist will suggest ways to achieve your goals, such as reducing pain or eliminating cravings. The hypnotist can also help you picture bright and meaningful images of yourself achieving your goals.

When the session ends, you can either break out of hypnosis or your therapist helps you end your relaxed state.

Unlike how hypnosis is sometimes portrayed in movies or on television, you don’t lose control over your behavior during hypnosis. Also, you usually remain aware of and remember what happens during hypnosis.

Hypnotherapy does not assume falling asleep. Instead, a person stays awake, but their attention is fixed in a way that could make them seem unbalanced or in a trance.

Hypnosis Treatment

For many people, the word hypnosis conjures up images of swinging pocket watches, mysterious magical figures, and people cackling like chickens on a stage. Even if hypnosis does not contain such theatrics in research and clinical practice, it can still be viewed with skepticism on the basis of these associations or dismissed as a mere fake. Nonetheless, numerous scientific studies have shown that hypnotic suggestion is real and very different from mere fake (Kihlstrom, 1985; Nash & Barnier, 2008).

Hypnotized participants often report real changes in their subjective experience. For example, specific suggestions about hallucinations, involuntary acts, or unusual beliefs can result in hypnotized participants having these experiences. However, people differ in their answers. About 10–15 percent of the population respond to most, if not all, of the suggestions; 70–80 percent respond to some suggestions and not others; and 10–15 percent respond to few or no suggestions (Hilgard, 1965). These differences in responsiveness are largely unrelated to differences in personality, mental illness, or intelligence (Laurence et al., 2008)

The advantage of the use of hypnosis for psychosis is that it allows hypnotists to easily induce symptoms when needed. If not, these symptoms might be rare or difficult to study for practical reasons. In addition, identifying possible causes of the disorder in hypnotized participants and examining their effects may allow practitioners to better understand the psychological processes that may play a role in clinical disorder (Woody & Szechtman, 2011).

Natural Treatment for Psychosis in Philadelphia

Despite great progress in treatment options over the past century, pharmacological treatment of psychotic disorders is often unsatisfactory, as expressed in persistent positive, negative, cognitive, and affective symptoms and problems in social functioning.

Many patients with psychotic disorders use unconventional medications or treatments in hopes of decreasing unwanted side effects or a more successful recovery (Hazra et al., 2010; Stevinson, 2001).

If you don’t want to take antipsychotic medications, there are several alternative treatments you can try. You may find that it’s possible to manage your symptoms or recover completely without medication. If you are taking antipsychotics, you can also take advantage of other mental health support options as well as medications.

Some people find that complementary and alternative therapies help manage their symptoms. For example, it can be aromatherapy, reflexology, or acupuncture. Complementary therapies can also help manage some of the side effects of medications if you decide to continue.

Some herbal remedies can interact with antipsychotics and other types of drugs. If you plan to take an herbal remedy in addition to medicine, ask your doctor, psychiatrist or pharmacist if it is safe.

Keep in mind that holistic medicine is first of all medicine and it is mandatory that the holistic treatment is directed and supervised by a trained physician. Holistic and naturopathic medicine is effective and safe only if properly used.

If you are looking for a holistic treatment for psychosis contact Philadelphia Holistic Clinic and schedule an appointment with Dr. Tsan.

During the appointment, you will undergo a full-body assessment, all necessary tests, and discuss a customized treatment plan.

To schedule a comprehensive holistic evaluation with Dr. Tsan and discuss your best treatment strategy contact us at (267) 403-3085.