Brief Psychotic Disorder

ByCarol Tamminga, MD, UT Southwestern Medical Dallas
Reviewed/Revised Apr 2022 | Modified Sept 2022
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    The symptoms of brief psychotic disorder resemble the delusions, hallucinations, or other psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia, but they last for a much shorter time (from 1 day to 1 month). 

    People with brief psychotic disorder have at least one of the following symptoms:

    • Delusions (false beliefs that people maintain against strong evidence)

    • Hallucinations

    • Disorganized speech

    • Very disorganized or catatonic (immobile or unresponsive) behavior

    Doctors diagnose brief psychotic disorder if the person's symptoms last less than 1 month and another disorder does not better account for symptoms. Other disorders that can produce similar symptoms include adverse drug effects, medical problems such as a brain tumor or temporal lobe epilepsy, schizophrenia, and schizoaffective disorder.

    Treatment of brief psychotic disorder is similar to treatment of schizophrenia and requires a doctor's supervision and sometimes short-term treatment with antipsychotic drugs

    Relapse is common, but people with brief psychotic disorder typically function well between episodes and have few or no symptoms.

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