Psychotic disorder (or a group of disorders) marked by severely impaired thinking, emotions, and behaviors. Patients are typically unable to filter sensory stimuli and may have enhanced perceptions of sounds, colors, and other features of their environment. Most, if untreated, gradually withdraw from interactions with other people, and lose their ability to take care of personal needs and grooming. As stated by DSM-IV-TR, which supplies the specifications for medical diagnosis which are currently most favored, the representative disruptions must persist for a minimum of six months and contain a minimum of one month of active-phase symptoms consisting of two or more of the following: delusions, hallucinations, chaotic speech patterns, grossly disordered or catatonic behavior patterns, or adverse symptoms.
SCHIZOPHRENIA: “Schizophrenia was first formally described in the late 19th century by German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin (1856-1926), who named it dementia praecox; in 1911 Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler (1857-1939) renamed the disorder “schizophrenia” and described what he regarded as its fundamental symptoms.”