[Psychogenic psychoses].

Abstract

The term psychogenic or reactive psychosis is used to describe a psychotic state which is experience-related and triggered by a precipitating event. Experimental studies have confirmed that under total sensory deprivation man responds by exhibiting psychotic reactions within a short time. Emotion psychoses, brief reactive psychoses are psychotic reactions due to an emotional shock. They usually go beyond the usual pathological psychoreactions in terms of quality, intensity and duration. Emotion psychoses show schizophrenia-like symptoms; the duration of illness varies from a few hours to several weeks. Emotion psychoses are observed in other cultural groups, too. Two case reports are mentioned. The differential diagnosis of emotion psychoses, of psychotic reactions induced by extreme situations, and the question whether chronic psychoses may have psychogenic causes, are discussed.