Other forms: psychoses
Psychosis is a severe mental state that breaks contact with reality. An episode of psychosis, treat the psychosis, drug-induced psychosis.
It is a state rather than a single illness and can arise in several conditions, and it can also be caused by drugs, extreme sleep loss or physical illness. It is treatable, and treating a first episode early makes a real difference to what follows.
1nounpsychosisA severe mental state that breaks contact with reality.
“During his psychosis, he heard voices and believed he was being followed.”
psychosis is a mental state.
From Greek psyche, the mind, plus -osis, a condition. It was coined in nineteenth-century medicine.
Ancient Greek
ψύχωσις — animation, principle of life
English, today
psychosis
From psych- + -osis. Not related to Ancient Greek ψύχωσις (“animation, principle of life”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA