Major psychosis is-
## **Core Concept**
Major psychosis refers to a category of severe mental disorders characterized by a disconnection from reality, often involving hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thinking. The primary types of major psychoses include schizophrenia and bipolar disorder with psychotic features. These conditions significantly impair an individual's functioning and require psychiatric intervention.
## **Why the Correct Answer is Right**
The correct answer, **C. Schizophrenia**, is right because schizophrenia is prototypically considered a major psychosis. It is a chronic and severe mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. The symptoms of schizophrenia can include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and severe disordered thinking and behavior that impair daily functioning. Schizophrenia is a quintessential example of a major psychosis due to its profound impact on mental functioning and its characteristic psychotic symptoms.
## **Why Each Wrong Option is Incorrect**
- **Option A:** While depression can have psychotic features, it is not classified as a major psychosis in the same category as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder with psychotic features. Depression with psychotic features is a specifier for major depressive disorder rather than a standalone major psychosis.
- **Option B:** Anxiety disorders are not considered major psychoses. They are characterized by excessive fear, anxiety, or avoidance behaviors but do not typically involve the loss of touch with reality seen in psychoses.
- **Option D:** Substance-induced psychotic disorder is a condition where psychotic symptoms are directly caused by the use of substances (e.g., drugs or medications). While it does involve psychosis, it is not considered a major psychosis in the same categorical sense as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder with psychotic features because of its etiology.
## **Clinical Pearl / High-Yield Fact**
A key point to remember is that the diagnosis of a major psychosis, such as schizophrenia, requires a duration of symptoms of at least 6 months, with at least one month of two or more active-phase symptoms (two or more of the following: delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior, and negative symptoms). This timeframe helps differentiate schizophrenia from brief psychotic disorders.
## **Correct Answer:** . Schizophrenia