13.1  What are psychoses?

We begin by examining what psychosis involves, what the general symptoms and signs are, and how you reflect on these to distinguish between different types of psychosis. In most cases of psychosis, it is not possible to identify a single cause. It is most likely that several factors interact to result in the illness (see also Study Session 9 in this Module). In some people, psychosis occurs following various bodily illnesses or damage to the brain, but this is not the case in the majority of affected people.