URGENT. I saw a psychiatrist yesterday and brought up some of my symptoms. We're not sure if they're psychotic or not, but we're gonna work on that. She gave me a referral to get a CT scan; is that normal? I haven't heard of people showing psychotic symptoms being sent for scans before. Does psychosis cause physical differences or does she maybe think my symptoms have a physical cause? I'm worried there might be something wrong now, even though my symptoms haven't changed in years.
[same anon that asked about ct scans] my psychiatrist also asked me to keep track of my symptoms including some of the more common psychotic symptoms that im not sure i really have. one thing she wrote was ‘persecutory ideas’. while im aware of some things to do with persecutory delusions, what range do you think is covered by ‘persecutory ideas’? Does that include paranoia and thinking that people might be watching me to keep track of what im doing?[ct anon] this is getting confusing, maybe i should elaborate. basically, i get the feeling that people are able to use my senses to see/hear/touch what im sensing. while i dont necessarily get a sense of why they’re doing it, sometimes it feels like it’s because they’re interested in me (possibly grandiose ideas?) and sometimes more like they’re trying to see what im doing (persecutory maybe?). i didnt have time to go into that much detail with my psych, but do you think that’s what she means?[ct anon] idk im sorry for sending so many messages, im just a little stressed. something else i wanted to ask was how should i bring up getting a diagnosis? not necessarily of psychosis, but of anything? we’ve discussed my symptoms, but i do really want a specific diagnosis out of it all. like ‘persistent depressive disorder’ or ‘social anxiety disorder’ or just anything. even though i know what’s going on, id just like some medical verification tbh so ppl (including myself) take me seriously[ct anon] just for the purpose of helping you keep track of messages; this should be the 5th message ive sent you. im sorry i didnt number them at the time, but i didnt think id be sending more. 1 asked about getting a ct scan, 2 was about persecutory ideas, 3 was about people using my senses, 4 was about diagnosis, then this is 5. hope that helps keep things in order
Yes, sometimes people showing symptoms of psychosis are sent to have a CT scan done! It’s to see if there’s a physical cause for your symptoms, as physical/medical conditions (ex: tumor) can show in symptoms akin to mental illness even though it’s not mental illness causing it. Psychotic symptoms can appear in many illnesses and it’s imperative to understand the true cause for each individual [x].Persecutory ideas falls with persecutory delusions: “these involve the belief of being followed, harassed, cheated, poisoned, drugged, conspired against, spied on, attacked, or obstructed in the pursuit of goals.” Paranoia is involved. Yes, it sounds like she has the gist of what’s going on.Right now you’re going through a differential diagnosis process, so I don’t think you really need to bring up diagnosis. It’s already on her mind, hence the CT scan and wanting you to keep close tabs on your symptoms.From these messages, it sounds like you’re on a good track. Take care! And you did a good job marking all the asks, so it wasn’t a problem ^^- Mod Alex
