Brief psychotic disorder is a sudden, short-term display of psychotic behavior, which typically occurs following a stressful event.
Brief psychotic disorder occurs in individuals who experience psychotic symptoms — such as delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech or disorganized behavior — for less than a month. People with brief psychotic disorder return to their previous level of functioning after the brief psychotic episode has passed. This condition often occurs in response to significant increased stress or physical conditions that affect the brain.
This disorder tends to be quite rare. Studies have revealed that this disorder can be diagnosed in about 2.5-4% of all hospital-treated patients with psychotic and mood disorders. This conditions tends not to start before adolescence, but thereafter can occur at any age, and also tends to occur much more commonly in women than in men, with studies showing that brief psychotic disorder is about 4 times more common in women.
Brief psychotic disorder, by definition, lasts for less than 1 month, after which most people recover fully. It cannot be prevented, but early diagnosis and treatment can help get the person's life, family, and other relationships back on track as quickly as possible. This disorder tends to be a recurring condition, yet compared to schizophrenia, the prognosis tends to be quite good, as individuals with often recover fully from their episodes and, on average, tend to maintain better levels of functioning in their life roles.
Someone with brief psychotic disorder will probably get medication to treat psychotic symptoms and possibly also psychotherapy. They may need to be hospitalized for a time if their symptoms are severe or if they might harm themselves or someone else. The earlier the treatment, the better the outcome.
Antipsychotic medications are indicated for the acute reduction of the psychotic symptoms themselves. In general, medication use is only expected to continue until the symptoms have fully remitted. Psychotherapy can also help the person identify and handle the situation or event that triggered the disorder.