Someone I know claims to have panic attacks, but they look like psychotic episodes to me. How do I tell them apart?
>Why isn't this on /adv/?
Because it's a medical question.
>Patient background
The person is a 26 year old man. He's complained of depression since he was around 17 and subsequently had interruptions in his education and career. Nonetheless, he managed to complete his bachelor's at the same time as his peers and was placed on the Dean's list. Despite this, he's failed to hold a job for more than a year.
>Description of the episodes
The episodes started after he was fired from his last job. The episodes typically last a few hours and can occur several times per week, most frequently during the night or after a stressful event. He typically appears anxious during an episode---He breathes quickly and seems to have difficulty paying attention. During the worse episodes, he suddenly screams as if in reaction to jump scare in a movie---This is what makes me wonder if it's psychosis. It's almost as if he hears or sees something disturbing. He also typically jerks his arms and legs when in his anxious state.
Another worrying thing happened as I was driving him home once. Before driving, I noticed him becoming agitated. As we were driving, he screamed fearfully and hit me, but immediately apologised. I wonder if he briefly saw me as a demon, or something like that.
The episodes of anxiety with screaming have been occurring for about a year. They seem to have reduced in frequency and severity since they started, but still happen at times.
My concern is that he might have early schizophrenia but doesn't want to reveal that he's been hallucinating for fear of being considered crazy or kept in hospital against his will. If that's the case, I'd like to encourage him to get help before the condition gets worse.
>Why isn't this on /adv/?
Because it's a medical question.
>Patient background
The person is a 26 year old man. He's complained of depression since he was around 17 and subsequently had interruptions in his education and career. Nonetheless, he managed to complete his bachelor's at the same time as his peers and was placed on the Dean's list. Despite this, he's failed to hold a job for more than a year.
>Description of the episodes
The episodes started after he was fired from his last job. The episodes typically last a few hours and can occur several times per week, most frequently during the night or after a stressful event. He typically appears anxious during an episode---He breathes quickly and seems to have difficulty paying attention. During the worse episodes, he suddenly screams as if in reaction to jump scare in a movie---This is what makes me wonder if it's psychosis. It's almost as if he hears or sees something disturbing. He also typically jerks his arms and legs when in his anxious state.
Another worrying thing happened as I was driving him home once. Before driving, I noticed him becoming agitated. As we were driving, he screamed fearfully and hit me, but immediately apologised. I wonder if he briefly saw me as a demon, or something like that.
The episodes of anxiety with screaming have been occurring for about a year. They seem to have reduced in frequency and severity since they started, but still happen at times.
My concern is that he might have early schizophrenia but doesn't want to reveal that he's been hallucinating for fear of being considered crazy or kept in hospital against his will. If that's the case, I'd like to encourage him to get help before the condition gets worse.
