Psychosis

Does hallucinating automatically mean it's psychosis?

My t said I have psychosis sometimes in reference to my hallucinations and I was wondering if that's what she mean exactly. Hallucinations=psychosis?

I have experienced hallucinations, and I have psychosis associated with bipolar. My visual hallucinations are closely tied with panic attacks, or very high anxiety.

I had my first psychosis in February and again in March during mania and depression. I recently had more hallucinations during depression.

I found this description of Psychosis that may help break it down.

Psychosis refers to an abnormal condition of the mind described as involving a "loss of contact with reality". People with psychosis are described as psychotic. People experiencing psychosis may exhibit some personality changes and thought disorder. Depending on its severity, this may be accompanied by unusual or bizarre behavior, as well as difficulty with social interaction and impairment in carrying out daily life activities.

Psychosis as a sign of a psychiatric disorder is a diagnosis of exclusion. That is, a new-onset episode of psychosis is not considered a symptom of a psychiatric disorder until other relevant and known causes of psychosis are properly excluded.[3] Medical and biological laboratory tests should exclude central nervous system diseases and injuries, diseases and injuries of other organs, psychoactive substances, and toxins as causes of symptoms of psychosis before any psychiatric illness can be diagnosed.[3] In medical training, psychosis as a sign of illness is often compared to fever since both can have multiple causes that are not readily apparent.[3]

The term "psychosis" is very broad and can mean anything from relatively normal aberrant experiences through to the complex and catatonic expressions of schizophrenia and bipolar type 1 disorder.[4][5][6] In properly diagnosed psychiatric disorders (where other causes have been excluded by extensive medical and biological laboratory tests), psychosis is a descriptive term for the hallucinations, delusions and impaired insight that may occur.[5][7] Psychosis is generally the term given to noticeable deficits in normal behavior (negative signs) and more commonly to diverse types of hallucinations or delusional beliefs, particularly with regard to the relation between self and others as in grandiosity and pronoia or paranoia.

I tried to read that and I can't understand it tonight but thank you

There are non-psychotic hallucination like those who have people with dissociative disorders or people who don't have a mental illness -non pathological hallucinations-.

Crazy, inside and aside

"Outwardly: dumbly, I shamble about, a thing that could never have been known as human, a
thing whose shape is so alien a travesty that humanity becomes more obscene for the vague resemblance."
I have no mouth and I must scream -Harlan Ellison-

Some experts use the term "psychosis" only when hallucinations and delusions make someone losing touch with reality. While some others use the term when hallucinations and delusions happen, either they caused someone losing touch with reality or not. I, personally, prefer the first one. That way it will be easier for me to break down the problems. I can tell myself, for example "I hear voices tonight, but I have no delusions". Makes me feel better than saying "I have psychosis", all the time.

Experiencing hallucinations doesn't automatically mean one has a psychotic illness. People who are not mentally ill experience them. E.g., hearing one's name being called out, feeling a presence, and waking up and falling asleep. Substance abuse, medication, stress and sleep deprivation can also cause them.

Hallucinations themselves are not treated as a precursors of schizophrenia or psychosis.