People have many different opinions about what psychosis really is. Many define it as crazy or not normal, but in reality, illnesses vary. These can include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, hallucinations and delusions, anxiety, and even Alzheimer's and dementia. It is characterized in all these diseases. Psychosis is usually genetic and passed down through different family members. It is a disease that distorts the brain, making thinking fuzzy. The main question is what actually causes someone to become psychotic? What really defines psychosis? Psychosis is a state of serious mental deficiency, which prevents the person from correctly seeing the real or the unreal. (Lecture) People with psychosis often have problems with delusions and hallucinations. Hallucinations are something that people believe to exist. Delusions have two different categories. We could have delusions of grandeur, which is when people believe they are famous, or may go so far as to think they are God. Another form of illusion is the illusion of persecution. This is where a person thinks everyone is out to get them or everyone is trying to kill them. (Lecture) Daily thoughts can become confusing and not articulate properly. This can cause emotional turmoil in a person. Alongside psychosis, there is Alzheimer's disease and this means that there is deterioration of the brain. In early states of psychosis, the brain slowly deteriorates, causing delusions and hallucinations. Psychosis usually begins with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is also hereditary. People with schizophrenia can usually develop symptoms between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five. It is at these ages that people begin to notice that they are either suffering from schizophrenia, or simply the actions of schizophrenia... middle of article... different illnesses. This is mainly due to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. These illnesses are more common when people are convicted of crimes and murders. They call it pleading insanity. People are seeing this disease more and more as the years go by. Although this cannot be proven until a person dies, tests can be done to prove whether the symptoms match or not. Many doctors take this condition very seriously because it is important and needs to be treated. Works Cited Bernheim, Kayla, Richard RJ Lewine. Schizophrenia – Symptoms, causes, treatments. New'York: Boston, 1979. PrintGhostbusters. Live Ghostbusters. “YouTube.” Internet. March 2. 2011Siegel, Thérèse. Classroom lecture. Drug assistance program. Heath Nursing Center, Heath, OH. October 20, 2010. Unknown. Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. Internet. 2011. March 1. 2011