Catching #kids early and supporting them before they're in crisis can delay #mentalhealthdisorders and reduce impairment
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.comWriter: Juliann Garey
Clinical Experts: Tiziano Colibazzi, MD , Christoph Correll, MD
What You'll Learn
- What is psychosis?
- What are prodromal symptoms?
- What symptoms should I look for in my teen?
- How is early psychosis in teens treated?
- Quick Read
- Full Article
- What are “prodromal” symptoms?
- First step if you feel your child is at risk: An evaluation
- Lifestyle and #mentalhealth options
- Treatment for prodromal psychotic symptoms
Psychosis is a condition in which a person loses touch with reality. If a teen has psychosis, they might hear or see things that aren’t there. Psychosis is often a symptom of an illness called schizophrenia. It shows up in the late teen or early adult years.
But some teens show early warning signs of psychosis. If doctors can catch these early signs, they may be able to delay the full-blown illness and minimize its symptoms. Since psychotic symptoms cause problems in everything from #school to friendships to family, acting fast can help teens a lot.
Early signs of psychosis are called “prodromal” symptoms. They include things like not wanting to see friends, feeling like people want to hurt them, not showering, and seeing or hearing things that aren’t there. To a #parent, the change in their teen would probably be very noticeable.
The good news is that in the early stages, psychosis in teens can be treated by making pretty simple changes in their habits. These include reducing stress, making sure they have good sleep habits and getting treatment for other problems like anxiety.
If you’re worried your teen might be having these symptoms, the first step is to take them to their regular doctor. Their doctor will rule out drug use, which can also cause these symptoms. Then, they will send the teen to be examined by a psychiatrist. It’s hard for #doctors to know which teens will go on to develop serious psychotic illnesses — not all will. But getting your teen to a professional who can watch their symptoms may be the most important step a parent can take.
There are fewer more frightening or challenging psychiatric conditions for a family to face than psychosis, an extreme mental state in which impaired thinking and emotions cause a person to lose contact with reality. This could mean hearing or seeing things that aren’t there (hallucinations), or believing things that aren’t true (delusions).
The illness most often associated with #psychosis, #schizophrenia, usually doesn’t show up until very late #adolescence or early #adulthood. Recently, however, experts in the field have been working to identify high-risk kids who show symptoms that could serve as early warning signs of psychosis, and several academic centers have been set up to focus on this crucial period when it may be possible to change the trajectory of mental illness.
Not all the kids who are identified with what experts call “prodromal” symptoms will progress, or “convert” to full-blown psychotic illness. But early intervention has been shown to improve outcomes for those who do. And since psychotic symptoms cause disruption across a teenager’s life, from school to friendships to family, researchers are hoping quick action can prevent impairment and prolong typical functioning.
What’s more, some of the approaches that show promise in delaying onset of psychosis or mitigating symptoms include fairly simple lifestyle changes like #stress reduction and sleep hygiene, and managing co-occurring disorders like #anxiety. The key: identifying at-risk kids earlier when these low-impact measures are still effective.
What are “prodromal” symptoms?
Prodromal symptoms are “attenuated” or weak symptoms of psychosis. Moreover, “they are a warning sign,” says Christoph Correll, MD, the medical director of the Recognition and Prevention Program (RAP) at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Queens, NY, which specializes in diagnosing and treating early symptoms of #mentalillness in #teenagers and young adults. “These signs can happen in people who don’t go on to develop psychosis—but if we follow these people who are in the risk state based on these watered-down versions, one third will probably go on to develop psychosis. That’s a lot more than in the general population.”
Prodromal symptoms occur on a spectrum from very, very mild to severe and can include:
- Withdrawing from friends and family/feeling suspicious of others
- Changes in sleeping or eating patterns
- Less concern with appearance, clothes or hygiene
- Difficulty organizing thoughts or speech
- Loss of usual interest in activities or of motivation and energy
- Development of unusual ideas or behaviors
- Unusual perceptions, such as visions or hearing voices (or even seeing shadows)
- Feeling like things are unreal
- Change in personality
- Feelings of grandiosity (belief he has a superpower, etc)
In some cases, these symptoms represent the early stages of a disorder, and will eventually convert. In others, the symptoms actually fade or remain mild. Tiziano Colibazzi, MD, is a #psychiatrist at Columbia Presbyterian’s COPE clinic (Center for Prevention and Evaluation), which was established to research and treat prodromal symptoms. “We can identify a group of people that are at clinically high risk,” says Dr. Colibazzi. “What we can’t do is narrow that group down further to identify the 30 percent who will convert.”
First step if you feel your child is at risk: An evaluation
The right treatment for prodromal symptoms depends entirely on how severe they are when they are diagnosed. The first step is a proper and complete diagnosis by a #mentalhealthprofessional with experience in assessing psychotic illness.
If you see marked changes in motivation, thinking, and/or behavior in your child, the first place to start is with her pediatrician to rule out a medical illness. #Substanceuse also needs to be ruled out as the cause of any #behavior changes in #adolescents. After that, you’re going to want to have your child evaluated by a qualified #psychiatrist or #psychologist. This in itself might be a multi-step process.
“You can’t just look at the kid once and get a bit of a history and then know what’s going on, ” says Dr. Correll. “Kids develop; symptoms develop. And the trajectory—how things change, get better or worse, what other symptoms add on to it—will be highly informative in telling us something about the prognosis, what we expect to happen.”
One aid to predicting the evolution and severity of symptoms, notes Dr. Colibazzi, is the patient’s ability to doubt his symptoms. If your child retains the self-awareness to know that it’s his mind that is playing tricks on him, it’s an indication that symptoms are still in the very early stages. As symptoms become more severe, the patient’s beliefs (whether paranoid, grandiose or hallucinatory) become increasingly difficult to challenge.
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Lifestyle and #mentalhealth options
Psychotic symptoms and illnesses have been shown to vary quite a bit depending on the environment—the health of our bodies, our interpersonal relationships, our mindsets. As with any illness, but particularly important in at-risk #youth, healthy living is key. Regardless of the severity of prodromal symptoms, Dr. Correll says that your child’s outcome can be improved by making sure your kid sticks to a routine that includes:
- Eating well
- Getting regular exercise
- Adhering to a regular sleep schedule
- Reducing stress as much as possible
- Staying away from drugs—particularly marijuana, which can interact with prodromal symptoms and increase the risk for psychosis significantly
Also, don’t forget to address depression and #anxiety. According to Dr. Correll, “#adults who eventually developed #schizophrenia identified a three to five year period during which they experienced depression or anxiety before developing the prodromal symptoms of psychosis and then developed full-blown psychosis.” “So treating the #depression early,” he says, “might actually interrupt the progression from depression to psychosis in some #patients.”
Treatment for prodromal #psychotic symptoms
Dr. Correll recommends trying several approaches. Mild symptoms call for more low-key treatments including:
- Psycho-education: teaching both the kid and the family more about the symptoms and the illness.
- Therapy, particularly #cognitivebehavioraltherapy: “#CBT can be good to change one’s thinking patterns,” says Correll, “and also to address developing #self-esteem. We have to be careful that kids with a psychiatric diagnosis don’t self-stigmatize and get into a hopeless or negative mode where they feel they can’t achieve.”
- Lifestyle adjustments: Assessing whether the current school environment is best for the child. Perhaps a therapeutic social group to help the #child cope.
- Reducing #Stress: #Stress is often a trigger for symptoms, so reducing stress in these kids’ lives is crucial and may prevent or delay conversion to psychotic illness.
Understanding prodromal symptoms and monitoring kids who are at high risk for psychotic illness means that #parents can do more for their kids than wait for symptoms to get worse or merely hope for the best. Early monitoring and intervention can give high-risk #kids an advantage, which researchers hope will eventually change the odds when it comes to #psychotic illness.
“The duration of untreated #psychosis does actually seem to affect the course of the illness,” Dr. Colibazzi says. The longer the illness goes untreated, the greater the chance that it will cause serious disruption in all areas of the #patient’s life. “So it is reasonable to think that just following someone very closely and treating them very early, as soon as they develop symptoms, would be helpful.”
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com https://standingabovethecrowd.com/2023/07/jamesdonaldson-on-mentalhealth-watching-for-signs-of-psychosis-in-teens/
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