Psychosis As A Mechanism For Coping With Existential Distress
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65828/cf4er103Keywords:
Existential Psychology, Psychosis, Psychotic Disorders, Coping.Abstract
This paper attempts to explain occurrences of psychosis through a new understanding: as a coping mechanism. This hypothesis seems to have broad explanatory power. Some qualitative evidence also supports this understanding. This paper concludes that it is possible to understand psychotic episodes as mechanisms for coping with existential distress.
Complete access to the full archive of articles is available with SEA membership. Existing members: please log in with your membership password to view full text. Non-members can buy a single article or issue by registering an account on this website, then selecting a padlocked full text button to purchase.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-IV-TR (pp. 297-323). Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787
Anderson, M. C., & Levy, B. J. (2009). Suppressing unwanted memories. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18(4), 189-194. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009.01634.x
Anderson, M. C., Ochsner, K. N., Kuhl, B., Cooper, J., Robertson, E., Gabrieli, S. W., . . . Gabrieli, J. D. E. (2004). Neural systems underlying the suppression of unwanted memories. Science, 303, 232-235. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science/1089504
Andreasen, N. C., O'Leary, D. S., Flaum, M., Nopoulos, P., Watkins, G. L., Ponto, L. L. B., Hichwa, R. D. (1997). Hypofrontality in schizophrenia: disrupted dysfunctional circuits in neuroleptic-naive patients. The Lancet, 349(9607), 1730-1734. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(96)08258-X
Baumeister, A. A., & Francis, J. L. (2002). Historical development of the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia. Journal of the History of the Neurosciences, 11(3), 265-277. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1076/jhin.11.3.265.10391
Bateson, G., Jackson, D. D., Haley, J., & Weakland, J. (1956). Toward a theory of schizophrenia. Behavioral Science, 1(4), 251-264. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/bs.3830010402
Bateson, G., Jackson, D. D., Haley, J., & Weakland, J. (1963). A note on the double bind – 1962. Family Process, 2(1), 154-161. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1545-5300.1963.00154.x
Beauregard, M. (2007). Mind really does matter: Evidence from neuroimaging studies of emotional self-regulation, psychotherapy, and placebo effect. Progress in Neurobiology, 81, 218-236. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pneurobio.2007.01.005
Blasi, G., Popolizio, T., Taurisano, P., Caforio, G., Romano, R., Giorgio, A. D., . . . Bertolino, A. (2009). Changes in prefrontal and amygdala activity during olanzapine treatment in schizophrenia. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 173(1), 31-38. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pscychresns.2008.09.001
Bola, J. R. & Mosher, L. R. (2003). Treatment of acute psychosis without neuroleptics: Two-year outcomes from the Soteria project. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disorders, 191(4), 219-229. Retrieved from http://journals.lww.com/jonmd/ DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/01.nmd.0000061148.84257.f9
Borton, J. L. S., Crimmins, A. E., Ashby, R. S., & Ruddiman, J. F. (2012). How do individuals with fragile high self-esteem cope with intrusive thoughts following ego threat? Self and Identity, 11(1), 16-35. doi:10 .1080/15298868.2010.500935 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2010.500935
Bretherton, R. (2006). Can existential therapy be good news? Reflections on existential psychotherapy from a Christian perspective. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 9(3), 265-275. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13694670600615490
Brown, A. S. (2006). Prenatal infection as a risk factor for schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 32(2), 200-202. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbj052
Burke, B. L., Martens, A., & Faucher, E. H. (2010). Two decades of terror management theory: A meta-analysis of mortality salience research. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 14(2), 155-195. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868309352321
Carpenter, W. T., McGlashan, T. H., & Strauss, J. S. (1977). The treatment of acute schizophrenia without drugs: An investigation of some current assumptions. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 134(1), 14-20. Retrieved from http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/ DOI: https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.134.1.14
Chakos, M. H., Lieberman, J. A., Bilder, R. M., Borenstein, M., Lerner, G. Bogerts, B., . . . Ashtari, M. (1994). Increase in caudate nuclei volumes of first-episode schizophrenic patients taking antipsychotic drugs. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 151, 1430-1436. Retrieved from http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/ DOI: https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.151.10.1430
David, A. S., & Prince, M. (2005). Psychosis following head injury: A critical review. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, & Psychiatry with Practical Neurology, 76(Suppl. 1), 53-60. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp.2004.060475
Dolan, R. J., Bench, C. J., Liddle, P. F., Friston, K. J., Frith, C. D., Grasby, P. M., & Frackowiak, R. S. J. (1993). Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex dysfunction in the major psychoses; symptom or disease specificity? Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, 56(12), 1290-1294. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp.56.12.1290
Elie, D., Poirier, M., Chianetta, J. M., Durand, M., Gregoire, C. A., & Grignon, S. (2010). Cognitive effects of antipsychotic dosage and polypharmacy: A study with the BACS in patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 24(7), 1037-1044. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881108100777
Francis, L. J., & Wilcox, C. (1996). Prayer, church attendance, and personality revisited: A study among 16- to 19-yr.-old girls. Psychological Reports, 79, 1265-1266. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1996.79.3f.1265
Freeman, D., Garety, P. A., Fowler, D., Kuipers, E., Bebbington, P. E., & Dunn, G. (2004). Why do people with delusions fail to choose more realistic explanations for their experiences? An empirical investigation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72(4), 671-680. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.72.4.671
Gaag, M. van der., Cuijpers, A., Hoffman, T., Remijsen, M., Hijman, R., Haan, L. de., . . . Wiersma, D. (2006). The five-factor model of the positive and negative syndrome scale I: Confirmatory factor analysis fails to confirm 25 published five-factor solutions. Schizophrenia Research, 85(1-3), 273-279. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2006.04.001
Hall, J., Whalley, H. C., Job, D. E., Baig, B. J., McIntosh, A. M., Evans, K. L., . . . Lawrie, S. M. (2006). A neuregulin 1 variant associated with abnormal cortical function and psychotic symptoms. Nature Neuroscience, 9(12), 1477-1478. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1795
Harms, M. P., Wang, L., Campanella, C., Aldridge, K., Moffitt, A. J., Kuelper, J. C., Csernanshy, J. G. (2010). Structural abnormalities in gyri of the prefrontal cortex in individuals with schizophrenia and their unaffected siblings. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 196, 150-157. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.109.067314
Harrop, C., & Trower, P. (2001). Why does schizophrenia develop at late adolescence? Clinical Psychology Review, 21(2), 241-265. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-7358(99)00047-1
Harrow, M., & Jobe, T. H. (2007). Factors involved in outcome and recovery in schizophrenia patients not on antipsychotic medications: A 15-year multifollow-up study. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 195(5), 406-414. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/01.nmd.0000253783.32338.6e
Hirsh, J. B. (2010). The weight of being: Psychological perspectives on the existential moment. New Ideas in Psychology, 28, 28-36. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideaspsych.2009.03.001
Ho, B., Andreasen, N. C., Ziebell, S., Pierson, R., & Magnotta, V. (2011). Long-term antipsychotic treatment and brain volumes. Archives of General Psychiatry, 68(2), 128-137. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2010.199
Holcomb, H. H., Cascella, N. G., Thaker, G. K., Medoff, D. R., Dannals, R. F., & Tamminga, C. A. (1996). Functional sites of neuroleptic drug action in the human brain: PET/FDG studies with and without haloperidol. American Journal of Psychiatry, 153(1), 41-49. Retrieved from http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/ DOI: https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.153.1.41
Howes, O. D., & Kapur, S. (2009). The dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia: Version III – the final common pathway. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 35(3), 549-562. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbp006
Jakes, S., Rhodes, J., & Issa, S. (2004). Are the themes of delusional beliefs related to the themes of life-problems and goals? Journal of Mental Health, 13(6), 611-619. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09638230404000248877
Karlsson, J. L. (1970). Genetic association of giftedness and creativity with schizophrenia. Hereditas, 66, 177-182. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1601-5223.1970.tb02343.x
Kéri, S. (2009). Genes for psychosis and creativity: A promoter polymorphism of the neuregulin 1 gene is related to creativity in people with high intellectual achievement. Psychological Science, 20, 1070-1073. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02398.x
Krause, N. & Wulff, K. M. (2004). Religious doubt and health: Exploring the potential dark side of religion. Sociology of Religion, 65(1), 35-56. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3712506
Landau, M. J., Kosloff, S., & Schmeichel, B. J. (2011). Imbuing everyday actions with meaning in response to existential threat. Self and Identity, 10(1), 64-76. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1529988609035572243
Leucht, S., Arbter, D., Engel, R. R., Kissling, W., & Davis, J. M. (2009). How effective are second-generation antipsychotic drugs? A meta-analysis of placebo-controlled trials. Molecular Psychiatry, 14, 429-447. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.mp.4002136
Leucht, S., Corves, C., Arbter, D., Engel, R. R., Li, C., & Davis, J. M. (2009). Second-generation versus first-generation antipsychotic drugs for schizophrenia: A meta-analysis. The Lancet, 373, 31-41. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61764X
Lewis, C. A., Francis, L. J., & Enger, T. (2004). Personality, prayer and church attendance among a sample of 11 to 18 year olds in Norway. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 7(3), 269-274. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13674670010606487
May, R. (1996). The Meaning of Anxiety. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/10760-000
McKay, R., & Kinsbourne, M. (2010). Confabulation, delusion, and anosognosia: Motivational factors and false claims. Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 15(1-3), 288-318. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13546800903337487
Molloy, C., Conroy, R. M., Cotter, D. R., & Cannon, M. (2011). Is traumatic brain injury a risk factor for schizophrenia? A meta-analysis of case-controlled population-based studies. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 37, 1104-1110. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbr091
Moncrieff, J. (2009). A critique of the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia and psychosis. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 17(3), 214-225. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10673220902979896
Moore, T. H. M., Zammit, S., Lingford-Hughes, A., Barnes, T. R. E., Jones, P. B., Burke, M., & Lewis, G. (2007). Cannabis use and risk of psychotic or affective mental health outcomes: a systematic review. The Lancet, 370, 319-328. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(07)61162-3
Os, J. van., & Kapur, S. (2009). Schizophrenia. The Lancet, 374, 635-645. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(09)60995-8
Quirin, M., Loktyushin, A., Arndt, J., Kustermann, E., Lo, Y., Kuhl, J., & Eggert, L. (2011). Existential neuroscience: A functional magnetic resonance imaging investigation of neural responses to reminders of one's mortality. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. Advance online publication. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsq106
Raune, D., Bebbington, P., Dunn, G., & Kuipers, E. (2006). Event attributes and the content of psychotic experiences in first-episode psychosis. Psychological Medicine, 36, 221-230. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S003329170500615X
Roe, D., & Davidson, L. (2005). Self and narrative in schizophrenia: Time to author a new story. Medical Humanities, 31, 89-94. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/jmh.2005.000214
Roman, R. E., & Lester, D. (1999). Religiosity and mental health. Psychological Reports, 85, 1088. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1999.85.3f.1088
Rossum, J. M. van. (1966). The significance of dopamine-receptor blockade for the mechanism of action of neuroleptic drugs. In H. Brill (Ed.), Neuro-psycho-pharmacology (321-329). Amsterdam: Excerpta Medica Foundation.
Rutten, B. P. F., & Mill, J. (2009). Epigenetic mediation of environmental influences in major psychotic disorders. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 35(6), 1045-1056. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbp104
Schuham, A. I. (1967). The double-bind hypothesis a decade later. Psychological Bulletin, 68(6), 409-416. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/h0020188
Smith, B., Fowler, D. G., Freeman, D., Bebbington, P., Bashforth, H., Garety, P., . . . Kuipers, E. (2006). Emotion and psychosis: Links between depression, self-esteem, negative schematic beliefs, and delusions and hallucinations. Schizophrenia Research, 86(1), 181-188. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2006.06.018
Spinelli, E. (2001). Psychosis: New existential, systemic, and cognitive-behavioral developments. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 31, 61-67. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010283032539
Stefanis, N. C., Hanssen, M., Smirnis, N. K., Avramopolous, D. A., Evdokimidis, I. K., Stefanis, C. N., . . . Os, J. van. (2002). Evidence that three dimensions of psychosis have a distribution in the general population. Psychological Medicine, 32, 347-358. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291701005141
Symonds, C. P. (1937). Mental disorder following head injury. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine, 30(9), 1081-1094. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/003591573703000926
Tillich, P. (1957). Dynamics of Faith. New York: Harper & Row.
Wagner, L. C., & King, M. (2005). Existential needs of people with psychotic disorders in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 186, 141-145. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.186.2.141
Whitaker, R. (2004). The case against antipsychotic drugs: A 50-year record of doing more harm than good. Medical Hypotheses, 62, 5-13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0306-9877(03)00293-7
White, L., Philip, D., Opler, L., Lindenmayer, J. P., Bell, M., Canton, C., . . . Powchik, P. (1997). Empirical assessment of the factorial structure of clinical symptoms in schizophrenia. Psychopathology, 30(5), 263-274. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1159/000285058
Williams, P. (2012). A multiple-case study exploring personal paradigm shifts throughout the psychotic process from onset to full recovery. Dissertation Abstract International, 72(7), B. (UMI No. ATT 3454336). Retrieved from http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/
Yalom, I. D. (1980). Existential Psychotherapy. New York: Basic Books
