Psychosis Myths & Misinformation

Some people don’t understand psychosis very well, even though there’s a lot of information about it that’s available in books, libraries, mental health clinics, and over the internet.

This lack of understanding can affect the way a person thinks of psychosis and how a person talks about psychosis. The media, for example, spends a lot of time trying to say that people with psychosis look scary, and that they do weird or harmful things, but this stereotype just isn’t true.

Unfortunately, because there are so many negative myths about psychosis, many people have the wrong idea of what psychosis might be. Sometimes these myths and stereotypes about psychosis even prevent people from getting the help they need!

Below is a list of some common myths and misinformation about psychosis. There is some information provided to help explain why these myths are wrong.

It’s NOT like in the movies, psychosis doesn’t mean you’re “psycho”.

It CAN happen to you. 3 in 100 Canadians will have psychosis at some time in their life.

You CAN’T “catch” Psychosis from someone else.

If someone has psychosis, it doesn’t mean they will do bad things or that they are bad people.

You CAN live a normal life with psychosis