Are You Psychotic Quiz? | Check Warning Signs Clearly

A short self-check can flag possible psychosis warning signs and clarify when to get urgent medical care.

Typing this question often means something unsettled you. Maybe it was a voice you couldn’t place. Maybe it was a belief that felt unshakable. Maybe your thoughts started slipping out of order. You want a way to sort it out without spiraling.

This quiz-style self-check can’t diagnose you. It can still be useful. It gives you a structured way to name what’s happening, spot patterns, and decide what to do next. If you’re reading for someone you care about, it also gives you language that stays calm and clear.

The questions below follow how major health agencies describe psychosis: changes in perception (hallucinations), beliefs (delusions), thinking and speech, behavior, and day-to-day function. You’ll also get red flags that mean “skip the quiz and get care now,” a scoring method, and next steps that fit real-life situations.

What Psychosis Means In Plain Terms

Psychosis is a state where someone has trouble separating what’s real from what isn’t. It may show up as hearing or seeing things other people don’t, holding fixed beliefs that don’t match reality, or thinking and speaking in a way that becomes hard to follow. National health agencies describe delusions and hallucinations as core signs, with disrupted thinking and behavior changes also common.

Psychosis isn’t a single diagnosis. It’s a symptom cluster that can appear with several conditions, including schizophrenia spectrum disorders, severe mood disorders, medical illness, and substance-related problems. Sleep loss, certain medications, intoxication, withdrawal, and serious infections can also trigger psychosis-like experiences. That’s why a checklist should point you toward evaluation, not a label.

A useful way to think about it: this is about reality-testing. When reality-testing weakens, the brain may treat an internal experience as an external fact. That can feel convincing. It can also feel frightening. None of that means you did anything wrong.

Safety First: When Not To Take A Quiz

Skip the quiz and seek urgent care now if any of these are true:

• You feel at risk of harming yourself or someone else.
• You’re hearing voices that order you to do dangerous things.
• You can’t care for basic needs (food, water, shelter) because of what you’re experiencing.
• You’re severely confused, disoriented, or someone thinks you may have a medical emergency.
• You recently used drugs, stopped heavy alcohol use, or changed a medication and symptoms started fast.

If you’re in the U.S., you can call or text 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for immediate crisis counseling. If you’re outside the U.S., use your local emergency number or national crisis line.

Are You Psychotic Quiz? Questions And Scoring

Answer based on the past 30 days, unless a question mentions “ever.” Choose the option that fits best. If you’re unsure, pick the lower score and make a note. Notes matter more than perfection.

Scoring Key

• 0 = No
• 1 = Maybe / Once or twice
• 2 = Yes, more than once
• 3 = Yes, often or it changes how I function

Perception

1. Have you heard voices, whispers, or sounds that others didn’t hear?
2. Have you seen shapes, shadows, people, or movements that others didn’t see?
3. Have you felt sensations on your skin (touch, bugs crawling, heat) with no clear source?
4. Have ordinary noises, lights, or patterns felt loaded with hidden messages meant for you?

Beliefs

5. Have you been convinced someone was spying on you, tracking you, or plotting against you without solid evidence?
6. Have you believed you had special powers, a secret mission, or a unique status that others can’t verify?
7. Have you believed your thoughts were being controlled, inserted, taken away, or broadcast to others?
8. Have you felt that TV, radio, social media, or strangers were sending you personal coded messages?

Thinking And Speech

9. Have your thoughts felt jumbled, racing, or stuck so that you can’t keep a clear thread?
10. Have people said your speech was hard to follow, jumped topics, or didn’t make sense?
11. Have you struggled to tell what was a dream, a memory, or a real event?

Behavior And Function

12. Have you stopped doing normal routines (work, school, hygiene, meals) because of strange experiences or beliefs?
13. Have you pulled away from friends or family because you felt unsafe, suspicious, or preoccupied?
14. Have you acted in ways others found odd or out of character (talking to unseen people, pacing for hours, wearing unusual layers, hiding objects)?
15. Have you had strong fear or agitation tied to these experiences?

Timing And Triggers

16. Did these experiences start soon after heavy substance use, stopping alcohol, or a medication change?
17. Did they start during a stretch of severe sleep loss (two nights or more with little sleep)?
18. Have you had a high fever, head injury, seizure, or new neurological symptoms around the same time?

Add up your points (0–54). Then use the interpretation section below. Also circle any “Timing And Triggers” items you scored 2–3, since those can raise urgency.

How To Interpret Your Score Without Guessing A Diagnosis

This score is a signal, not a verdict. If you scored high on one cluster (voices, fixed beliefs, disorganized thinking), that can matter more than the total. Function also matters. If daily life is sliding, take that seriously even with a lower score.

• 0–7: No clear psychosis pattern from this checklist. If something still worries you, track it for two weeks and bring notes to a clinician.
• 8–17: Possible early warning signs. Book a medical visit soon, especially if function is slipping.
• 18–29: Concerning signs. Seek a same-week assessment from a clinician or urgent care service.
• 30+: High concern. Seek urgent evaluation today, especially if fear, confusion, substance use, or safety risks are present.

If your score jumps because of the “Timing And Triggers” section, treat that as a reason to move faster. Sudden-onset symptoms plus fever, head injury, heavy substance use, or alcohol withdrawal belong in urgent care.

Signs That Often Get Missed Early

Many people think psychosis always looks dramatic. It can also begin quietly. These patterns often show up early:

• Reality-testing gets shaky. You start double-checking what you saw or heard, then stop trusting your own senses.
• Meaning feels “too loud.” Coincidences feel personal, and you spend hours connecting dots.
• Function drops first. You can still talk normally, yet school, work, sleep, or hygiene starts sliding.
• Fear drives the day. Your body stays on alert because your mind reads danger everywhere.

The National Institute of Mental Health describes hallucinations and delusions as typical features, with confused speech and behavior changes also reported. NIMH’s “Understanding Psychosis” is a solid reference for the standard definitions.

What Can Cause Psychosis-Like Symptoms

A checklist can’t sort causes, so focus on what a clinician will want to know. Timing matters. Sleep matters. Substances matter. Physical symptoms matter.

Some causes sit in the psychiatric category. Others are medical. Some are tied to intoxication or withdrawal. Some are medication-related. When symptoms start fast, clinicians often look first for medical and substance-related causes.

The NHS also notes that people may not realize their delusions or hallucinations aren’t real during an episode, and that disturbed thought patterns can show up too. NHS psychosis symptom guidance lays out these signs in plain language.

What Your Answers Can Suggest

This table groups common patterns and the next question to bring to an appointment. It’s not meant to diagnose anything. It’s meant to make your visit faster and clearer.

Pattern From The Quiz	What It Can Look Like Day To Day	What Else To Rule Out
Auditory hallucinations	Voices commenting, calling your name, or arguing	Sleep loss, substance use, severe anxiety, hearing issues
Visual hallucinations	Shadows, figures, flashes, or scenes that vanish	Intoxication/withdrawal, neurological illness, fever
Somatic sensations	Touch or crawling feelings with no clear cause	Substance effects, medication effects, skin or nerve conditions
Persecutory beliefs	Feeling watched, followed, targeted	Trauma reactions, substance effects, real-world safety concerns
Thought control beliefs	Feeling your thoughts aren’t yours	Severe panic, dissociation, medication effects
Disorganized thinking	Speech becomes hard to follow; ideas derail	Mania, delirium, head injury, seizures
Marked function drop	Skipping work/school; hygiene and meals slip	Depression, burnout, medical illness, substance use
Sudden onset	Symptoms start over hours or days	Medical emergency, intoxication, withdrawal, infection

What Clinicians Usually Check During An Assessment

When you seek care, the first goal is safety and medical stability. Next comes mapping the experience: what you noticed first, how fast it grew, and what changed in daily life.

A typical assessment may include questions about hallucinations, beliefs, mood shifts, sleep, substance use, medications, and stressors. Clinicians may also check vitals and run labs if symptoms started fast, physical symptoms are present, or intoxication/withdrawal is possible.

You can make the visit smoother by bringing:

• A timeline of symptoms (first day noticed, worst day, what changed).
• A sleep log for the past week.
• All substances used in the past month, including cannabis, stimulants, and alcohol.
• A medication list and any recent dose changes.
• Any physical symptoms: fever, headaches, seizures, fainting, confusion.

If you’re worried about being dismissed, lead with function and safety: “My sleep collapsed, I can’t focus at work, and I’m hearing a voice at night.” That gives a clinician something concrete to act on.

What To Do Next Based On Your Situation

This table turns quiz results into action. If you’re reading on behalf of someone else, the same steps apply, with one extra rule: don’t argue about what’s real. Stay calm, keep sentences short, and steer toward care.

What You’re Seeing	Suggested Next Step	Why This Matters
Score 0–7, no red flags	Track symptoms for 14 days, book routine visit if worry stays	Patterns over time guide care better than a single bad day
Score 8–17 or function slipping	Book a medical visit within 1–2 weeks	Early assessment can reduce the chance of escalation
Score 18–29	Seek same-week assessment (clinic, urgent care, mental health service)	Symptoms are interfering; cause needs sorting
Score 30+ or rapid onset	Seek urgent evaluation today	Safety and medical causes must be checked quickly
Voices urging harm, or danger is imminent	Call emergency services or go to the nearest emergency department	Immediate risk needs immediate action
Symptoms after stopping heavy alcohol or drug use	Urgent medical evaluation today	Withdrawal can be dangerous and needs medical care

How To Talk To Someone Who May Be Experiencing Psychosis

This is hard. You may care about the person and still feel scared or frustrated. The goal is to keep things steady until a clinician can assess them.

• Lead with feelings, not facts. “That sounds frightening” lands better than “That isn’t real.”
• Use short sentences. Long explanations can feel like pressure.
• Offer choices. “Do you want to go now or after you drink some water?” keeps autonomy.
• Lower stimulation. Quiet room, fewer people, softer lights.
• Avoid ridicule. Jokes can increase fear and mistrust.

If the person is agitated, focus on safety: give space, keep your voice low, and remove obvious hazards. If you think anyone is in danger, call emergency services.

Limitations Of Any Online Quiz

Online checklists can miss things. They can also over-flag normal experiences like grief, stress, or a sleep crash. A clinician can ask follow-up questions, check physical health, and see the full picture.

A quiz also can’t measure intensity in a way a professional can. One “Yes” can mean fleeting doubt for one person and a life-disrupting conviction for another. Treat the score as a prompt to seek care, not a stamp.

If you want a plain-language booklet on first-episode psychosis and what treatment often involves, the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has a clear resource. SAMHSA’s “Understanding a First Episode of Psychosis” (PDF) reviews common symptoms and care basics.

Quick Self-Notes To Bring To Your Appointment

Before you close this tab, write these down. It takes minutes and can save time later.

• The three highest-scoring quiz items.
• One sentence on how it affects your day (sleep, work, relationships).
• Any triggers: substance use, sleep loss, medication changes, illness.
• What makes it better or worse (quiet, music, being alone, being with others).

Then book care based on the table above. If you feel unsafe, go to emergency services right away.