Alcohol withdrawal states (delirium tremens) are recognized in addicts whose intake has been interrupted by trauma or surgery. This can occur after childbirth.

Arterial occlusion may be due to thrombi, amniotic fragments or air embolism. Postpartum cerebral angiopathy is a transitory arterial spasm of medium caliber cerebral arteries; it was first described in cocaine and amphetamine addicts, but can also complicate ergot and bromocriptine prescribed to inhibit lactation. Subarachnoid haemorrhage can occur after miscarriage or childbirth. Epidural anaesthesia can, if the dura is punctured, lead to leakage of Cerebrospinal fluid and subdural haematoma. All these can occasionally present with psychiatric symptoms.

Symptoms usually begin suddenly in the first two weeks after delivery, sometimes in the first two to three days after giving birth. Symptoms vary and can change quickly, and can include high mood and racing thoughts (mania), depression, severe confusion, losing inhibitions, paranoia, hallucinations and delusions.

In contrast, about half of women have the maternity blues after birth, which is characterized by symptoms of mild mood swings, anxiety, and irritability that start about 3 to 4 days after delivery and last about a week; postpartum depression is also different — it is experienced by 10 to 15% of women after birth and is similar to major depressive disorder.

Postpartum psychosis is a psychiatric emergency related to care of women after they give birth. It is different from postpartum depression and from maternity blues.

The condition is not recognized in the DSM-5 nor in the ICD-10 but it is widely used clinically.

It may be a form of bipolar disorder.

Postpartum blues, commonly known as "baby blues," is a transient postpartum mood disorder characterized by milder depressive symptoms than postpartum depression. This type of depression can occur in up to 80% of all mothers following delivery. Symptoms typically resolve within two weeks. Symptoms lasting longer than two weeks are a sign of a more serious type of depression. Women who experience "baby blues" may have a higher risk of experiencing a more serious episode of depression later on.

Postpartum psychosis is not a formal diagnosis, but is widely used to describe a psychiatric emergency that appears to occur in about 1 in a 1000 pregnancies, in which symptoms of high mood and racing thoughts (mania), depression, severe confusion, loss of inhibition, paranoia, hallucinations and delusions begin suddenly in the first two weeks after delivery; the symptoms vary and can change quickly. It is different from postpartum depression and from maternity blues. It may be a form of bipolar disorder. It is important not to confuse psychosis with other symptoms that may occur after delivery, such as delirium. Delirium typically includes a loss of awareness or inability to pay attention.

About half of women who experience postpartum psychosis have no risk factors; but a prior history of mental illness, especially bipolar disorder, a history of prior episodes of postpartum psychosis, or a family history put some at a higher risk.

Postpartum psychosis often requires hospitalization, where treatment is antipsychotic medications, mood stabilizers, and in cases of strong risk for suicide, electroconvulsive therapy.

The most severe symptoms last from 2 to 12 weeks, and recovery takes 6 months to a year. Women who have been hospitalized for a psychiatric condition immediately after delivery are at a much higher risk of suicide during the first year after delivery.

A puerperal disorder is a disorder which presents primarily during the puerperium.

An example is postpartum thyroiditis.

Puerperal disorders may be associated with psychiatric illness in offspring.

Symptoms of OBS vary with the disease that is responsible. However, the more common symptoms of OBS are confusion; impairment of memory, judgment, and intellectual function; and agitation. Often these symptoms are attributed to psychiatric illness, which causes a difficulty in diagnosis.

Childbirth-related posttraumatic stress disorder is a psychological disorder that can develop in women who have recently given birth. Its symptoms are not distinct from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Examples of symptoms of childbirth-related posttraumatic stress disorder include: intrusive symptoms such as flashbacks and nightmares, as well as symptoms of avoidance (including amnesia for the whole or parts of the event), problems in developing a mother-child attachment, not having sexual intercourse in order to prevent another pregnancy, and avoidance of birth and pregnancy related issues. Symptoms of increasing stress can be sweating, trembling, being irritated, and sleep disturbances.

The disorder is characterized by a sudden onset of psychotic symptoms, which may include delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech or behavior, or catatonic behavior. The symptoms must not be caused by schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, delusional disorder or mania in bipolar disorder. They must also not be caused by a drug (such as amphetamines) or medical condition (such as a brain tumor). The term bouffée délirante describes an acute nonaffective and nonschizophrenic psychotic disorder, which is largely similar to DSM-III-R and DSM-IV brief psychotic and schizophreniform disorders.

Symptoms generally last at least a day, but not more than a month, and there is an eventual return to full baseline functioning. It may occur in response to a significant stressor in one's life, or in other situations where a stressor is not apparent, including in the weeks following birth. In diagnosis, a careful distinction is considered for culturally appropriate behaviors, such as religious beliefs and activities. It is believed to be connected to or synonymous with a variety of culture-specific phenomena such as latah, koro, and amok.

There are three forms of brief psychotic disorder:

1. Brief psychotic disorder with a stressor, such as a trauma or death in the family.

2. Brief psychotic disorder without a stressor, there is no obvious stressor.

3. Brief psychotic disorder with postpartum onset. Usually occurs about four weeks after giving birth.

Hyperemesis gravidarum is the presence of severe and persistent vomiting, causing dehydration and weight loss. It is more severe than the more common morning sickness and is estimated to affect 0.5–2.0% of pregnant women.

Brief psychotic disorder is a period of psychosis whose duration is generally shorter, is not always non-recurring, but can be, and is not caused by another condition.

Psychogenic disease (or psychogenic illness) is a name given to physical illnesses that are believed to arise from emotional or mental stressors, or from psychological or psychiatric disorders. It is most commonly applied to illnesses where a physical abnormality or other biomarker has not yet been identified. In the absence of such "biological" evidence of an underlying disease process, it is often assumed that the illness must have a psychological cause, even if the patient shows no indications of being under stress or of having a psychological or psychiatric disorder.

Examples of diseases that are believed by many to be psychogenic include psychogenic seizures, psychogenic polydipsia, psychogenic tremor and psychogenic pain.

There are problems with the assumption that all medically unexplained illness must have a psychological cause. It always remains possible that genetic, biochemical, electrophysiological or other abnormalities may be present which we do not have the technology or background to identify.

The term psychogenic disease is often used in a similar way to psychosomatic disease. However, the term "psychogenic" usually implies that psychological factors played a key causal role in the development of the illness. The term "psychosomatic" is often used in a broader way to describe illnesses with a known medical cause where psychological factors may nonetheless play a role (e.g., asthma can be exacerbated by anxiety).

Patients with psychoorganic syndrome often complain about headaches, dizziness, unsteadiness when walking, poor tolerance to the heat, stuffiness, atmospheric pressure changes, loud sounds, neurological symptoms.

The common reported psychological symptoms include:

- loss of memory and concentration

- emotional liability

- Clinical fatigue

- long term major depression

- severe anxiety

- reduced intellectual ability

The cognitive and behavioral symptoms are chronic and have little response to treatment.

Depending on lesion location, some patients may experience visual complications.

Complications of pregnancy are health problems that are caused by pregnancy. In the immediate postpartum period, 87% to 94% of women report at least one health problem. Long term health problems (persisting after 6 months postpartum) are reported by 31% of women. Severe complications of pregnancy are present in 1.6% of mothers in the US and in 1.5% of mothers in Canada. The relationship between age and complications of pregnancy are now being researched with greater impetus.

In 2013, complications of pregnancy resulted globally in 293,000 deaths, down from 377,000 deaths in 1990. The most common causes of maternal mortality are maternal bleeding, maternal sepsis and other infections, hypertensive diseases of pregnancy, obstructed labor, and , which includes miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, and elective abortion.

There is no clear distinction between complications of pregnancy and symptoms and discomforts of pregnancy. However, the latter do not significantly interfere with activities of daily living or pose any significant threat to the health of the mother or baby. Still, in some cases the same basic feature can manifest as either a discomfort or a complication depending on the severity. For example, mild nausea may merely be a discomfort (morning sickness), but if severe and with vomiting causing water-electrolyte imbalance it can be classified as a pregnancy complication (hyperemesis gravidarum).

Treatment of OBS varies with the causative disorder or disease. It is important to note that it is not a primary diagnosis and a cause needs to be sought out and treated.

The delusion of negation is the central symptom in Cotard's syndrome. The patient afflicted with this mental illness usually denies his or her existence, the existence of a certain body part, or the existence of a portion of their body. Cotard's syndrome exists in three stages: (i) Germination stage—the symptoms of psychotic depression and of hypochondria appear; (ii) Blooming stage—the full development of the syndrome and the delusions of negation; and (iii) Chronic stage—continued, severe delusions along with chronic psychiatric depression.

The Cotard syndrome withdraws the afflicted person from other people due to the neglect of their personal hygiene and physical health. The delusion of negation of self prevents the patient from making sense of external reality, which then produces a distorted view of the external world. Such a delusion of negation is usually found in the psychotic patient who also presents with schizophrenia. Although a diagnosis of Cotard's syndrome does not require the patient's having had hallucinations, the strong delusions of negation are comparable to those found in schizophrenic patients.

Comorbid psychiatric disorders commonly go undetected in the treatment of depression. If left untreated, the symptoms of these disorders can interfere with both evaluation and treatment.

Anxiety disorders are one of the most common disorder types associated with treatment-resistant depression. The two disorders commonly co-exist, and have some similar symptoms. Some studies have shown that patients with both MDD and panic disorder are the most likely to be nonresponsive to treatment.

Substance abuse may also be a predictor of treatment-resistant depression. It may cause depressed patients to be noncompliant in their treatment, and the effects of certain substances can worsen the effects of depression.

Other psychiatric disorders that may predict treatment-resistant depression include personality disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, and eating disorders.

The article "Betwixt Life and Death: Case Studies of the Cotard Delusion" (1996) describes a contemporary case of Cotard delusion, which occurred in a Scotsman whose brain was damaged in a motorcycle accident:

The article "Recurrent Postictal Depression with Cotard Delusion" (2005) describes the case of a fourteen-year-old epileptic boy whose distorted perception of reality resulted from Cotard syndrome. His mental health history was of a boy expressing themes of death, chronic sadness, decreased physical activity in playtime, social withdrawal, and disturbed biological functions. About twice a year, the boy suffered episodes that lasted between three weeks and three months. In the course of each episode, he said that everyone and everything was dead (including trees), described himself as a dead body, and warned that the world would be destroyed within hours. Throughout the episode, the boy showed no response to pleasurable stimuli and had no interest in social activities.

Schizoaffective disorder is defined by "mood disorder-free psychosis" in the context of a long-term psychotic and mood disorder. Psychosis must meet criterion A for schizophrenia which may include delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, thinking or behavior and negative symptoms. Both delusions and hallucinations are classic symptoms of psychosis. Delusions are false beliefs which are strongly held despite evidence to the contrary. Beliefs should not be considered delusional if they are in keeping with cultural beliefs. Delusional beliefs may or may not reflect mood symptoms (for example, someone experiencing depression may or may not experience delusions of guilt). Hallucinations are disturbances in perception involving any of the five senses, although auditory hallucinations (or "hearing voices") are the most common. A lack of responsiveness or negative symptoms include alogia (lack of spontaneous speech), blunted affect (reduced intensity of outward emotional expression), avolition (loss of motivation), and anhedonia (inability to experience pleasure). Negative symptoms can be more lasting and more debilitating than positive symptoms of psychosis.

Mood symptoms are of mania, hypomania, mixed episode, or depression, and tend to be episodic rather than continuous. A mixed episode represents a combination of symptoms of mania and depression at the same time. Symptoms of mania include elevated or irritable mood, grandiosity (inflated self-esteem), agitation, risk-taking behavior, decreased need for sleep, poor concentration, rapid speech, and racing thoughts. Symptoms of depression include low mood, apathy, changes in appetite or weight, disturbances in sleep, changes in motor activity, fatigue, guilt or feelings of worthlessness, and suicidal thinking.

Depression is a state of a low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behavior, feelings, and sense of well-being. A depressed mood is a normal temporary reaction to life events such as loss of a loved one. It is also a symptom of some physical diseases and a side effect of some drugs and medical treatments. Depressed mood is also a symptom of some mood disorders such as major depressive disorder or dysthymia.

People with a depressed mood may be notably sad, anxious, or empty; they may also feel notably hopeless, helpless, dejected, or worthless. Other symptoms expressed may include senses of guilt, irritability, or anger. Further feelings expressed by these individuals may include feeling ashamed or an expressed restlessness. These individuals may notably lose interest in activities that they once considered pleasurable to family and friends or otherwise experience either a loss of appetite or overeating. Experiencing problems concentrating, remembering general facts or details, otherwise making decisions or experiencing relationship difficulties may also be notable factors in these individuals' depression and may also lead to their attempting or actually dying by suicide.

Expressed insomnia, excessive sleeping, fatigue, and vocalizing general aches, pains, and digestive problems and a reduced energy may also be present in individuals experiencing depression.

Treatment-resistance is relatively common in cases of MDD. Rates of total remission following antidepressant treatment are only 50.4%. In cases of depression treated by a primary-care physician, 32% of patients partially responded to treatment and 45% did not respond at all.

PRS symptoms have common characteristics with many other psychiatric disorders. However, none of the present DSM diagnoses can account for the full scope of symptoms seen in PRS, and refusal to eat, weight loss, social withdrawal and school refusal can be considered as the main distinctive features. Any system may be involved, however some more commonly engaged than others.

Gastrointestinal:

- recurring pain

- nausea

- loss of appetite

Neurological:

- headache

- seizure

- motor dysfunction

- sensory dysfunction

- fatigue

- altered consciousness

Musculoskeletal:

- joint pains

- muscle weakness

Paranoid schizophrenia manifests itself in an array of symptoms. Common symptoms for paranoid schizophrenia include auditory hallucinations (hearing voices) and paranoid delusions (believing everyone is out to cause the sufferer harm). However, two of the symptoms separate this form of schizophrenia from other forms.

One criterion for separating paranoid schizophrenia from other types is delusion. A delusion is a belief that is held strongly even when the evidence shows otherwise. Some common delusions associated with paranoid schizophrenia include, “believing that the government is monitoring every move you make, or that a co-worker is poisoning your lunch." In all but rare cases, these beliefs are irrational, and can cause the person holding them to behave abnormally. Another frequent type of delusion is a delusion of grandeur, or the “fixed, false belief that one possesses superior qualities such as genius, fame, omnipotence, or wealth." Common ones include, “the belief that you can fly, that you're famous, or that you have a relationship with a famous person."

Another criterion present in patients with paranoid schizophrenia is auditory hallucinations, in which the person hears voices or sounds that are not really present. The patient will sometimes hear multiple voices and the voices can either be talking to the patient or to one another. These voices can influence the patient to behave in a particular manner. Researchers at the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research provide the following description: “They [the voices] may make ongoing criticisms of what you’re thinking or doing, or make cruel comments about your real or imagined faults. Voices may also command you to do things that can be harmful to yourself or to others." A patient exhibiting these auditory hallucinations may be observed "talking to them" because the person believes that the voices represent people who are present.

Early diagnosis is critical for the successful treatment of schizophrenia.