What are the other Names for this Condition? (Also known as/Synonyms)

• Headache due to Psychotic Disorder

What is Headache Attributed to Psychotic Disorder? (Definition/Background Information)

• Headache Attributed to Psychotic Disorder is a headache disorder that occurs secondary to a psychotic disorder; the headache arising from the affected individual’s delusional mind (from false thoughts and beliefs that are not medically correlated)
• Psychotic disorders are a group of mental health disorders in which the individual has abnormal thinking process and perceptions that are far removed from reality, despite suitable reassurances and proofs i.e., the individual has lost touch with reality. The main manifestations of any psychotic disorders are delusions and hallucinations
• Some of the common psychotic disorders include schizophrenia, delusional disorder, substance-induced psychotic disorder, etc.
• A progression of the disorder in the absence of adequate treatment can worsen the headache. The headache is known to improve and regress on undertaking suitable management of the underlying disorder

The criteria for diagnosis of Headache Attributed to Psychotic Disorder as outlined by the International Headache Society (IHS) is given below:

A diagnosis has been made of somatization disorder characterized by both of the following:

• Presence of a delusion whose content involves a mechanism that would explain the headache
• Any headache fulfilling the criterion below
• Evidence of causation demonstrated by either or both of the following:
  • Headache has developed with or after the onset of the delusion, or led to its diagnosis
  • Headache has remitted after remission of the delusion
• Not better accounted for by another ICHD-3 diagnosis

(Source: International Headache Society Classification ICHD-3, London, United Kingdom)