I've become increasingly aware of the overuse, incorrect use, ignorant use, uninformed use, idiocy and misinterpretation around the words 'psychotic' and the slang 'psycho'.
Psychosis is a severe mental illness, afflicting a not miniscule percentage of the population.
Psychosis is associated with illnesses that affect the brain (for example, schizophrenia). People affected by psychosis can experience delusions, hallucinations and confused thinking. Medication and community support can relieve, or even eliminate, psychotic symptoms.
Approximately three in 100 people will experience a psychotic episode at some point in their life. Some people only experience a few episodes of psychosis or a brief episode that lasts for a few days or weeks. Others will experience symptoms more frequently, in association with a longer-term illness such as schizophrenia. The first episode of psychosis usually occurs in a person’s late teens or early 20s.
From
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Psychosis_explained
There seems to be a misunderstanding or misinterpretation that psychosis refers to the personality or behaviour of some people. It doesn't. It is a pretty scary symptom for anyone who suffers from it. It is an insult to people who have suffered from psychotic symptoms, to associate them with people who behave in a nasty or mean fashion. There's a difference between a person's character and behaviour and a symptom of a mental illness.
It's alarming also to note that some posters here refer to someone who has ideas with which the poster does not agree as being 'psycho' or 'psychotic'.
Look - just think before you use the word - ok?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdczRPQkwMY