Psychosification

The act of reductively explaining any human experience, belief, or behavior—religious visions, spiritual insights, political convictions, even legal systems—as symptoms of psychosis, delusions, or schizophrenia. Common in online mental health communities like r/Psychosis, where users pathologize everything from mystical experiences to economic opinions. Psychosification erases the distinction between clinical psychosis (a condition with specific diagnostic criteria) and ordinary or culturally normative beliefs. It transforms difference into disease, treating any worldview outside a narrow materialist‑individualist frame as a symptom of illness. Critics argue that psychosification is itself a form of epistemic violence: it silences spiritual traditions, dismisses social critique as “delusional,” and delegitimizes non‑Western ways of knowing.

Psychosification Example: “When he shared his indigenous ancestor visions online, a commenter called it psychosis. Psychosification: diagnosing cultural spirituality as mental illness because it doesn’t fit secular materialism.”

Psychosification by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal June 5, 2026