Schizophrenia is a severe, debilitating mental illness with several types of symptoms. These include problems in perception, inferential thinking, language/communication, behavior, affect, speech, goal-directed activity and attention, according to the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR)." Often, these symptoms can be seen by others. Indicators of schizophrenia can fall under three broad categories: positive, negative and miscellaneous symptoms, according to the DSM. Schizophrenics also have poor insight about their illnesses.
Positive Symptoms
Positive symptoms are described as a distortion of normal functioning, according to the DSM. The first positive symptom is delusions, which are distortions in thought content, according to the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). If you talk to an individual with delusions, he might tell you that he is Buddha, that the FBI is spying on him or that everyone is out to get him. The second positive symptom is hallucinations, according to NIMH. Hallucinations include hearing voices and seeing, feeling or tasting things that are not there. The most common example of this is when you see people talking to themselves--they usually are responding to the voices they hear in their heads. Individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia also often have disorganized speech or behavior, according to the DSM. They also might appear catatonic, meaning they appear "zombie-like," according to NIMH. Positive symptoms can be broadly summarized as "losing touch with reality," NIMH says.
Negative Symptoms
Negative symptoms include a lack of range of emotions, according to the DSM. Individuals with schizophrenia often have a flat affect, according to NIMH. They appear unresponsive or immobile, have poor eye contact and have low amounts of body language. They also do not engage in goal-directed behavior, such as looking for a job, according to the DSM, and their production of thought and speech often is restricted. Their responses to attempts at conversation often are brief and empty, but that is not the same as an unwillingness to speak.
Miscellaneous Symptoms
People with schizophrenia sometimes have phobias, anxiety and depression, and they often are suicidal, according to the DSM. This is because other mental health disorders tend to go along with schizophrenia. Schizophrenics also have higher rates of assaults and violent behavior. Often, their auditory hallucinations, or voices in their head, tell them to act homicidal, violent, or suicidal. Schizophrenics often are hospitalized because of this. Many people with schizophrenia also use drugs and smoke cigarettes to try to escape their symptoms or the pain they are feeling.
Poor Insight
Schizophrenics often have poor insight for their illnesses because of the illnesses themselves, not as a type of coping mechanism, such as denial, according to the DSM. Their neurological deficits also make it difficult for them to realize their illnesses. This poor insight makes the treatment of schizophrenia difficult with traditional methods, such as therapy and medication management.
References
- "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision"; American Psychiatric Association; 2000.
- National Institute of Mental Health: Schizophrenia
