Symptoms
Schizophrenia includes multiple issues with thinking (cognitions), emotions and behavior. Symptoms vary between individuals but generally include delusions, hallucinations or unorganized articulation, most have an impairment in functioning. Symptoms are as follows:
● Delusions: fictitious beliefs that are not realistic. For example, one with schizophrenia may believe that someone is talking about them or out to get them; they are extraordinary, believe a person is in love with them, or something destructive is going to happen. Delusions are common in people that have schizophrenia.
● Hallucinations: seeing or hearing things that do not exist. A person with a diagnosis of schizophrenia will see and/or hear unrealistic sights and sounds that others around them are not experiencing. Hearing voices is the most common sound.
● Disorganized thinking (speech): Disorganized thoughts is conjecture from disorganized speech. Communication is greatly impaired, answers to questions may be irrelevant to what was asked. Sometimes individuals put together incomprehensible words, sometimes called “word salad.”
● Extremely disorganized or abnormal motor behavior: This can be shown in multiple ways, unforeseeable agitation to acting childlike. It is difficult to complete simple tasks, refusal to receive instructions, improper demeanor, complete absence of response, or extreme or ineffective movement.
● Negative symptoms: individuals do not have the ability to function ordinarily. The person with this mental illness may not groom regularly or does not show emotion and will not make eye contact, flat effect of facial expressions, or tone of voice is usually monotone. The individual loses interest in daily activities, isolates or does not experience enjoyment.
Each person with schizophrenia has a different level of severity regarding their symptoms, there will be times when the symptoms will become more severe and even an exemption of symptoms but stressors seem to increase the symptoms.
In males, schizophrenia symptoms tend to develop in the early to mid-20s. In females, the symptoms begin in the late 20s. It is not common for children to be diagnosed with schizophrenia and very rare with individuals older than 45 years old. Regardless of the age getting the right treatment for schizophrenia is vital. Inspirational Therapies for Schizophrenia Treatment provides specialized treatment for individuals with schizophrenia.