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Schizophrenia is a mental illness that affects a person’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. The following are some of the symptoms of schizophrenia:
Schizophrenia is a mental illness that affects a person’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. The following are some of the symptoms of schizophrenia:
Hallucinations are sensory experiences that occur in the absence of any outside input. Because it shows a warped perspective of reality, it is a symptom of schizophrenia.
A person suffering from schizophrenia may hear voices that do not exist, see things that do not exist, or experience feelings that have no physical origin. It can be extremely distressing and perplexing for the person and can progress to additional symptoms such as delusions or paranoia.
Disorganised thinking impairs a person’s ability to generate cohesive thoughts and communicate effectively and can impair one’s ability to follow a logical flow of ideas or keep a consistent topic of conversation.
Disorganised speech, which may involve rambling, irrelevant, or incomprehensible words, phrases, or sentences, can indicate disorganised thinking.
Thought blockage is characterised by an abrupt interruption or cessation of the person’s train of thought.
The individual may stop speaking in the middle of a sentence, or they may lose track of what they were saying or thinking. It is a symptom of schizophrenia because it indicates an inability to sustain a cohesive and continuous flow of thought.
Movement disorders affect a person’s motor behaviour, such as posture, gestures, facial expressions, or motions.
It can range from very chaotic or abnormal behaviour like agitation, catatonia, or stereotypy to diminished or lack of movement. Movement abnormalities are a symptom of schizophrenia because they reflect a breakdown in the person’s coordination and regulation of physical activity.
This involves a diminished or absent ability to experience pleasure or satisfaction from activities that are normally enjoyable or rewarding.
Also known as anhedonia, it can impair a person’s drive, interest, and participation in several parts of life, including job, hobbies, relationships, and self-care. A lack of enjoyment in daily life is a symptom of schizophrenia because it indicates a negative emotional state.
This is characterised by a diminished or impaired capacity to initiate and complete tasks requiring planning, organisation, or goal-directed activity.
Also known as avolition, it can impair a person’s performance and productivity in a variety of domains, including education, occupation, and household. The inability to initiate and sustain planned actions is a hallmark of schizophrenia because it indicates a loss of will and agency.
This involves little or no verbal communication, even when the person is urged or expected to speak.
Also known as alogia, it impairs a person’s capacity to express thoughts, feelings, or opinions, as well as engage in social engagement.
It is a hallmark of schizophrenia because it displays a lack of verbal fluency and responsiveness, which separates the person from others.
This is characterised by a reduced or impaired capacity to conduct higher-order cognitive activities required for complex and adaptive behaviour, such as attention, working memory, reasoning, problem-solving, decision-making, planning, and inhibition.
Poor executive functioning is a symptom of schizophrenia because it implies a decline in mental capacities.
A difficulty or inability to concentrate on a given task, stimulus, or source of information, or to switch attention between other tasks, stimuli, or sources of information, is a sign of schizophrenia because it indicates an impairment in the person’s attentional capacity and control.
Distraction, weariness, tension, or boredom can all contribute to difficulty focusing or paying attention.
This is a decreased or impaired ability to temporarily store and manage information relevant to a current task or goal.
Working memory allows people to perform mental activities including computation, understanding, reasoning, and problem-solving. These issues are symptoms of schizophrenia because they indicate a limitation in the person’s cognitive resources.
Schizophrenia is a complex mental disorder that has no single cause. Research suggests that a combination of physical, genetic, psychological, and environmental factors can increase the risk of developing schizophrenia or trigger its onset in vulnerable people. Some possible causes of schizophrenia are:
Schizophrenia runs in families, but no single gene is to blame. It is more plausible that certain gene combinations make people more prone to the illness. Having these genes, however, does not guarantee that one will develop schizophrenia.
Persons with schizophrenia have modest variations in the structure and function of their brains compared to people who do not have the disorder, according to studies.
These variations may include shrinkage of brain tissue, aberrant activity in specific brain regions, and disruption of brain cell connections. These modifications may have an impact on the balance and function of neurotransmitters, which are molecules that transport signals between brain cells.
Abnormal levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter involved in reward, motivation, and emotion, for example, may contribute to schizophrenia symptoms.
According to research, people who develop schizophrenia are more likely to have had difficulties during and before their birth, such as low birth weight, early labour, a lack of oxygen, or infection.
These problems may have an inadvertent effect on brain development, raising the likelihood of schizophrenia later in life.
Environmental factors may also influence the risk or start of schizophrenia, particularly in persons who are genetically susceptible or have brain abnormalities.
Stress, trauma, abuse, social isolation, drug use, or exposure to poisons or viruses are examples of such variables. These factors may cause or exacerbate schizophrenia symptoms by influencing brain development, function, or stress response.
Here are some common myths about schizophrenia that persist due to stereotypes, inaccurate media depictions, and a general lack of understanding about the condition.
It’s important to debunk these myths to reduce the stigma surrounding schizophrenia and to promote a more accurate understanding of this mental health condition:
This myth may stem from the fact that the term “schizophrenia” translates to “split mind” in Greek.
Schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder (DID) are two different conditions, as schizophrenia refers to a split from reality, while DID involves having several fragmented identities (split personalities). Schizophrenia is a chronic disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and acts and does not involve multiple personalities.
This myth may exist due to a lack of understanding about the complexity and variability of schizophrenia symptoms.
Symptoms vary greatly among people with the condition. Some see or hear things that aren’t there (visual and auditory hallucinations), while others have difficulties paying attention, remembering information, and staying motivated.
People with schizophrenia may even experience different symptoms at different times, and the severity of the symptoms may vary among individuals or from episode to episode.
This myth is often perpetuated by media portrayals of individuals with schizophrenia but is false, as individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia alone and not a co-occurring condition, are unlikely to be violent or dangerous.
In many cases, individuals with schizophrenia live in special homes, with their family, or on their own if they are high-functioning. People with this condition may still exhibit unpredictable behaviour, however.
The early warning signs of schizophrenia, also known as the prodromal stage, can vary depending on the individual and usually include:
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia refer to the absence of normal behaviours. The following symptoms associated with schizophrenia can cause significant challenges in daily life:
Schizophrenia is diagnosed by medical professionals such as doctors and psychiatrists through a series of evaluations, tests, and screenings:
A doctor or mental health professional will use the criteria published in reputable manuals of mental disorders to confirm a final diagnosis.