Schizophrenia—Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a serious brain illness. People who have it may hear voices that aren’t there. They may think other people are trying to hurt them. Sometimes they don’t make sense when they talk. The disorder makes it hard for them to keep a job or take care of themselves.

Symptoms of schizophrenia usually start between ages 16 and 30. Men often develop symptoms at a younger age than women. People usually do not get schizophrenia after age 45. There are three types of symptoms:

• Psychotic symptoms distort a person’s thinking. These include hallucinations (hearing or seeing things that are not there), delusions (beliefs that are not true), trouble organizing thoughts, and strange movements.
• “Negative” symptoms make it difficult to show emotions and to function normally. A person may seem depressed and withdrawn.
• Cognitive symptoms affect the thought process. These include trouble using information, making decisions, and paying attention.

No one is sure what causes schizophrenia. Your genes, environment, and brain chemistry may play a role.

There is no cure. Medicine can help control many of the symptoms. You may need to try different medicines to see which works best. You should stay on your medicine for as long as your doctor recommends. Additional treatments can help you deal with your illness from day to day. These include therapy, family education, rehabilitation, and skills training.

NIH: National Institute of Mental Health

• Mental status testing (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Schizoaffective disorder (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Schizophrenia (Medical Encyclopedia)

Schizophrenia is a mental health disorder classified as a psychosis, which means that it affects a person’s thinking, sense of self, and perceptions. The disorder typically appears during late adolescence or early adulthood.Signs and symptoms of schizophrenia include false perceptions called hallucinations. Imaginary voices are the most common hallucinations in schizophrenia, but affected individuals can also experience imaginary visions, smells, or feelings of being touched. Strongly held false beliefs (delusions) are also characteristic of schizophrenia. For example, affected individuals may be certain that they are a particular historical figure or that they are being plotted against or controlled by others.People with schizophrenia often have decreased ability to function at school, at work, and in social settings. Disordered thinking and concentration, inappropriate emotional responses, erratic speech and behavior, and difficulty with personal hygiene and everyday tasks are also features of the disorder. People with schizophrenia may have diminished facial expression and animation (flat affect), and in some cases become unresponsive (catatonic). Substance abuse and suicidal thoughts and actions are common in people with schizophrenia.Certain movement problems such as tremors, facial tics, rigidity, and unusually slow movement (bradykinesia) or an inability to move (akinesia) are common in people with schizophrenia. In most cases these are side effects of medicines given to help control the disorder. However, some affected individuals exhibit movement abnormalities before beginning drug treatment.Some people with schizophrenia have mild impairment of intellectual function, but schizophrenia is not associated with the same types of brain changes that occur in people with dementias such as Alzheimer disease.Psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia are different from mood disorders, including depression and bipolar disorder, which primarily affect emotions. However, these disorders can occur together. Individuals who exhibit strong features of both schizophrenia and mood disorders are often given the hybrid diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder.