July 14, 2006, Newsletter Issue #22: What are the symptoms of Schizophrenia?

Tip of the Week

Schizophrenia has three categories symptoms fall into: positive, negative, or cognitive.

Positive symptoms: Hallucinations, delusions, and thought disorder

• The most common hallucination is hearing voices but the other senses can also be involved. A Schizophrenic can think they see, hear, smell, or feel someone else around them.

• A delusion is a false personal belief. A Schizophrenic can believe their family is always plotting against them to a person on television telling them to buy a product.

• An example of a thought disorder is when a Schizophrenic has a difficult time organizing their thoughts and when they begin to speak; their speech is slurred or hard to understand. Some sufferers will make up words to explain their thoughts.

Negative symptoms: Decrease desire to speak, express emotion, or find pleasure in everyday life. These symptoms can be mistaken for laziness or depression.

• A Schizophrenic’s inability to make and stick to a planned activity, not interacting with others, and not enjoying everyday life is a strong sign. Also when the sufferer speaks, their voice is monotone and no emotional or facial expressions occur.

Cognitive symptoms: Focus, memory, and functions which allow a person to plan or organize become lost. These symptoms can only be found when neuropsychological tests are done.

• A Schizophrenic cannot absorb and interpret information and come to a conclusion.

• The difficult to retain and use information makes it difficult for a Schizophrenic to keep a daily job.

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