Schizophrenia
An abnormal social behavior and failure to understand what is real is termed as schizophrenia and is a mental disorder commonly characterized by false beliefs, unclear or confused thinking, hearing voices, reduced social engagement and emotional expression, and a lack of motivation.
People with schizophrenia often have additional mental health problems such as substance abuse disorder. Symptoms of schizophrenia usually start between ages 16 and 30 and in some cases, children too suffer.
The symptoms of schizophrenia fall into three categories: positive, negative, and cognitive.
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Positive symptoms: These are psychotic behaviors not generally seen in healthy people. People with positive symptoms may “lose touch” with some aspects of reality and the symptoms include:
- Hallucinations
- Delusions
- Thought disorders (unusual or dysfunctional ways of thinking)
- Movement disorders (agitated body movements)
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Negative symptoms: They are associated with disruptions to normal emotions and behaviors and the symptoms include:
- “Flat affect” (reduced expression of emotions via facial expression or voice tone)
- Reduced feelings of pleasure in everyday life
- Difficulty beginning and sustaining activities
- Reduced speaking
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Cognitive symptoms: These are subtle for some patients, but for others, they are more severe and patients may notice changes in their memory or other aspects of thinking. The symptoms include:
- Poor “executive functioning” (the ability to understand information and use it to make decisions)
- Trouble focusing or paying attention
- Problems with “working memory” (the ability to use information immediately after learning it)