Classification

• Schizophrenia is a severe long-term psychotic disorder. It causes a range of different psychological symptoms and the person may not always be able to distinguish their own thoughts and ideas from reality.
• Symptoms of schizophrenia:

  Hallucination - Unreal and bizarre perceptions of the environment, usually auditory but can be visual, olfactory (smell) or tactile (touch).
• Symptoms of schizophrenia:

  Delusions - Bizarre beliefs that seem real to the person with schizophrenia, e.g delusions of reference, and are paranoid in nature
• Symptoms of schizophrenia:

  Disorganised speech - Abnormal thought process is shown through speech, the individual has problems organising their thoughts, e.g producing incoherent speech.
• Symptoms of schizophrenia:

  Catatonic behaviour - Inability to complete tasks because hyperactivity.
• Symptoms of schizophrenia:

  Speech poverty - Reduction of speech fluency and productivity, reflecting slowing or blocked thoughts.
• Symptoms of schizophrenia:

  Avolition - Reduction of interest and desires as well as an inability to initiate and persist in goal-directed behaviours.
• Symptoms of schizophrenia:

  Affective Flattening - Reduction in co-verbal behaviours, the range of intensity of emotional expression, including facial expression, voice tone, eye contact and body language.
• Symptoms of schizophrenia:

  Anhedonia - Inability to feel pleasure