Characteristics

• Schizophrenia

  A type of psychosis where a patient experiences a "split from reality"
• The term "schizophrenia" originates from the Greek "Schizo" meaning split and "Phron" meaning mind
• 1 in 100 people in the UK are diagnosed with Schizophrenia, most between ages 15-35 with males and females equally affected
• Positive symptoms

  Individual demonstrates behaviours in addition to normal behaviours
• Positive symptoms

  • Hallucination (including formication where individual feels small insects crawling under skin)
  • Delusions (including paranoid delusions - false belief that government is tracking everything you say and do)
  • Disordered thinking (conversation jumps from one topic to another, frustrating for individual and difficult to communicate with them)
• Negative symptoms

  Prevent individual from demonstrating normal behaviours
• Negative symptoms

  • Alogia (reduced amount of speech e.g. someone who once was very talkative suddenly becoming very quiet and withdrawn in social situations)
  • Avolition (display lack of interest and does not want to take part in activities they once enjoyed. Lack of motivation to take part e.g. a student who no longer completes homework activities)
  • Anhedonia (lack of positive emotion to pleasurable experiences e.g. a football fan who shows no enjoyment when their team wins)
  • Flatness of affect (appears to have no emotion or facial expressions when conversing e.g. does not laugh at jokes they hear)
  • Catatonic behaviour (can range from repetitive movements to none at all, e.g. Echopraxia - mimic movements of others, Echolalia - mimic speech of others)
• In ICD-10 there were various subtypes of schizophrenia which could be diagnosed based on main symptoms displayed - paranoid, disorganised and catatonic, However, these subtypes have now been removed in ICD-11
• The ICD-10 is used in the UK and Europe when diagnosing mental illnesses such as schizophrenia
• Diagnosis of schizophrenia

  • Symptoms must be present most of the time for at least one month
  • Individual must display at least one of the major symptoms (auditory hallucinations, thought insertion, thought broadcasting and delusions)
  • Individual must display at least two of the minor symptoms (hallucination of any type, disorganised speech, catatonic behaviour and negative symptoms) simultaneously