Symptoms that reflect an excess/distortion of normal function. Which means the it adds something to their life.
Positive Symptom: Hallucinations
Unreal perceptions of the environment may involve hearing voices, seeing thongs or smelling things, all of which don't exist. Sometimes the voices can be insulting them which appear to be form a commentary of the sufferers life.
Positive Symptoms: Delusion
Involves experiencing delusions of grandeur with inflated beliefs seeing themselves as more important in some form.
Negative Symptoms
Involve the loss of usual abilities and experiences. Removes something from the normal life.
Speech Poverty/Disorganisation
in which the speech becomes incoherent or the speaker changes the topic mid-sentence.
Speech disorganization is classified as a positive symptom of schizophrenia whereas speech poverty remains a negative symptom.
Negative symptom: Avolition
Something called 'apathy'.
Finding it difficult to begin or keep up with goal-directed activities.
People with schizophrenia often have reduced motivation to carry out a range of activities.
Andreasen (1982) identified three signs of avolition: poor hygiene and grooming, lack of persistence in work or education and lack of energy.
