Characteristics of Schizophrenia

• diagnosis


  Schizophrenia is diagnosed by either a doctor or psychiatrist, after someone has presented with symptoms that meet criteria set out in either the ICD-11 (The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems) or the DSM-5 (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders).

  
  

  The ICD-11 is published by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

  The DSM-5 is published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA)
• characteristics of schizophrenia


  split into 2 groups of symptoms

  
  

  -positive symptoms: behaviours and thoughts that the person with schizophrenia did not have before they became ill

  
  

  -negative symptoms: behaviours and thoughts that the person with schizophrenia used to have but have now lost or reduced due to the illness
• positive symptoms- delusions


  Delusions are beliefs that are not real. These are usually experienced when there is no evidence to support the delusion.

  
  

  Delusions of persecution - A belief that one is going to be harmed by an individual or organization.

  
  

  Delusions of grandiosity - A belief that one is special in some way or has assumed the identity of a famous person

  
  

  Delusions of reference - A belief that environmental stimuli, like newspapers and TV adverts, are communicating hidden messages to them.
• positive symptoms- hallucinations


  Hallucinations are perceptions that are not real. There are three main types:

  
  

  Auditory - Hearing voices or sounds that no one else can hear.

  
  

  Tactile - This refers to when a person senses that they are being touched when they are not

  
  

  Visual - This refers to seeing objects or people that are not there
• positive symptoms- disorganised thinking/speech


  Speech - The sentences of someone suffering with schizophrenia maybe mixed up and difficult to understand. It may seem like their speech is jumping from one topic to another, without any logical flow, which makes it difficult to follow. This is referred to as word salad.

  
  

  Thinking - Someone suffering with schizophrenia may report having thoughts in their head that are not their own; thoughts that belong to somebody else. This is referred to as insertion.
• positive symptoms- disorganised behaviour


  The behaviour of the person suffering with schizophrenia may become disorganised and unpredictable
• negative symptoms- avolition


  A person suffering with schizophrenia may lose interest and motivation in life and activities
• negative symptoms- anhedonia


  A person suffering with schizophrenia may develop an inability to feel pleasure. This may result in the person not reacting appropriately to pleasurable experiences.
• negative symptoms- alogia


  The total amount of speech produced by someone suffering with schizophrenia will often decrease.
• negative symptoms- flat affect


  A person suffering with schizophrenia may appear to have diminished emotional expression. They may hold conversations without any indication of emotional tone and show little or no facial expressions.
• negative symptoms- catatonic behaviour


  A person suffering with schizophrenia may display varied bodily movement. This could range from a stupor, to fast repetitive movement, to the mimicking of other behaviour around them (echopraxia)