2. What is Schizophrenia?
• Schizophrenia is a mental
disorder characterized
by abnormal social behavior and
failure to recognize what is real.
3. History
• In the early 20th century, the psychiatrist Kurt Schneider listed the forms of
psychotic symptoms that he thought distinguished schizophrenia from
other psychotic disorders. These are called first-rank
symptoms or Schneider's first-rank symptoms. They include delusions of
being controlled by an external force; the belief that thoughts are being
inserted into or withdrawn from one's conscious mind; the belief that one's
thoughts are being broadcast to other people; and hearing hallucinatory
voices that comment on one's thoughts or actions or that have a
conversation with other hallucinated voices.] Although they have
significantly contributed to the current diagnostic criteria, the specificity of
first-rank symptoms has been questioned. A review of the diagnostic
studies conducted between 1970 and 2005 found that they allow neither a
reconfirmation nor a rejection of Schneider's claims, and suggested that
first-rank symptoms should be de-emphasized in future revisions of
diagnostic systems.
•
4. Symptoms
• Common symptoms include false beliefs, unclear
or confused thinking, hearing voices, reduced
social engagement and emotional expression, and
a lack of motivation. People often have additional
mental health problems such as major
depression, anxiety disorders, or substance use
disorder. Symptoms typically come on gradually,
begin in young adulthood, and last a long time.[
5. Behaviors that are early warning
signs of schizophrenia include:
• Hearing or seeing something that isn’t there
• A constant feeling of being watched
• Peculiar or nonsensical way of speaking or writing
• Strange body positioning
• Feeling indifferent to very important situations
• Deterioration of academic or work performance
• A change in personal hygiene and appearance
• A change in personality
• Increasing withdrawal from social situations
• Irrational, angry or fearful response to loved ones
• Inability to sleep or concentrate
• Inappropriate or bizarre behavior
• Extreme preoccupation with religion or the occult
8. • The cause of schizophrenia is believed to
be a combination
of genetic and environmental factors. Poss
ible environmental factors
include cannabis use, poor nutrition during
pregnancy, being raised in a city, parental
age, and certain infections. Diagnosis is
based on observed behavior and the
person's reported experiences.
12. • Catatonic Schizophrenia -- a person is
withdrawn, mute, negative and often assumes
very unusual body positions.
13. • Residual Schizophrenia -- a person is no
longer experiencing delusions or
hallucinations, but has no motivation or
interest in life.
14. • Schizoaffective Disorder --a person has
symptoms of both schizophrenia and a major
mood disorder such as depression
15. • Schizophrenia is often described in terms
of positive and negative (or deficit) symptoms.
• Positive symptoms are those that most individuals
do not normally experience but are present in
people with schizophrenia. They can include
delusions, disordered thoughts and speech,
and tactile, auditory, visual, olfactory and
gustatory hallucinations, typically regarded as
manifestations of psychosis. Hallucinations are
also typically related to the content of the
delusional theme. Positive symptoms generally
respond well to medication.
16. • Negative symptoms are deficits of normal
emotional responses or of other thought
processes, and are less responsive to medication.
They commonly include flat expressions or little
emotion, poverty of speech, inability to
experience pleasure, lack of desire to form
relationships, and lack of motivation. Negative
symptoms appear to contribute more to poor
quality of life, functional ability, and the burden
on others than do positive symptoms. People with
greater negative symptoms often have a history of
poor adjustment before the onset of illness, and
response to medication is often limited.
17. Diagnosis
• schizophrenia is diagnosed based on criteria in either
the American Psychiatric Association's fifth edition of
the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders (DSM 5), or the World Health
Organization's International Statistical Classification
of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10).
These criteria use the self-reported experiences of the
person and reported abnormalities in behavior,
followed by a clinical assessment by a mental health
professional. Symptoms associated with
schizophrenia occur along a continuum in the
population and must reach a certain severity before a
diagnosis is made. As of 2013 there is no objective
test.
18. • The first-line psychiatric treatment for
schizophrenia is antipsychotic medication,
which can reduce the positive symptoms of
psychosis in about 7 to 14 days.
Antipsychotics, however, fail to
significantly improve the negative
symptoms and cognitive dysfunction In
those on antipsychotics, continued use
decreases the risk of relapse. There is little
evidence regarding effects from their use
beyond two or three years.
