Schizophrenia eventually becomes a disease that changes one's life, but the early warning signs can be subtle and easy to miss. Knowing what to look for can help with early diagnosis and control of the disease.
General Symptoms
The symptoms of schizophrenia resemble many other mental disorders, so it is very hard to diagnose right off of the bat. There are, however, some symptoms that are clear to doctors as schizophrenia. These include catatonic states, where a person completely freezes and does not respond to stimuli. Schizophrenics also experience emotions that are not relative to the situation they are in, or sometimes even violent angry outbursts.
Positive Symptoms
While these symptoms are in no way happy, they are referred to as positive because a person gains personality and ability. These "positive" symptoms include hallucinations or delusions, racing thoughts and movement disorders such as clumsiness or involuntary spasms.
Negative Symptoms
Negative behaviors are called such because they involve losing personality traits or behaviors. Loss of interest in normal activities and a lack of general emotion are parts of this. According to the Mayo Clinic, patients may also neglect hygiene, have a loss of sexual desire and withdraw from social activities.
Cognitive Symptoms
Cognitive symptoms relate to functioning of the brain. Sometimes, schizophrenics report memory loss or have trouble doing normal motor functions such as reading or writing. Because their thoughts are so rapid, schizophrenics also have trouble with organization and completing tasks.
Paranoid Schizophrenia
Paranoid schizophrenics have most of the same symptoms, but their early signs are a little different. They are constantly skeptical of their surroundings and think people are watching them or listening to them. All of their hallucinations and delusions concentrate on people following them, bugging phones or doing surveillance.
Tags: hallucinations delusions, have trouble