Features and Symptoms of Schizophrenia Flashcards
What is Sz?
Sz is a mental illness that affects the way we think, speak or feel and the person to a certain degree will lose touch with reality
What are positive symptoms of Sz?
Increase in abnormal behaviour or experience
e.g. hallucinations, delusions, bizarre behaviour, positive formal thought disorder
What are negative symptoms of Sz?
Absence or diminishing normal behaviour
e.g. alogia, affective flattening, anhedonia, asociality, attentional impairment
What are cognitive symptoms of Sz?
Abnormality in thought process
e.g. memory, attention, planning, decision making
What are delusions?
False beliefs, refer to an individual thinking their movements are being controlled by someone else
What are paranoid delusions/delusions of persecution?
Where someone believes someone is trying to mislead, manipulate or harm them
What are delusions of grandeur?
Believe they are in a position of power or possess special power
What are hallucinations?
Involve seeing, smelling or hearing things that aren’t there
Most common type of hallucinations is auditory
What is thought insertion?
Example of delusion whereby an individual believes that their thoughts have been implanted by some kind of external force
What is disorderd thinking?
Individual finds it difficult to put their thoughts into logical sense, thoughts are loosely connected and this is reflected in their speech
What is Sz an example of?
Example of psychosis meaning the individual has lost touch with reality
What does neurosis mean?
Patient is in touch with reality and knows their behaviour is irrational
What percentage of Sz is found in any nation?
Sz is found in any nation at a rate of about 1% of the population
25% of 1% chronic Sz (indefinite Sz)
50% of 1% revolving door - in and out of periods of Sz
25% of 1% one episode and recover
What is the onset age for Sz?
Males - late teens / early 20s
Females - late 20s / early 30s
What is the life expectancy like for someone with Sz?
On average 10 years less
