module 6 Flashcards
(61 cards)
prodromal symptoms
- emerging symptoms that come before the first psychotic episode
- experience changes in cognition and behaviour
- may last for a few weeks or slowly worsen over several years
- first stage of schizophrenia and occurs before any noticeable psychotic symptoms appear
- 75% of people that have been diagnosed with schizophrenia go through this prodromal stage
examples of prodromal symptoms
- non-specific symptoms
- social isolation
- anxiety
- irritability
- changes to one’s normal routine
- sleep problems
- neglecting personal hygiene
- mild or poorly formed hallucinations
- lack of motivation
- difficulty concentrating
- erratic behaviours
active symptoms
- intense delusions, hallucinations, fully disorganized speech, etc
- when an individual experiences a psychotic episode
residual symptoms
- symptoms that remain after a full psychotic episode
- the psychotic episode has ended and individual continue to experience symptoms with impact similar to the prodromal stage
- no positive symptoms like hallucinations, delusions or disorganized speech
residual symptoms examples
- lack of motivation
- low energy
- depressed mood
- social withdrawal
- difficulty concentrating
- reduced or absent facial expression (flat affect)
- flat or monotone voice
positive symptoms
- hallucinations and delusions are positive symptoms
- positive symptoms tend to decrease over time, possible due to natural age related decreases in dopamine
hallucinations as positive symptoms
- experience of sensory events without input from external reality
- auditory: may include voices, sounds or commands
- visual: shadows or ghost-like images
- almost 40% of people have experienced a hallucination
delusions as positive symptoms
- incredibly strongly held beliefs that appear irrational to any reasonable person
- 5 subtypes of delusions
1. grandeur/grandiose
2. persecutory
3. erotomatic
4. jealous
5. somatic
grandeur/grandiose delusions
having a great talent or insight, or making some discovery
persecutory delusions
being cheated, spied upon, poisoned, harassed or obstructed
erotomatic delusions
someone else loves you
jealous delusions
lover/spouse is unfaithful
somatic delusions
- involving bodily functions/sensations
- beliefs that something is wrong with them; can also feed into hallucinations
- capgras syndrome: believing that everyone around you has been replaced by imposters
disorganized symptoms
- disorganized speech
- inappropriate affect
- grossly disorganized behaviour
- catatonia
disorganized speech as a disorganized symptom
- illogical speech while jumping from topic to topic
- tangential speech: when individuals go off on tangents and their replies to questions tend to be totally irrelevant
- loose associations/derailment: having spontaneous speech with an inability to stay on topic but there are minimal, hard to find, logical connections between thoughts
inappropriate affect as a disorganized symptom
- expressing emotions do not match the context
- e.g. laughing at a funeral
grossly disorganized behaviour as a disorganized symptom
- largely disorganized behaviour
- childish/silly behaviour
- unpredictable agitation
- hoarding and collecting odd items
catatonia as a disorganized symptom
- waxy flexibility: individuals in a catatonic state are almost as if their bodies are made of soft wax that you can bend into positions
- pacing, stereotyped behaviours
- echolalia: repeating back or mimicking sounds you hear
negative symptoms
- avolition/apathy
- alogia
- anhedonia
- affective flattening/flat affect
- asociality
avolition/apathy as a negative symptoms
- little interest in daily functions including hygiene
- inability to initiate or persist in activities
alogia as a negative symptom
little use of speech or interest in conversation
anhedonia
little interest in pleasurable activities
affective flattening/flat affect
lack of emotional expression
asociality as a negative symptom
little interest in socializing and poor social skills