Schizophrenia symptoms depend largely upon the type of mental illness the individual has, as there are five different variations. Paranoid schizophrenia is characterized by hallucinations and delusions, but otherwise normal mental functioning. Disorganized-type schizophrenia is characterized by disorganized, nonsensical speech patterns, inappropriate emotions and abnormal behaviors. Catatonic-type schizophrenia is marked by immobility and vacant staring for long periods of time. Undifferentiated-type schizophrenia is a combination of the other types and residual-type schizophrenia occurs when a person has had psychotic episodes of some sort that may come and go.
The physical symptoms of schizophrenia manifest in many different ways. Some people have difficulty smiling and expressing emotion, which leaves them with a blank, vacuous look most of the time. They’re often seen staring as if deep in thought, without blinking, for long periods of time. Strange habits such as an awkward gait, unusual eye movements, involuntary limb movements, involuntary grimacing, odd tongue movements or clumsiness are common. Others may simply be easily irritated by noises and lights. Some patients with thought disorders may pace around the room and suffer from insomnia, while others are conversely prone to excessive sleeping and staying in bed for extended periods of time.
Many of the emotional schizophrenia symptoms look a lot like depression, anxiety disorder or bipolar. Many patients will drop out of school, find it hard to establish relationships, withdraw from friends, neglect their appearance and lose their jobs due to sudden poor performance. Often, they will sit alone for hours on end, lost in thought and staring in an almost catatonic state. People with schizophrenia often talk to themselves out loud and pace around the house. Many sufferers find it hard to deal with stressful situations or even a minor snafus. They are often preoccupied with religion, drugs, alcohol and 70-90% of schizophrenics are chain smokers.
Schizophrenia is considered a brain disorder because it is so disruptive to how people experience life. Schizophrenics may have thoughts that run through their heads incessantly. They usually feel hung up on a past relationship, a missed opportunity or a disappointment. They feel unable to set and achieve goals and are prone to excessive forgetfulness. Schizophrenics are noted for making up words, stringing together completely unrelated words or expressing successive thoughts that do not logically relate to one another. Schizophrenia symptoms include difficulty understanding simple concepts, using odd language structures and speaking intensely using nonsensical logic.
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