Schizophrenia Spectrum

What is Schizophrenia Spectrum?

Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. People with schizophrenia may seem like they have lost touch with reality. They may hear voices (auditory hallucinations), believe things that are not true (delusions), or have strange, unusual behaviors (psychosis).

Schizophrenia is a complex illness with many different symptoms. The symptoms can vary from person to person, and they can change over time. Some of the most common symptoms of schizophrenia include:

• Hallucinations: Hallucinations are sensory experiences that occur in the absence of real stimuli. They can be auditory (hearing voices), visual (seeing things that are not there), tactile (feeling things that are not there), olfactory (smelling things that are not there), or gustatory (tasting things that are not there).
• Delusions: Delusions are false beliefs that are not based in reality. They can be bizarre (very strange or unusual) or non-bizarre (more common). Some examples of delusions include believing that you are being followed, that someone is trying to harm you, or that you have special powers.
• Thought disorder: Thought disorder is a disturbance in the way that a person thinks. It can manifest in a variety of ways, such as disorganized speech, derailment (going off on tangents), poverty of speech (saying very little), or perseveration (repeating the same words or phrases over and over).
• Negative symptoms: Negative symptoms are a group of symptoms that reflect a loss of normal function. They can include flat affect (lack of facial expression), alogia (reduced speech), avolition (reduced motivation), and anhedonia (reduced ability to experience pleasure).

Schizophrenia is a serious illness, but it can be treated. Treatment usually involves a combination of medication and therapy. Medication can help to reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia, and therapy can help people to learn how to manage their illness and live a fulfilling life.

If you think you or someone you know may have schizophrenia, it is important to seek professional help.