Psychotic Disorders
What is psychosis?
Psychosis means a serious lack of connection to reality. It is characterized by experiences such as delusions, paranoia, and hallucinations. It does not indicate violence.
What is schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder characterized by two types of symptoms, positive and negative symptoms. It is a chronic condition that is typically treated with medication and therapy. The onset of symptoms is typically in late teens or early 20s for men and typically in the 20s or 30s for women; however, onset can begin at any age.
What are the symptoms of schizophrenia?
Postive Symptoms:
- Hallucinations: sensorial (auditory, visual, tactile, olfactory, or gustatory) experiences that are not grounded in objective reality. This includes hearing voices or seeing objects, animals, or people that are not there.
- Delusions: a fixed belief that is not grounded in objective evidence and cannot be influenced by logical argument. Examples of delusions include the belief that one is a deity, the belief that someone is stalking you or "out to get you", the belief that one is a celebrity or highly influential person such as a world leader.
- Disorganized thought and/or speech: difficulty expressing one's self coherently, difficulty following a conversation, or saying things that don't make sense.
- Movement disorder: sudden, repetitive, or erratic movement without apparent cause. Or, lack of any movement for an extended period of time (catatonia).
Negative Symptoms:
- Flat affect: lack of emotional engagement or expression.
- Lack of pleasure (anhedonia): inability to enjoy activities.
- Withdrawal: lack of social and/or interpersonal engagement.
- Lack of basic functioning: difficulty managing basic tasks.
How common is schizophrenia?
Approximately 1% (or 1 in every 100 people) of the adult population has schizophrenia. This means that over 3 million adults in the United States live with schizophrenia.
Who develops schizophrenia?
A person of any age, gender, race/ethnicity, or socio-economic background can develop schizophrenia. The exact cause of schizophrenia is unknown but it is probably caused by a combination of genetic, psychological, and environmental causes.
Schizophrenia and Related Disorders
Schizophreniform Disorder
Schizophreniform disorder exists on the schizophrenic spectrum and is characterized by schizophrenic symptoms (hallucinations, delusions, or disorganized speech); however, it must develop rapidly and be present for a shorter amount of time than schizophrenia (less than 6 months if not treated).
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a serious psychotic disorder characterized by positive and negative symptoms. It is a life-long condition that causes significant functional impairment. However, it is a treatable condition and many people live in recovery with schizophrenia.
Schizoaffective Disorder
Schizoaffective disorder is a psychotic disorder characterized by symptoms of both schizophrenia and a mood disorder (either bipolar disorder or major depressive disorder).
Delusional Disorder
Delusional disorder is a rare psychotic disorder characterized by the presence of delusions without other schizophrenia-like symptoms, such as hallucinations, disorganized speech, or flat affect.
Unspecified Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorder
This diagnosis is given when an individual is experiencing symptoms of psychosis or schizophrenia but the symptoms do not meet the full criteria for schizophrenia or another disorder. This diagnosis may also be employed temporarily so that the diagnostician can obtain further information before making a diagnosis.
Misconceptions About Schizophrenia
Misconceptions about schizophrenia include:
I don't know anyone with schizophrenia. They're all locked away in hospitals. Many people have the impression that schizophrenia is must rarer than it actually is. 1 in every 100 people experience schizophrenia. That means that it is extremely likely that you have interacted with someone with schizophrenia at some point in your life, even if only briefly. This misconception is exacerbated by the fact that many people think that schizophrenia is always an obvious condition, but this is not always the case. Many people with schizophrenia live "normal" lives, and their mental health struggles are not readily apparent unless you know them intimately.
Schizophrenia means having a split personality or multiple personalities. Having multiple states of consciousness/multiple personalities is characteristic of dissociative identity disorder (DID), a disorder in which early childhood trauma prevents the individual's personality from integrating into one sense of self. Schizophrenia, on the other hand, is a psychotic disorder characterized by disorganized speech and behavior and abnormal perceptions of reality; furthermore, trauma is not a necessary element of a schizophrenia diagnosis. Before schizophrenia was well understood, it was sometimes perceived as a "split personality" which is where this misinformation comes from.
Schizophrenia is actually demonic possession. Some people experiencing schizophrenia may behave bizarrely or have religious delusions. This does not mean that they are experiencing demonic influence, though. If you are Catholic and are concerned about a loved one, it is important to speak to a priest who is experienced in mental health.
People with schizophrenia are violent. Violence is not a symptom of schizophrenia or psychosis. Though people who commit violent crimes may be in a state of poor mental and emotional wellbeing, this does not mean that they have a diagnosable mental disorder or that a mental disorder is the cause of their actions.
People who commit violent acts usually have schizophrenia. People who experience schizophrenia are more likely to be the victims of violent crimes rather than the perpetrator, especially if the person is homeless or vulnerable. This is yet another reason why mental health treatment interventions are so important to people's wellbeing and protection.
A person with schizophrenia can never function. Every person with schizophrenia is different. Some may work full-time jobs, while others may work part-time or not work at all. Just like with any other health condition or disability, it all depends on their individual circumstances and treatment. It is likely that people with schizophrenia or another serious mental illness worship at your church, shop at your grocery store, and live in your neighborhood.