Symptoms of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is characterized by disruption in cognition and emotion, affecting the most fundamental human attributes:

• language,
• thought,
• perception,
• affect,
• sense of self

No single symptom is definitive for diagnosis.

Symptoms are typically divided into positive and negative symptoms because of their impact on diagnosis and treatment.

Positive symptoms

These symptoms appear to reflect an excess or distortion of normal functions. The most common positive symptoms are:

Delusions
Delusions are firmly held erroneous beliefs caused by exaggerations of reasoning and misinterpretations of perceptions or experiences. 

Hallucinations
Hallucinations are distortions or exaggerations of perception in any of the senses, although auditory hallucinations are the most common.

Disorganized speech/thinking
Disorganized speech or thinking is a key aspect of schizophrenia.

Disorganized behavior
Grossly disorganized behavior includes difficulty in goal-directed behavior, unpredictable agitation or silliness, social problems, or behaviors that are bizarre.

Catatonic behaviors
These are characterized by a decrease in reaction to the immediate surrounding environment.

Negative symptoms

These symptoms appear to reflect a loss of normal functions. The most common negative symptoms are:

Affective flattening
This is the reduction in the range and intensity of emotional expression, including facial expression, voice tone, eye contact, and body language.

Alogia
Alogia means lessening of speech fluency and productivity, thought to reflect slowing or blocked thoughts, and often manifested as short, empty replies to questions.

Avolition
This is the reduction, difficulty, or inability to initiate and persist in goal-directed behavior; it is often mistaken for apparent disinterest.

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Types of schizophrenia

Paranoid schizophrenia
People with this disorder are very suspicious of others and often have grand ideas of persecution at the root of their behavior. Hallucinations, and more frequently delusions, are a prominent and common part of the illness. All this is accompanied with anxiety, anger, violence and argumentativeness.

Hebephrenic Schizophrenia
Person suffering from this type of shizophrenia is verbally incoherent and may have moods and emotions that are not appropriate to the situation. 

Catatonic schizophrenia
In this case, the person is extremely withdrawn, negative and isolated, and has marked psychomotor disturbances. It is accompanied with motor disturbances, stupor, negativism, rigidity and agitation, inability to take care of personal needs and decreased sensitivity to painful stimulus.

Residual schizophrenia
In this case the person is not currently suffering from delusions, hallucinations, or disorganized speech and behavior, but lacks motivation and interest in day-to-day living.

Schizoaffective disorder
These people have symptoms of schizophrenia as well as mood disorder such as major depression, bipolar mania, or mixed mania.

Disorganized type
Common symptoms of this type are incoherence, regressive behavior, flat affect, delusions, hallucinations, inappropriate laughter, repetitive mannerisms and social withdrawal.