Everyone has heard about schizophrenia and may have an idea of what it is, but few people have really come to an accurate understanding of the disorder. For those who suffer from it life can be a major challenge where it becomes difficult to determine whether your environment is real or not. This confusion can lead to difficulties in managing emotions, relationships, and other important lifestyle functions. Understanding schizophrenia symptoms and signs is a key factor in starting treatment, not just for the patient but for everyone else in their life.
What Is Schizophrenia?
The first step is to understand that schizophrenia is actually a brain disorder that affects the way that those affect respond to their environment. Their perception of the world around them is often distorted, which can affect how they may respond to their immediate surroundings. They may hear and see things that are often not real. Their spoken language is often disjointed and confusing, and they are highly suspicious of people around them.
Early Warning Signs to Identify
Schizophrenia can occur at any time in life but usually appears when a person reaches his or her teen years. The early schizophrenia symptoms and signs may not be obvious at first and may at times be associated with the usual emotional shifts that teens experience.
Teens who have this problem seem to want to isolate themselves and have unusually hostile or suspicious attitudes, lack of personal hygiene, inability to express emotions, depression, oversleeping problems, insomnia, the tendency to make irrational or unreasonable comments, forgetfulness, difficulty in concentrating, and the tendency to show extreme reactions when criticized.
As you can see, many of these signs could be associated with a number of problems that someone may experience. Thus, it can be difficult to identity schizophrenia at the start. If the behavior goes beyond what is considered normal or to the point where it disrupts the life of those around them it is time to seek medical help. While it may not be schizophrenia, it could also be an indication of one of a number of other mental disorders.
Symptoms of Schizophrenia
There are five different symptoms that may be experienced by someone who is suffering from schizophrenia:
1. Delusions: a firm belief in something that is obviously untrue.
2. Hallucinations: hearing or seeing things that aren’t really there. They exist only in the mind.
3. Disorganized Speech: speech that is disjointed and confusing; trouble concentrating and keeping with a single line of thought.
4. Disorganized Behavior: Activity with no goal or purpose; can interfere with an individual’s ability to take care of himself, hold down a job, or interact with other people.
5. Negative symptoms: behavior that appears abnormal when comparing to others. For instance, struggling to keep up with a conversation, not showing any enthusiasm, not being interested in the world around them, or seemingly not having natural emotions.
Learning the schizophrenia symptoms and signs is vital in identifying the disorder in its early stages. Living with schizophrenia can be difficult not just for the person suffering from it but also for those who are part of their lives. The sooner you can identify the problem and address it the better life will be for everyone involved.
