Schizophrenia
Symptoms
Schizophrenia has many symptoms, and having one or more of the symptoms doesn't mean you have schizophrenia.
Symptoms usually start during your teen years or early adulthood. They may appear suddenly or may develop gradually. When symptoms develop gradually, they may be confused with other conditions that have similar symptoms, such as depression or anxiety disorders. You may not know you have symptoms.
The symptoms of schizophrenia can be negative, positive, or cognitive.
Negative symptoms
"Negative" does not mean "bad." Negative symptoms are things that are "lost" from your personality or how you experience life because of schizophrenia. You may:
- Find little or no pleasure in life. You may not enjoy things you once enjoyed, such as playing sports or video games or visiting with friends. This is a common symptom of schizophrenia.
- Feel like you have no emotions. You may not smile or frown, make eye contact, or use other facial cues that show how you feel.
- Have a hard time focusing or paying attention. You may not understand how to use information well and feel confused. You may not have complete thoughts.
- Not be interested in succeeding or meeting goals. Many people with schizophrenia don't do well at work or in school.
- Not take care of yourself. You may not bother to wash, do laundry, eat on a regular basis, or clean your living space.
Negative symptoms usually appear first. They may be hard to recognize as schizophrenia because they may seem normal in a teen or may be similar to symptoms of other mental health problems, such as depression or substance abuse.
Positive symptoms
"Positive" does not mean "good." Positive symptoms are things "added" or "new" to your personality or how you experience life because of schizophrenia. You may:
- Have hallucinations. Most people with schizophrenia usually hear noises or voices that are not there. Some people with the illness also may see, taste, touch, or smell things that are not there.
- Have delusions, which are ideas that are not true. For example, you may think you are a powerful person or that the police or demons want to harm you or cause problems for you.
- Act oddly. You may become very excited or angry with other people. You may have odd body movements, such as often rocking back and forth or making faces.
- Show emotions that don't fit the situation. For example, you may smile when talking about sad topics or laugh at wrong times.
- Not be able to keep your thoughts straight and not make sense to others when you talk. For example, when someone asks you a question, you may give an answer that does not make sense, not be able to say much, or only give one-word answers.
Positive symptoms can appear days, months, or years after negative symptoms appear. They may appear suddenly or slowly over time. The negative symptoms also may continue.
Positive symptoms can be severe and can cause a psychotic episode. This means you can't tell the difference between what is real and what is not real. A psychotic episode can be very intense and scary, and you may need to go to the hospital.
Cognitive and other symptoms
Other symptoms include:
- Cognitive symptoms. These symptoms affect how you think. They include memory loss and not being able to understand things well enough to make decisions. Cognitive symptoms often are not obvious to you or others.
- Specific behavior changes. Different types of schizophrenia, such as paranoid schizophrenia, catatonic schizophrenia, and disorganized schizophrenia, may result in unique behavior. Symptoms of these different types include being afraid with little reason, standing in awkward positions for a long time, or making up words.
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| Author: | Jeannette Curtis Paul Lehnert | Last Updated: August 28, 2008 |
| Medical Review: | Steven L. Schneider, MD - Family Medicine Miklos Ferenc Losonczy, MD, PhD - Psychiatry J. David Carroll, PhD - Psychology | |
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