What is schizophrenia and its symptoms. Mental illness schizophrenia: signs, symptoms and treatment

Schizophrenia usually does not happen suddenly. Most often, the disease was preceded by months, or even years of suspension, breaking off social ties and closing in on oneself.

In 90% of cases, the first sign of schizophrenia is a feeling of isolation, inability to take the initiative and limitation. The same can be attributed to the symptoms of sluggish schizophrenia, which is also characterized by alienation, decreased activity and mental weakness.

Signs and symptoms of schizophrenia

Manifestations of schizoid personality disorder:

• abnormal perception in the form of hallucinations;

• abnormal, deviant judgments and conclusions;

• distorted thinking leading to speech disorders;

• unusual emotions, most often very limited;

• reduced motivational and volitional activity;

• problems with mental activity that relate to memory and executive functions;

• strange behavior for the perception of other people;

• violations of control systems.

Signs and symptoms of sluggish schizophrenia also include chronic depression, inability to enjoy, and emotional decline. With the development of symptoms, dullness, lack of mental sensitivity and decrease in general level to complete primitiveness.

Before illness or at the very beginning of schizophrenia, the first symptoms appear as a feeling of tension, depression, depression, and problems with impaired attention. This provokes a feeling of serious overload, which is similar to the condition before making an important decision.

This indicates that schizophrenia does not appear on its own. A sign of schizophrenia is the fact that the patient becomes increasingly pessimistic before the onset of the disease, feeling as if something unusual was going on in the atmosphere. He may often ask, “I feel something is going on, but I don't know what. Explain to me what's going on?"

Insomnia is another symptom of the development of the disease. It is caused by constant tension, distrust and constant vigilance. What a schizophrenic patient feels is similar to the disturbing fear of darkness, familiar to many, when the shadows of trees are perceived as frightening images, and sounds and rustles as the steps of pursuers. A person feels threatened and loses his usual confidence, and is not able to give a correct assessment of the surrounding reality. In schizophrenia, this feeling is the beginning of the disease.

The surrounding reality takes on more and more threatening and alien forms until the patient breaks ties with the former reality and creates a new reality based on personal experience.

In the new reality of painful perception, everything around seems unreal, specially adjusted for the patient. In addition, the patient himself feels different with an altered consciousness, as if under hypnosis.

In schizophrenic disorder, a person feels that every object and every event that occurs in his life is created especially for him. He seems to see in everything some messages left specifically for him. The media are also turning into carriers of secret messages. A car ride around the city may seem like a theatrical performance specially staged for him by passers-by.

Living together with loved ones is also fraught with unnecessary overstrain, because everyone needs to be monitored. The patient's life turns into a constant following of signs and signals that supposedly left for him by higher powers.

Symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia include delusions and hallucinations. Some patients feel that their thoughts are being tapped. It may also seem to them that their own thoughts in their head sound or are pronounced by someone else's voice.

Delusions are also common symptoms of schizophrenia. In the words and written texts of patients there is no integrity and harmony, they are contradictory and give out a distorted, fragmented perception of reality.

A schizophrenic patient may also not recognize familiar places and faces, however, in an unfamiliar environment, on the contrary, he may feel confident that he is not there for the first time.

Are colored dreams a sign of schizophrenia?

The ability to see colored dreams is a sign that a person very subtly feels the world and the surrounding reality. Sensitive susceptibility, in turn, indicates increased vulnerability.

Vulnerability, in itself, is not a clear sign of schizophrenia, but is its common symptom. Therefore, it is impossible to talk about a direct connection between schizophrenia and color dreams. According to statistics, patients with schizophrenia see colored dreams five times more often than healthy people.

Signs of schizophrenia in men develop earlier than in women, at the age of 15-35 years. Probably, the earlier development of the disease in men is associated with social pressure in connection with expectations and claims. It is noteworthy that the symptoms of schizophrenia in bachelors are 4 times more common than in married men.

Signs of schizophrenia in women appear later, at the age of 27-37 years. Apparently, this is due to the fact that women are inherently more prone to second roles, so the disease develops more slowly and later. In addition, women are protected from the disease by sex hormones. However, during the critical days, the symptoms of schizophrenia in women worsen.

Schizophrenia cannot be diagnosed on a single basis. The presence of the disease involves a number of somatic and psychological disorders. A single attack of schizophrenia does not mean that the disease will remain for life. Even if the disease lasted for a long period, it is still impossible to speak of a persistent disease and call the patient a schizophrenic.

Endogenous mental illness with a continuous or paroxysmal course, manifested by personality changes (decreased activity, emotional impoverishment, loss of unity mental processes, impaired thinking) and various productive symptoms (delusions, hallucinations, etc.).

The term "schizophrenia" in literal translation from Greek means "splitting of the soul." At the same time, this disease has nothing to do with the so-called split personality. However, it is precisely this idea - of several personalities coexisting in one body - that is often mistakenly imposed on society by some works of literature or cinema. This kind of delusion leads not only to the fact that the symptoms of schizophrenia are recognized by the patient's relatives quite late, but also to the fact that the patient eventually finds himself forced to fight not only with the disease itself, but also with the prejudices associated with it.

In fact, schizophrenia does not deprive a person of personality, does not contribute to its disintegration into several different characters, it changes the patient's way of thinking, contributing to distorted perception reality.

So, the patient can forget how to correctly interpret the facial expressions of others, behind a simple smile, he can see the likely threat of an attack. A harmless television program can seem extremely dangerous to him, serve as a pretext for actions that are understandable only to the patient himself.

Sometimes the manifestations of schizophrenia are attributed to the spoiled character of a person, and meanwhile, excessive suspiciousness or suspicion, for example, can be the first bells to suspect the onset of the disease.

That is why it is so important to know what schizophrenia is, what symptoms it manifests itself, what changes occur with a person, and when to seek the advice of a psychiatrist. Timely treatment, if it does not help to get rid of the disease forever, will at least significantly facilitate the life of both the patient and the people around him.

Schizophrenia in adults

About 1% of the world's population suffers from schizophrenia in one form or another. Approximately 4 out of 1,000 adults develop it every year, in most cases between 20 and 30 years of age. The disease can develop in any person, regardless of their gender, nationality or region of residence. The insidiousness of schizophrenia lies in the fact that the patient may not only not notice the symptoms of the disease, considering them completely normal, but also deny the presence of the disease, fearing a visit to a psychiatrist.

At the same time, schizophrenia in adults can develop rather slowly. Depressed mood is written off by him for a prolonged depression, hallucinations are perceived as something natural, and relatives, faced with the patient's abnormal behavior, think about the spoiled character and either eliminate themselves or continue to suffer along with the patient. However, it must be remembered that schizophrenia is not the flu or a sore throat, the immune system a person is not able to deal with mental disorders, and without a visit to the doctor, the situation will only worsen. Schizophrenia in adults is a reason to seek the advice of a psychiatrist. acute form schizophrenia can threaten the patient's life, and sometimes even his loved ones.

Schizophrenia in adults manifests itself more often at a young age; cases of its occurrence after the 50th year of life are extremely rare.

Schizophrenia in men

Schizophrenia occurs in men and women in equally. However, for the first time, the disease in the male half of the population manifests itself, as a rule, somewhat earlier. If in women the first signs of schizophrenia in adulthood usually occur between 25 and 30 years of age, in men they often appear in the period from 20 to 25 years.

Schizophrenia in men can prevent the formation of serious relationships with women. Often, the disease becomes the cause of sexual disorders in a man, both organic and inorganic origin: from erectile dysfunction to psychopathological disorders, expressed in the pursuit of the object of love, continuous writing love letters or excessive pornography.

Treatment of schizophrenia in men is often difficult, due to the tendency of patients to excessive alcohol consumption, increased traumatism, leading to the appearance of craniocerebral injuries.

At the same time, a sluggish form of the disease, the first signs of which appeared already in adulthood, can contribute to the development of non-standard thinking, the manifestation of certain creative abilities. Some famous personalities - artists, musicians, poets - have been known for their strange behavior, in which an attentive doctor is able to recognize the symptoms of schizophrenia. Among famous people, allegedly suffering from schizophrenia, can be called Vincent van Gogh, N.V. Gogol, F.M. Dostoevsky.

Schizophrenia in women occurs with the same frequency as in men. The only difference is that while in men the disease first manifests itself in the period mainly between 20 and 25 years of age, schizophrenia in women most often begins to develop between 25 and 30 years.

At the same time, each case of schizophrenia is unique. Some patients experience only a single episode of psychosis, others chronic form schizophrenia seriously complicates life, limiting a person in his abilities.

Women with schizophrenia are much more likely than men to show negative symptoms of the disease, such as withdrawal, depression, excessive irritability, withdrawal from social contacts. Such patients often impersonate their appearance: they become sloppy, stop following the hygiene of the body, may dress up in strange clothes.

Schizophrenia in women significantly worsens the chances of finding a family. Scientific research showed that despite the fact that women with schizophrenia tend to be quite active sex life and often have even more sexual partners than their healthy peers, the likelihood of entering into serious relationship with the subsequent creation of a family, they are not so high.

At the same time, women with schizophrenia use contraceptives much less often, which, on the one hand, often leads to unwanted pregnancies, and, on the other hand, significantly increases the risk of acquiring sexually transmitted diseases: gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV.

Schizophrenia in pregnant women is not a very common phenomenon, since in itself it is unlikely to cause this disease. However, women with schizophrenia are just as likely to become pregnant as their healthy peers. As a rule, these pregnancies in most cases are not planned or desired and more often arise as a result of a careless attitude to the choice of a sexual partner and contraception during intercourse.

Schizophrenia in pregnant women can be accompanied by the appearance of additional psychoses associated with fears of childbirth, worries about the fact that a woman will not be able to take place as a mother.

Schizophrenia in pregnant women may be accompanied by a denial of the fact of a possible pregnancy. On the other hand, the reverse scenario is also possible, when a woman convinces herself of the presence of pregnancy in its absence.

In especially severe cases, schizophrenia in pregnant women can pose a serious threat to the health and even the life of the unborn child. Moreover, in postpartum period the likelihood of exacerbation of psychosis greatly increases.

Drugs used to treat schizophrenia can cross the placental barrier into the fetus, causing birth defects. That is why antipsychotic drugs are not recommended for use during pregnancy, at least in the first trimester, when the vital organs of the unborn child are laid. In the second and third trimesters, medication is allowed, but it must be done under the constant supervision of the doctor in charge of the patient.

Schizophrenia in children

Schizophrenia in children can manifest itself quite early, at the age of 5 years and older. However, this happens extremely rarely, much more often the disease appears after the process of puberty has been launched. Nevertheless, sometimes relatives of an adult patient recall oddities that happened to him in childhood, for example, hallucinations or delusions.

If there are already cases of this disease in the family, the risk of schizophrenia in children increases significantly and amounts to:

• 13% - with schizophrenia in one of the parents
• 46% - both parents
• 17% - in heterozygous twins
• 48% - in monozygotic twins.

Schizophrenia in children can manifest itself in the form of a rollback in. The child begins to resemble a mentally retarded person, his speech is simplified and may even disappear altogether. Motor functions are also at risk. A child can forget how to ride a bike, jump and even walk.

The earlier schizophrenia manifests itself in children, the more difficult it is for a specialist to make a correct diagnosis. In addition, the disease significantly complicates schooling, preventing the normal development of the brain, which should occur during this period.

Schizophrenia in adolescents often goes unrecognized. This is due to the fact that relatives of the patient associate the symptoms of the disease with age-related personality changes and wait for the teenager to outgrow the unpleasant phase. In general, there are several signs that suggest schizophrenia in adolescents, such as:

• Detachment from life, social isolation;
• Emotional depression;
• Insomnia;
• inexplicable hostility;
• Insufficient hygiene;
• Refusal to contact friends, members of the opposite sex, etc.;
• Sensitivity to light and loud sounds;
• Tendency to self-harm;
• Tendency to escape;
• Fear of people.

Of course, any of these signs can occur in healthy child and does not at all mean the obligatory presence of schizophrenia in a teenager. However, the combination of several factors from this list should seriously alert parents and serve as a reason for seeking psychiatric advice.

In adolescent girls, the symptoms of schizophrenia can manifest themselves in the form of a denial of the beauty of their own body. That is why schizophrenia in adolescence often leads to the onset of bulimia or anorexia, self-harm (scratching the skin, cuts, excessive interest in piercings or tattoos).

Boys with schizophrenia may show signs of excessive aggressiveness, increased sexual activity, as well as to have a tendency to use alcohol and various kinds of drugs.

The disease of schizophrenia is quite multifaceted. It may manifest itself in mild form, but it is also capable of completely changing a person’s personality, leading to his complete disability.

chief hallmark schizophrenia becomes the occurrence of difficulties associated with the organization thought processes. A person with schizophrenia loses the ability to adequately perceive reality, is isolated from the outside world.

Sometimes the disease makes itself felt long before the first exacerbation. A person avoids social contacts, distances himself from loved ones, increasingly shows signs of depression, and begins to perceive reality distortedly. This period is called the prodromal phase of schizophrenia and can last from 2 to 5 years.

The acute phase of the disease, characterized by personality changes, delusions, hallucinations, and impaired mental activity, can last from a couple of weeks to several months. Approximately one-third of patients, upon completion of their first episode of schizophrenia, show signs of stable remission and practically recover.

However, in the majority, the disease becomes chronic, and then exacerbations of schizophrenia alternate with more or less long periods enlightenment.

Forms of schizophrenia

There are several forms of schizophrenia, each of which is characterized by typical symptoms characteristic of this disease.

Most often, among patients with schizophrenia, there is a paranoid form of the disease, in which the patient is completely immersed in his delusional ideas, experiences hallucinations of various kinds, and experiences changes in his own personality.

The second most common is the catatonic form of schizophrenia, characterized by strong arousal, freezing in unusual poses, speech stereotypes.

The hebephrenic form of schizophrenia most often manifests itself in adolescents, while the patient is confused in thoughts, loses the ability to concentrate, cannot conduct a normal conversation, slipping off the topic, even if a minute ago it seemed interesting to him.

A simple form of schizophrenia occurs mainly in adulthood, is not accompanied by the occurrence of hallucinations, develops rather slowly and is difficult to treat. Patients with a simple form of schizophrenia quite often turn out to be suicidal.

Paranoid schizophrenia or paranoid-hallucinatory is one of the most common forms of the disease. It usually occurs in people over 35 years of age and is characterized by the following symptoms:

• auditory hallucinations
• Voicing thoughts
• Loss of thought
• The spread of thought
• delusional ideas
• Persecution mania, etc.

A person can hear non-existent voices that enter into a dialogue with him, warn of an imaginary danger, or, conversely, encourage him to take certain actions. However, hallucinations are not always exclusively auditory in nature, they can be visual or tactile. For example, the patient may see golden threads descending from the sky, make contact with aliens, or imagine being a god.

Paranoid schizophrenia, unlike other forms of the disease, is accompanied by the appearance of predominantly positive (productive) symptoms. Negative signs of schizophrenia are quite rare.

Hebephrenic schizophrenia

The hebephrenic form of schizophrenia manifests itself mainly in young patients and is characterized at first by strange, unnatural behavior. The patient begins to behave unpredictably, he can grimace, fool around, act like manners. Relatives cease to understand him, they do not know what kind of reaction may follow their most ordinary actions.

Often, patients with hebephrenic schizophrenia are prone to hypochondria, complain about the absence of symptoms of certain diseases.

Speech abilities also undergo significant changes. The patient builds meaningless sentences, constantly repeats some words. His mind is in complete chaos.

The hebephrenic form of schizophrenia is difficult to treat, a complete cure is hardly possible. The patient often requires a long stay in the hospital.

Catatonic schizophrenia

Catatonic schizophrenia belongs to the category of psychomotor disorders, but it can also be characterized by typical symptoms of schizophrenia, such as auditory hallucinations, unreasonable fears, delusional ideas.

Patients with catatonic schizophrenia involuntarily draw attention to themselves with slow movements, stereotypical postures, or meaningless motor activity. Often they freeze in ridiculous positions, this condition is called "catalepsy". In particular severe case the patient may fall into a stupor, refusing to move, eat or drink, while remaining fully conscious. If during an attack of catalepsy he has an increase in body temperature, the situation may begin to threaten the life of a person.

The catatonic form of schizophrenia currently responds well to drug therapy, which reduces the likely lethal outcome of the disease. However, the treatment of the disease must continue after the stabilization of the patient, otherwise the attack of catalepsy may be repeated in the very near future.

simple schizophrenia

Simple schizophrenia is characterized by the absence of typical behavioral abnormalities. So, the patient can hear voices, but cannot or does not want to discuss this phenomenon with relatives or the attending physician. Only occasionally do these patients develop persecution mania, but almost all of them develop blurred thinking.

People with a simple form of schizophrenia rarely need hospitalization, but often find themselves isolated from society. Usually they become withdrawn, suspicious, sullen, able to remain silent for a long time, disgusted by the need to communicate with people.

Simple schizophrenia is quite difficult to diagnose, to a large extent also because the patient isolates himself from people, avoids social contacts and does not want to admit that he has an illness. However, the lack of therapy leads to the progression of the disease, characterized by the loss of accumulated knowledge and the development of "schizophrenic dementia".

An exacerbation of schizophrenia is characterized by a deterioration in the patient's condition and most often occurs in autumn or spring period when daylight hours change. An increase or decrease in daylight hours by 1-2 hours leads to a malfunction of the biological clock in the patient's body, and any most harmless factor can provoke an attack of schizophrenia: bright light, too loud noise, stress at work or in personal life.

It is possible to recognize an upcoming exacerbation, you just need to pay attention to deviations in the patient's behavior, such as:

• Apathy, depression, anxiety, a tendency to despondency;
• The appearance of auditory hallucinations;
• Acute reaction to light or sounds;
• Loss of sense of humor;
• Avoidance of social contacts, breaking relationships with friends and relatives;
• Meaningless statements, illogical conclusions;
• Intricate poses, a frozen look;
• Neglect of personal hygiene, wearing fancy clothes.

Close to the patient, when detecting dangerous signs of an approaching exacerbation, one should be on the alert so that in the event of an episode of the disease, immediately show the person to a psychiatrist who will prescribe the appropriate treatment.

Sluggish schizophrenia

Sluggish schizophrenia is characterized by the slow progression of the disease and the similarity of symptoms with other neurotic disorders, at least in initial stage diseases.

A person becomes withdrawn, begins to treat others with alienation, even those who were quite close to him, acquires the status of an “eccentric”, neglects the rules of personal hygiene. His speech can become quite pompous, but at the same time, intonation disappears from it. The world loses its colors for the patient, the former interests lose their significance, the person loses the ability to feel pleasure or displeasure from the phenomena happening around him.

There are 3 forms of indolent schizophrenia:

• Asthenic form - the patient has an exhaustion of the psyche, he quickly gets tired of even the simplest things, unable to do anything for a long time. May start collecting rather strange items.
• Obsessive form - characterized by the presence obsessions in the behavior of the patient, for example, the performance of certain rituals before any actions.
• The hysterical form is characterized by the occurrence of attacks of the so-called "cold" hysteria - a condition in which the patient deliberately overreacts emotionally to quite ordinary phenomena. It appears most often in women.

Causes of schizophrenia

The causes of schizophrenia are still unknown to this day. There is an assumption that several factors play a role in the occurrence of the disease. Long before the onset of the first symptoms of schizophrenia, patients may experience certain abnormalities in physical or psychological development. Each of them individually does not cause schizophrenia, however, people who have:

• hereditary predisposition.

If parents suffer from one form or another of schizophrenia, their child in 50% of cases may manifest various kinds psychical deviations, and the chance of developing schizophrenia in children in this case is about 12%. However, about 80% of patients with schizophrenia do not have a history of relatives with this disease.

• Biochemical causes of schizophrenia and changes in brain structure.

The human brain consists of billions of cells, biochemical processes contribute to the implementation of connections between them. A failure in the communication process can lead to symptoms of schizophrenia. Also, patients with schizophrenia may experience abnormalities in the limbic system of the brain and a marked decrease in the number of neurons involved in the transmission of impulses to their destination.

• Unfavorable social factors.

It cannot be said that schizophrenia is the result of improper upbringing or appears as a result of stress that has happened to a person. However, critical situations in life, such as moving, separation from a partner, loss of a job, can contribute to the manifestation of symptoms of existing schizophrenia or lead to a relapse of the disease.

Patients with schizophrenia very often find themselves lonely and experience significant problems in all areas of life: career choice, financial status, etc. However, it would be wrong to say that the life situation they become schizophrenic. The connection is rather the opposite. The disease seriously complicates a person's life, leading to such unpleasant consequences.

The diagnosis of schizophrenia is often a blow to the patient and his loved ones. And at the same time, it brings considerable relief, explaining the changes that have occurred with a person. Mental problems, which lead the patient to see a psychiatrist, do not arise out of the blue and do not go away on their own.

The disease of schizophrenia needs long-term treatment, self-healing in this case is a utopia. Properly selected treatment will significantly facilitate the course of the disease, help to some extent get rid of its symptoms, and allow you to lead a normal life.

Before making a diagnosis of schizophrenia, the doctor must necessarily exclude other factors that lead to disorders in the blood supply to the brain, such as epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, brain tumor, brain infection, encephalitis, meningitis, Parkinson's disease, and others.

The symptoms of schizophrenia can vary from one patient to another. Voice hallucinations are just one of them, and not everyone has them. The diagnosis of schizophrenia can be made if the patient has at least one of three symptoms for a long time (at least a month):

• Echo of thoughts, their openness, as in broadcasting
• Delusional perception of reality
• Discontinuity of thought processes, the impossibility of a clear expression of thought.

Signs of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia can manifest itself in a variety of ways. In the perception of a sick person, the world around him turns inside out. The brain loses the ability to correctly interpret impulses, as a result of which the signals coming from the receptors of the sense organs (taste, smell, light, color, sounds, etc.) are mixed, leading to the emergence of hallucinatory sensations.

Incomprehensible signals lead to a feeling of fear, which is why patients often deny the signs of schizophrenia, hiding them not only from others, but sometimes from themselves, convincing themselves of their normality and even routine.

In addition, some of the symptoms of schizophrenia may overlap with those of other illnesses, such as symptoms of a brain tumor or brain dysfunction. thyroid gland. That is why it is so important to know exactly what symptoms accompany the onset of schizophrenia, what signs of the disease serve as a kind of “beacons”, which in no case can be ignored.

Symptoms of schizophrenia are divided into negative or positive (productive). At the same time, negative symptoms manifest themselves much earlier than productive ones. The negative symptoms of schizophrenia include the following signs:

• Violation of concentration
• Increased nervousness
• Sleep disorders
• Constant fatigue
• Apathy
• Lack of will to live.

Productive symptoms of schizophrenia usually appear only during an exacerbation of the disease. These include:

• hallucinations
• Persecution mania
• Movement disorders
• Stupor.

Hallucinations in most cases are auditory in nature. The patient hears voices in his head, can carry on a conversation with them, obey their instructions. Optical hallucinations occur much less frequently, but can also become a sign of schizophrenia.

The persecution mania greatly complicates the patient's life, he loses the ability to distinguish real events from imaginary.

Motor disorders force the patient to constantly move in space, perform some obsessive cyclic actions (clap hands, etc.)

In an extreme case, the patient may fall into a state of catalepsy. If catalepsy is accompanied by an increase in body temperature, this condition can threaten a person's life.

Diagnosis of schizophrenia

Diagnosis of schizophrenia begins with a visit to a psychiatrist. In most cases, the situation is complicated by the fact that the patient denies the existence of the disease. Nevertheless, one should try to convince him of the need for consultation, explaining that without medical help his condition is doomed to permanent deterioration.

To exclude possible organic lesions, the diagnosis of schizophrenia involves the use of research methods such as MRI or computed tomography. A blood test will allow you to make a conclusion about the functionality of the thyroid gland, as well as exclude possible diseases liver or kidneys.

A conversation with the patient and his relatives will allow you to assess the symptoms of schizophrenia, identify possible cases diseases in the family.

Psychological tests (among which there will be special test for schizophrenia) will help assess the state of the patient's mentality, confirm or refute the suspicions that have arisen.

Diagnosing schizophrenia is not a one-day affair. Only a comprehensive assessment of the patient's condition will make it possible to draw the necessary conclusion.

And you should always remember that schizophrenia is treatable. Of course, it is unlikely that it will be possible to cure it with one pill or injections, but the therapy of the disease will allow the patient to return to himself, and his relatives to normal life.

Schizophrenia test

A test for schizophrenia alone will not give an answer to the question of whether a person is not really sick or not. Diagnosis of schizophrenia is based on several studies, the test is only one of them. In addition, each doctor may have his own list of questions to the patient, on the basis of which possible suspicions are confirmed.

However self-conduct A test for schizophrenia can be very useful, if only because after passing it, the patient will be easier to convince to seek the advice of a psychiatrist.

A test for schizophrenia might look like this:

Sometimes I feel like other people are following me, stalking me, spying on me, tapping my phone, or teaming up to harm me.

Sometimes I see things that others don't even know.

Sometimes it seems to me that people around me read my thoughts, influencing me in this way.

I feel the radiation exerted on me by TV, radio or the Internet.

If I read the news, sometimes it seems to me that they write about me. Or some people are trying to convey something to me through the news.

My relatives, friends or acquaintances consider me a strange person.

If at least 2 of the questions of this test were answered positively, it is necessary to urgently seek the advice of a psychiatrist.

In a person with schizophrenia, behavior becomes eccentric, involuntarily attracting attention, especially at times of exacerbation of the disease. Often, at the same time, the patient has conflicts with relatives or just acquaintances, and long-term relationships collapse. As a result of his actions, incomprehensible to others, a person may find himself in complete social isolation.

This kind of situation is aggravated by the fact that a person left alone with the disease, most likely, will never apply for medical care, his condition will continue to progress until it leads to a complete collapse of the psyche.

Behavior in schizophrenia can be very diverse. Someone remains almost normal, and only small hang-ups during a conversation or slipping from thoughts allow one to suspect that something is wrong here. Others completely lose the ability to adequately perceive the surrounding reality, immerse themselves in the reality they invented, begin to obey its laws. They can become violent, aggressive, or, conversely, completely renounce the outside world.

Treatment of schizophrenia

The modern approach to the treatment of schizophrenia is based on three components:

• Medical therapy
• Psychotherapy
• Sociotherapy.

In the acute phase of the disease, the treatment of schizophrenia requires the use of medications (antipsychotics, formerly called antipsychotics) that affect psychotic symptoms such as delusions or hallucinations.

Drug therapy is usually carried out in an inpatient setting, but in some circumstances the patient may be given the opportunity for outpatient treatment.

Hospitalization for the treatment of schizophrenia is usually indicated if:

• Outpatient treatment was unsuccessful;
• The patient wishes to undergo treatment in a hospital;
• Relatives of the patient are seriously concerned about his condition;
• The patient is dangerous to society;
• The patient has severe depression;
• The patient is suicidal.

Also, an indication for hospitalization may be a change in the scheme of drug therapy. This is necessary to prevent possible complications caused by the withdrawal of the previous drug.

The duration of treatment for schizophrenia cannot be determined by any specific dates, but it is safe to say that this is not a matter of one week or even one month. As a rule, after the first episode of the disease, a treatment regimen with psychotropic drugs and antipsychotics is developed for the next 2 years. In case of progression of the disease, this period is extended by at least 5 years.

The most a big problem, arising during the treatment of schizophrenia, is that in 70% of cases, patients stop taking the medication they need, justifying their actions by the fact that they are already healthy. Also, refusal to take drugs can be justified by other reasons, such as drowsiness, weight gain, and the lack of a visible effect of treatment.

After a certain stabilization of the patient's condition has been achieved, such methods of treating schizophrenia as psychotherapy and sociotherapy come to the fore. During therapy, the patient learns to understand his illness, learns about the features of its course, learns to recognize the symptoms of an approaching exacerbation.

Treatment of schizophrenia in the acute stage requires mandatory medication, the purpose of which is to eliminate the symptoms of the disease. Sometimes the first signs of improvement in the patient's condition can be noticed already a few days after the start of drug therapy, but this by no means becomes a signal for the possible withdrawal of medications. The patient should tune in to the fact that the treatment will be long, and the decision to change the regimen of taking drugs can only be taken by the attending physician, and in no case by the patient himself.

Since the disease of schizophrenia has a dual symptomatic structure, and the patient may develop both productive (delusions, hallucinations, excessive arousal) and negative symptoms of the disease (depression, depression, emotional impoverishment or splitting of emotions), the selection of drugs can take a lot of time.

There is no one universal antipsychotic, such magic pill able to eliminate all symptoms at the same time. Some drugs, such as triftazine, are used to eliminate delirium, haloperidol helps to combat hallucinations, and azaleptin or chlorpromazine help to eliminate motor arousal.

At the same time, neuroleptics are practically powerless in the fight against negative symptoms, which is why the patient can be prescribed antidepressants (melipramine, anafril, amitriptyline) in combination with antipsychotics without a depressogenic effect (triftazine, olanzapine, rispolept).

Contrary to popular belief, antipsychotics are not addictive or addictive, nor do they alter a person's personality. But nevertheless, their intake may be associated with some side effects, which the doctor must inform the patient about.

Drugs used in the treatment of schizophrenia affect the production of dopamine, which plays an important role in coordinating the movements of the human body. In this case, the patient may experience:

• Stiffness in the muscles
• The need for constant movement
• Trembling in the fingers
• Frozen facial expressions
• Scuffing of feet while walking.

In some cases, the effect of taking antipsychotics can also have an inhibitory effect on the human psyche, while the patient experiences lethargy, lethargy, or even excessive drowsiness.

Important! No matter how unpleasant the side effects of taking medications intended for the treatment of schizophrenia are, you should never stop taking medications on your own initiative. The point is not even that this kind of independence will not please the attending physician, but that the abrupt withdrawal of neuroleptic drugs will not only not lead to the disappearance side effects, but even can contribute to their strengthening. Therefore, the doctor and only the doctor has the right to make changes to the treatment plan for schizophrenia medication, and the patient's duty is to inform his psychiatrist about all possible unpleasant manifestations of therapy. It is likely that changing the dose of the drugs taken or replacing one drug with another will help to improve the current situation.

Psychotherapy for schizophrenia

In the treatment of schizophrenia, the importance of the psychotherapeutic method cannot be underestimated. This kind of treatment becomes possible after the stabilization of the patient, the entry of the disease into remission.

First of all, the psychotherapist tries to convey to the patient information about the conditionality of the disease and that the diagnosis in no case becomes a life sentence. And even if a recurrence of the disease in the future cannot be avoided, timely seeking the help of a psychiatrist will help to begin treatment of the disease before it destroys the life and psyche of the patient. To do this, the patient must know what exactly he should pay attention to in the future, what signs may precede a possible exacerbation.

Psychotherapy can also provide positive influence with the manifestation of some side effects from drug therapy. So, if the patient complains of double vision, the doctor can convince him of the temporality of this condition and explain that in a few weeks the patient's vision will stabilize again. If taking neuroleptics led to weight gain, the psychotherapist will try to convey to the patient what to return to normal weight follows by following a low-calorie diet, performing exercise rather than quitting medication.

Psychotherapy in the treatment of schizophrenia can require a lot of both time and patience, but both the patient himself and his relatives must be aware that it is unlikely that the disease will be defeated by drugs alone. Moreover, it is psychotherapy that becomes a reliable prevention of a possible relapse of the disease.

sociotherapy

A person with schizophrenia often finds himself in social isolation. On the one hand, his behavior can cause fear and rejection among the people around him, on the other hand, the patient himself often refuses to communicate, focusing on own feelings plunging into depression, etc.

That is why the treatment of schizophrenia should also be based on sociotherapy, which can restore the patient's lost social skills. Sociotherapy is usually aimed at teaching a person to lead a normal life, to establish communication with friends and relatives.

At the same time, psychotherapeutic assistance is often required by relatives of a person with schizophrenia. Family behavioral therapy becomes part of sociotherapy, it helps family members to accept the patient's diagnosis, understand how they can live on, adapt, fix the destroyed family relationships and connections.

Often, schizophrenia causes a person to develop such cognitive impairments as memory loss, loss of ability to concentrate, loss of mental performance. Cognitive dysfunction is not amenable traditional treatment medicines, moreover drug therapy schizophrenia can lead to a temporary deterioration in cognitive skills.

Cognitive rehabilitation will help the patient restore lost functions, namely:

• Normalize mental state
• Return the ability to self-service, performing simple household skills
• If possible, restore the lost professional quality help the person get back on workplace
• Build family relationships.

Cognitive rehabilitation in schizophrenia can be carried out through special trainings, consisting of group or individual sessions.

So, group meetings will help the patient to re-learn how to adequately perceive the emotions that arise when people communicate with each other, to remember the skills of verbal and non-verbal communication.

Individual lessons can be based on the performance of various tasks aimed at developing memory, the ability to concentrate, etc. As the tasks are completed, their complexity increases, and it is very important that the patient receives positive feedback from the specialist. This is necessary to restore self-esteem in a recovering person.

Schizophrenia and the patient's environment

Family members of a schizophrenic patient often become hostages of the situation, helplessly watching how the disease destroys the personality of a person close to them. But do not put up with the role of the victim. Schizophrenia is treatable, and how successful it will be depends to a large extent on the behavior that has developed in the patient's environment. It is very important that the patient receives support, understanding, emotional warmth, attention and interest in himself during the entire duration of treatment.

How can relatives from the patient's environment help in his struggle with schizophrenia?

There are many possibilities for this. First of all, it is openness. Do not be afraid or embarrassed to talk about the disease and the problems associated with it: fears, worries, worries.

At the same time, relatives often feel guilty for the fact that a member of their family ended up in a psychiatric hospital. Someone is tormented by remorse associated with the fact that such a situation has become possible. Others are simply ashamed of an "uncomfortable" diagnosis. That is why family members of the patient often need psychotherapy, which will help them:

• Accept sickness
• Refrain from criticizing the patient
• Renew and improve communication with a sick family member.

In addition, relatives of the patient should remember that the sick person may refuse to take the medicines he needs, for example, if it seemed to him that the disease had subsided and he no longer needed treatment. Relatives should consult with their doctor in advance and receive recommendations on what to do in this case.

Without the joint work of the doctor, the patient and his relatives, a successful fight against the disease is hardly possible.

Schizophrenia: prognosis for recovery

No doctor can give any guaranteed predictions for schizophrenia. However, statistics provide the following ratio:

• Approximately 1/3 of all cases of schizophrenia is reduced to only a single episode of the disease, followed by recovery or the periodic appearance of mild relapses of the disease.
• Another 1/3 of the cases of schizophrenia leads to the appearance of residual conditions, that is, residual manifestations of the disease with recurrent exacerbations.
• In other cases, schizophrenia becomes chronic.

If a patient has a second episode of schizophrenia, his chances of recovery are significantly reduced. And the stronger the symptoms of the disease manifest themselves, the worse the consequences for the patient become, as well as the forecasts for a normal life. It is possible to speak about the remission of the disease no earlier than after 6 months of the absence of signs of schizophrenia.

Mental disorders are among the most terrible, because in advanced cases they involve the loss of one's own personality. Schizophrenia is called the scourge of the 20th century when it first appeared. Little was known about her then. Now the knowledge of scientists and physicians has replenished.

Schizophrenia - what is it

The term "schizophrenia" consists of two roots "schizo" and "fren", which in Greek mean "split" and "mind", respectively.

Schizophrenia is a complex disease, characterized primarily by difficulties associated with the processes occurring in the human brain. During the course of the disease, the patient may be haunted by hallucinations, some obsessive ideas and thoughts, as well as strange statements or actions.

Schizophrenia suggests a split personality, but the human condition does not imply this. Splitting is not called a split of the personality into parts, but disorganization, disharmony in terms of mental state people. Patients see the world in a distorted light. It seems to them that someone is plotting something bad, which causes fear of the people around them. They see things that don't happen in real life. The most intrusive hallucination in a patient with schizophrenia is the ability to hear non-existent voices.

Schizophrenia occurs more often than all other mental illnesses.

There are several forms of schizophrenia and different symptoms:

• paranoid schizophrenia;
• catatonic schizophrenia;
• hebephrenic schizophrenia;
• simple schizophrenia.

Paranoid schizophrenia is the most common. Characterizes symptoms such as delusional and hallucinatory disorders. There is either one of the manifestations, or both at once. Delusional disorders imply the occurrence of a manifestation in the form of an obsession. Convincing the patient that he is wrong is very difficult. He proves his point of view, building whole chains of evidence and facts, which, however, seem solid only to the sick person. The ability of a person to work with this type of disease is lost over time. Hallucinatory disorders are called disorders of the mental state, when a person begins to see, hear or feel something that is not really there. The patient has manifestations in the form of unstable mood, frequent mood swings. This variant of the paranoid form exacerbates psychosis.

The catatonic form of the disease is a disorder motor system. A patient with schizophrenia is characterized by lethargy or, conversely, excitation. Very often they jump up, run somewhere, attacks of aggression and rage are possible. Patients can inflict various bodily harm on themselves.

The third form of schizophrenia takes its name from the ancient Greek goddess of youth, Hebe. Patients begin to behave like children: they fool around, grimace. It is especially acute in adolescence. Such schizophrenia is rare.

It is also rare to observe a simple form of schizophrenia. It proceeds almost imperceptibly, without pronounced symptoms, delusions and hallucinations. But this form is very difficult, because the disintegration of the personality occurs with the gradual loss of any mental functions.

Also, schizophrenia is divided into several types, differing in signs of the course of the disease. There are such types of schizophrenia:

• continuously flowing;
• paroxysmal;
• sluggish;
• a mixture of all the previous ones.

The first type of schizophrenia, as the name implies, is continuous. This means that the disease progresses and leads to the disintegration of the personality, often in a very short time.

Paroxysmal is characterized by periods of remission, when the patient's condition can be considered normal.

The third type - sluggish schizophrenia - is a special form of schizophrenia, since many scientists are still inclined to believe that this is a separate disease. The symptoms of schizophrenia are present, but they do not bring a person to psychosis, and even without treatment, it can stop for a while.

Schizophrenia symptoms

The first symptoms of schizophrenia occur as early as adolescence, but can also occur in people over 40 years of age. Only a specialist can make a diagnosis, but everyone can see the symptoms of the disease.

If a man has schizophrenia is genetic or chronic disease, then it can progress. The first symptoms are the emergence of delusional ideas, obsessive thoughts. The patient begins to try to protect himself from someone by closing the shutters, doors, picky about food, checking if it is poisoned. Most often, men have the idea that someone is leading them, sending ciphers. There are such symptoms that he often begins to write complaints to any authorities.

Another symptom of the presence of schizophrenia in men is a disorder in which he either begins to rise in mood, or, on the contrary, he goes into depression. Feelings of melancholy, frustration, fatigue, anxiety in late time, lethargy are signs of emerging affective disorders.

Symptoms such as hallucinations also appear. The patient can see non-existent objects, smell, hear voices, which, as he says, give him orders, comment on his actions, direct. Often a man begins to talk in such cases with himself.

Bursts of emotional excitement, uncontrolled aggression, incoherent speech, shouting are also symptoms of schizophrenia. Mood swings as symptoms make this particularly noticeable. Motor inhibition can be replaced by surging excitement, a desire to act, scream, destroy objects around him. After a minute, the patient can stop, sit down somewhere and spend several hours in a row in an uncomfortable position.

These are more positive symptoms of schizophrenia, but there are also negative signs. The patient ceases to be an emotionally whole person. He loses the ability to empathize and sympathize with anyone, even if they are family members. Speech becomes incoherent and meaningless. A man can no longer express joy and other good emotions. Over time, this develops into a desire to live isolated from everyone, because the expression of emotions and feelings is simply impossible. Most often, relatives think that the patient has fallen into depression or that he is too lazy to do anything, to undertake. A man cannot concentrate his attention on something specific: work in his specialty, study.

Closure in oneself, an isolated lifestyle is also a negative symptom. The patient lives in his own fictional world, and he does not care about the environment.

Symptoms of schizophrenia in women include emerging hallucinations, delusional ideas, which consist in the fact that someone can hear her thoughts and guide her actions. The patient is in apathy, unable to make a decision, she is inadequate. Sometimes she has panic attacks, stupor is replaced by excitement. Thoughts are too simple and meager. They see color dreams more often than others. If these symptoms occur, you should consult a doctor.

There are no positive symptoms in children and adolescents. On the contrary, they lose the ability to speak coherently, plunge into a fictional world, lose the ability to express emotions. If schizophrenia occurs early, then the child cannot develop normally. There is a process of degradation. A child or teenager may lose the ability to walk and start crawling on all fours again. It can be confused with oligophrenia, which is a congenital disease characterized by mental retardation.

Symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia include delusions and hallucinations. Moreover, delirium has several plots. There may be jealousy, persecution, and so on. At the same time, the patient begins not only to constantly think about it, but also to put his thoughts into practice. So, men, obsessed with the idea that their wife is cheating on them, are looking for her lovers, and blame almost everyone they meet for this. And people who think they are being persecuted start looking for these people. Hallucinations as symptoms are less dangerous. Patients begin to hear voices that somehow comment on their actions, scold them. Or they smell unpleasant odors that are not actually there.

Sluggish schizophrenia has two variants that have separating symptoms. It:

1. neurosis-like schizophrenia. It manifests itself through symptoms such as fears. The patient is afraid to be in crowded places, catch a serious illness, like AIDS. All these fears grow into something more. If the patient is worried that he might get sick, then he can begin to fight dirt, constantly wash clothes that do not even require it, and then simply stop leaving the house in order to exclude the possibility of infection.
2. Psychopathic schizophrenia. In this form of sluggish schizophrenia, a person experiences symptoms in the form of a feeling that he has lost touch with his inner self. He believes that someone else's face is looking at him from the mirror, and he is only playing someone's role. The patient cannot evoke emotions, feelings. Even listening to music, watching movies, the joy or sorrow of other people does not contribute to this. Symptoms such as mannerisms, frequent hallucinations, and hysteria also appear.

Signs of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia begins to develop in women as early as adolescence, when she lacks attention from the opposite sex. Instead of fighting this, the patient stops caring about her appearance, behavior, and actions. She does not admit to herself her problems.

At the next stage, there are disorders of the digestive tract, namely bulimia, caused by the gluttony of a woman. Emotional disorders lead to this. Aggression appears, the patient tries to isolate herself from others: does not answer questions, gets angry when they try to force her to speak. Over time, depression appears, and interest in work or family fades.

The patient can sit in one place around the clock and look into space. She begins to live in a fantasy world. All attempts to extract her from there end in outbursts of aggression on her part. Maintaining contact with the patient becomes simply impossible. The patient ceases to take care of her appearance: she almost never washes her hair, stops brushing her teeth, walks around in torn clothes. Hallucinations soon appear. She sees whole worlds that do not exist in reality, but she lives in them. At this stage, the patient begins to have thoughts of suicide.

Signs of schizophrenia in men are quite pronounced. In most cases, people around immediately notice that a man is behaving strangely. The patient fools around, behaves strangely, his mood often changes, obsessions, hallucinations, depersonalization occur.

Also, a man can often become closed, unsociable. There are signs that he is losing any emotions, he becomes indifferent to everything around him.

Children have an inability to focus on anything, a violation of emotions and mental abilities. The child is unable to learn new material. "Parallel" thoughts may occur, as well as the inability to think at all. Nevertheless, in sentences and texts, he is able to find a new meaning, understandable only to him alone, to invent new words, which he then actively uses in speech.

Signs of the onset of sluggish schizophrenia are almost invisible. The patient narrows the range of interests, his emotional state becomes monotonous, thoughts and statements are confused, become more ornate. Over time, fears, fragmentary delirium, and occasionally hallucinations begin to appear. This has been happening for several years.

More about schizophrenia

Treatment of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is not treated, but symptoms can be relieved, so you should not refuse treatment. There are still no remedies for it, because the cause of the disorder is not clear.

In order to ensure a normal life, patients are advised to undergo drug treatment along with the fight against schizophrenia at home. Yes, this will only help push the disease to the back of consciousness, however, it is better than letting her let her destroy her life and, most importantly, kill her personality.

Need to create optimal conditions at home for the prevention of schizophrenia. Sleep with the window open in a well-ventilated house, take daily walks, proper nutrition, a certain daily routine that must be observed, as well as regular physical exercise. Of course, do not forget that you need to limit yourself from negative emotions and impressions. And this applies not only to events that occurred in real life, but also to books, movies, music.

With any mental disorder, complex treatment is needed to cope with schizophrenia. The drug route no one has solved the problem. Doctors check the hormonal status of the patient, and also carry out a number of measures that, in their opinion, should help. Sometimes specialists resort to laser blood irradiation, light treatment and electroconvulsive therapy. In addition to the drugs that are given to a patient with schizophrenia, he also undergoes various kinds of psychotherapy, and also resorts to psychoanalysis.

Treatment of schizophrenia by communication is very popular. The most commonly practiced group or family psychotherapy. In the early stages of the disease, hypnosis is possible, which is also considered a treatment through communication.

Doctors believe that without communication, treatment is impossible at all, so it is used quite often. Specialists are loyal to the patient with schizophrenia, communicating on an equal footing with them, as with participants in the treatment.

Despite the fact that the disease cannot be completely cured, it is worth in any case to consult a doctor so that the patient does not completely lose his personality and can function normally in the world. There are many methods of treatment that will undoubtedly help to remove diseases in the corner of your consciousness.

Schizophrenia is the most common, most studied, but also the most incomprehensible disease from the category of “mental disorders”. Medicine has identified several types and forms of this pathology, but the disease completely lacks a single clinical picture - this means that patients will not have unambiguous symptoms. And schizophrenia is also distinguished by the absence of a specific prognosis - in some cases, it is enough for a patient to receive one course of therapy with powerful medications and continue to support the body at home, while another will have to spend his whole life in specialized medical institutions.

In general, historically it is customary to classify four types of schizophrenia, but just a few years ago, the International Health Organization made some changes to the classification of the mental disorder in question - two more types of schizophrenia were added.

Table of contents: We recommend reading: - - - -

The main types of schizophrenia

Psychiatrists can distinguish 4 main types of the considered mental disorder, which are characterized by more or less clear clinical manifestations.

Schizophrenia of the paranoid type

This type of disease is characterized by delusions and hallucinations - from what specific deviation is observed in clinical picture and differentiation of subspecies of paranoid schizophrenia depends.

Symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia

Delusional paranoid schizophrenia is characterized by false conclusions that defy any logic and are perceived by the patient as brilliant thoughts. For example, many schizophrenics diagnosed with a paranoid mental disorder choose words that are similar in meaning/pronunciation/interpretation. A striking example is that patients have the association "firewood-grass-lawn" and are sure that firewood and lawn have the same semantic load. The result is the appearance in the conversation of the phrase "I'll go cut the lawn" - for a mentally healthy person it is nonsense, for a schizophrenic - a completely normal, understandable and logical phrase.

In addition, delusions in paranoid schizophrenia are of a narrowly focused nature - often doctors single out delusions of jealousy, delusions of grandeur, delusions of invention. Depending on what type of delusion in paranoid schizophrenia the patient will have, his behavior will also depend, but most often a person becomes socially unadapted over time, he cannot perform social and family duties.

Hallucinatory schizophrenia of the paranoid type is characterized by the presence of auditory, visual and tactile hallucinations in the patient. But it is precisely for the mental disorder in question that auditory hallucinations are more characteristic - the patient constantly or with enviable regularity hears voices that can order him or speak condemningly, accusingly. Some psychiatric patients claim that these voices are in the head, but for many the voice comes from outside - "someone speaks directly into the ear."

Catatonic schizophrenia

This type of mental disorder under consideration is characterized by impaired motor activity with absolutely clear consciousness.

Symptoms of catatonic schizophrenia

The clinical picture in catatonic schizophrenia is manifested by sudden immobility, muscle spasm (the patient "freezes" in an unnatural position) and lack of speech. Catatonic schizophrenia can also be manifested by strong excitement, moreover, it is always spontaneous - the patient can suddenly scream, run somewhere without a specific goal, show aggression towards others or towards himself.

Catatonic schizophrenia in the stage of excitation or stupor is never accompanied by delusions or hallucinations. The patient, even in an attack, reacts to the speech addressed to him, is aware of what is happening, when his condition stabilizes, he perfectly remembers what was happening around. That is, the consciousness of the patient remains unchanged, but he is not able to control his actions / movements.

Hebephrenic schizophrenia

Schizophrenia of the described type is recognized by doctors as the most unfavorable in terms of further prognosis. Development begins at adolescence, and violations occur in the emotional-volitional sphere. A patient with a diagnosis of hebephrenic schizophrenia behaves inappropriately, he is constantly in a cheerful mood, his behavior becomes foolish, such concepts as attachment and experiences are unfamiliar to him. Over time it begins to show negative side disease and a person becomes asocial, loses the ability to work and simple meaningful communication with others.

residual view

Residual schizophrenia is considered a "residual" manifestation of psychosis and is expressed by severe speech impairment, dullness (and sometimes total absence) emotions, inhibition in psychomotor activity.

Additional types of schizophrenia

Despite the fact that the considered mental disorder known to science for a long time, it is often not possible to clearly define its main types. Therefore, several additional types of schizophrenia have been identified, they are also called intermediate.

Undifferentiated schizophrenia

Such a diagnosis is made to those patients who have symptoms of a mental disorder, but they are not intense. Most often, non-differential schizophrenia is a sign that the specialist did not have the opportunity to observe the patient for a long time. However, this does not mean a controversial diagnosis - the mental disorder in question definitely exists, but its specific type cannot be distinguished.

Post-schizophrenic depression

This is a condition that occurs in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia after a psychotic episode. In some cases, with post-schizophrenic depression, there are residual signs of psychosis, but in a non-intense form.

simple schizophrenia

In a patient, the symptoms of the considered mental disorder develop gradually and psychotic attacks are completely absent. That is, he is characterized by isolation, autistic features, but catatonia, aggressiveness, delirium or hallucinations are not noted. This does not mean that the prognosis for the course of the disease will be favorable - the patient still becomes asocial, just the dynamics will be slower.

Classification of schizophrenia by type of course

Even if specialists, after examination, examination and long-term observation of the patient, identified a specific type of mental disorder in question, this does not mean that the diagnosis is completed. Doctors also distinguish between schizophrenia according to the type of course:

1. Periodic schizophrenia. It is also called recurrent or differentiated as schizoaffective disorder. Characteristic of this type are acute "outbursts" of delusions and hallucinations. Moreover, these two manifestations of schizophrenia in patients with periodic schizophrenia are always emotionally colored.

Doctors note that the stronger the patient's emotions are expressed during bouts of delirium or hallucinations, the more favorable the prognosis of the disease - these conditions with a mental disorder can be removed with specific medicines, and the next attack may recur in a few months, years, or not appear at all.

1. Fur coat schizophrenia. Doctors classify it as paroxysmal with a growing defect - this means that after medical procedures there are residual effects of the attack (this may be delirium or short-term hallucinations). Such attacks are diagnosed very often, and if at the beginning of the development of the mental disorder in question, the patient realizes that he is talking nonsense or he is tormented by hallucinations, then with each new attack he begins to believe in his genius and even consider outright nonsense to be smart and correct / logical thoughts.

The name of this type of schizophrenia comes from the German word "shub" - translated as "attack". Some people think that fur coat-like schizophrenia is diagnosed only in those patients who constantly wear fur coats, although such a manifestation of a mental disorder is not excluded.

1. Malignant schizophrenia. It is constantly flowing, the patient is absolutely not adapted to life in society, he constantly shows aggression both towards others and towards himself, he is not able to conduct even the simplest labor activity and even take care of themselves.

Patients diagnosed with malignant schizophrenia of any kind are in hospitals, special medical institutions. There can be no talk of any maintenance therapy at home - such patients pose a danger to others.

They also distinguish sluggish schizophrenia- some symptoms of this mental disorder are present in a person, but in a rather latent form, unobtrusive and not dangerous to others. Most often, such patients do not come to the attention of doctors for a long time, their strange behavior is written off by others on the well-known saying "every person has his own cockroaches in his head." And by the way, according to statistics, it is sluggish schizophrenia that always turns into a more serious and severe form diseases - sooner or later, it is not so important.

Important: to independently determine whether a person has schizophrenia and what kind / type is impossible - this should be done by a specialist. Moreover, many of the symptoms of schizophrenia are identical to other diseases in this category - only a doctor can differentiate them. Moreover, it is impossible to make an unambiguous diagnosis after the initial examination of the patient - it can only be assumed. Schizophrenia can only be confirmed after long-term observation of the patient.

If we talk about the treatment of schizophrenia of different types and types, then everything is strictly individual. Some patients are indicated permanent stay in medical institution, many get by with home therapy with regular monitoring by medical workers. It is strongly not recommended to use folk methods treatment and leave a patient diagnosed with schizophrenia without a periodic examination by a doctor - even a sluggish mental disorder has its own dynamics of development, which does not always end favorably. Accurate forecasts no doctor can give - schizophrenia is still a controversial, paradoxical and poorly understood mental illness.

Schizophrenia is a complex mental illness with many forms. Its main feature is that a person's idea of ​​reality and his personality changes.

Where schizophrenia comes from, no one can say for sure. Most likely, genetics is to blame. But illness or stress can help her.

Unfortunately, many people simply do not reach specialists. This is due both to fears and, and to the fact that schizophrenics do not consider themselves sick. A person with such a disorder is sure that he is healthy. Or that great truths were revealed to him, or that his great mission in the world is more important than everyday fuss.

With mild signs of schizophrenia, a person does not receive psychiatric help, and the disease gradually progresses and subjugates his life.

Schizophrenia is one of the most common diagnoses in psychiatry. But not every psychiatrist can understand its forms. For ordinary person the main thing is to notice danger signs and either go to the doctor, or help the patient and persuade him to examine.

How does schizophrenia start?

The initial signs of schizophrenia are difficult to notice. Most often it manifests itself in 18-35 years. But you can always get sick.

Sometimes the first signs of schizophrenia appear in childhood or in adolescence. Then the odd behavior is attributed to transitional age or personality traits.

A person becomes isolated, communicates little with people, does not make contact and loses interest in what used to please him. Sometimes blunted physical sensations: the patient does not notice hunger, forgets that you need to wash and change clothes. Unexpected emotions appear: for example, a request to pass salt can cause irritation, aggression.

This all fits the description of a rebellious teenager, a child experiencing severe stress, or a person weakened by an illness.

The signs listed above are not a reason for a diagnosis, but just a warning that it is worth talking with a loved one and, possibly, going to a psychologist in order to overcome stress and trauma.

Is it worth dragging a person to a psychiatrist for every whim or because the relationship has deteriorated? No. Trying to find a disease where there is none is even worse than the disease itself.

The main signs of schizophrenia

True schizophrenia has two types of symptoms: major and minor. To make a diagnosis, one needs either big symptom, or two small ones.

Major symptoms of schizophrenia

1. Echoes of thoughts. The patient believes that others can control his thoughts: read them, erase them, or, conversely, put alien ones into his head. Is not funny idea like “What would happen if my thoughts were read”, but the certainty that it is.
2. Brad impact. The person thinks they are being controlled. Programmed, hypnotized or affected by rays. Sometimes a schizophrenic thinks this way about other people: everyone has already been deceived, he alone sees the truth.
3. Voice hallucinations. The patient may understand that the voices in his head only seem to him, or may not be aware of this, talking with an invisible interlocutor. The voice can simply communicate and tell something, or it can give instructions.
4. crazy ideas in which the patient sincerely believes. In a conspiracy of reptilians, saving the world from aliens, encrypted messages from unknown civilizations, and so on.

Minor symptoms of schizophrenia

1. Persistent hallucinations (not just vocal). Most often, these are illusions when the brain completes reality. For example, it seems to the patient that people on the streets grow hooves or that the scarf on the chair is alive.
2. incomprehensible speech. The patient explains something very important to him, but it is impossible to understand him. There is no logical connection between the phrases, but the person does not notice this. Sometimes the patient uses words that he himself invented to call phenomena that exist in his head: “There are exactly 340 steps from the house to the corner. And yesterday the gabags are digging up the balcony!”
3. Slow reactions. The patient does not react to others, falls into a stupor up to complete immobility. A person can sit and look at one point.
4. Negative symptoms. They are called negative because some skills or abilities are lost. A person loses emotions, interest in work, communicates little with people.

These signs are an unequivocal reason to figure out what is happening and how to return to reality.

What to do if a person has signs of schizophrenia

Some forms of schizophrenia lead to exacerbations. Roughly speaking, these are such periods of illness when the symptoms are especially strong and the person falls out of reality.

Patients do not understand what they are doing, they are in their own world, so it is impossible to predict their behavior. In the worst case scenario, the schizophrenic awakens aggression directed at himself or other people.

What to do? Call doctors. In the meantime, they are going to try to establish a trusting contact and reassure the person.

Do not prove to the patient that he is wrong, that the voices in his head only seem to him, or that he is delirious.

First, he won't believe. Secondly, it will write you down as an enemy. And you need something completely different.

Better try to understand what exactly seems to a person, and play along. If the patient believes that the reptilians have taken over the world and is eager to save the planet, tell him that you are an anti-aggressor agent and will now make him your colleague.

Sometimes a person does not lose touch with reality, but there are symptoms. The most difficult thing is to persuade him to undergo an examination, but it is necessary. How exactly to do this, unfortunately, no one can tell. If the patient refuses to go to the doctor, try to invite the doctor to your home, contact private clinics. The main thing is to get to treatment.

Current therapies are good enough to successfully treat schizophrenia.