Positive And Negative Symptoms Of Schizophrenia

Per the DSM-5 a diagnosis of schizophrenia requires the presence of the following symptoms: delusions of thoughts, prominent and lasting hallucinations, incoherent or marked loosening associations, catatonic behavior, and flat or grossly inappropriate affect (APA, 2013). If using the DSM-5 classification these characteristics must be present on a continuous basis for at least six months prior to diagnosis.

Schizophrenia affects the ability of a person to perceive reality. It can disrupt a person’s thinking, behavior, and emotions. If someone in a family has had schizophrenia, the likely hood of it being passed down is high, and it usually develops around the late teens, but has been known to affect young children and older adults. Having this disorder can be devastating when the symptoms interfere with everyday life, such as relationships, work, and even self-care. There are several types of symptoms, positive symptoms and negative symptoms. Positive symptoms are when symptoms that shouldn’t be present suddenly arise, like for example hallucinations, delusions, altered speech,

These “Positive” Symptoms typically include: Delusions, or thoughts that are disorganized, and can also include some hallucinations (which is a symptom that Schizophrenia is typically known for). The other type of Symptoms are referred to as “Negative” Symptoms. Negative symptoms are symptoms that almost always involve issues with social interactions, motivation to do tasks, and ability to form lasting relationships. Symptoms can vary between different people, But you will typically notice certain symptoms that characterize the disorder. Fortunately, Many new treatments are available for people who suffer this disorder, and in many cases this can improve the quality of life significantly, These methods of treatment will be expanded upon further in the next few

In order for schizophrenia to be diagnosed, the American Psychiatric Associations Diagnostic and Statistical Manual requires two symptoms to be present for a substantial amount of time during a 30 day period. It also requires major areas of functioning to decrease, with continuous signs for at least six months (Fentress, Moller 1). Three different types of symptoms characterize schizophrenia: positive, negative, and cognitive (Richards 1). Positive symptoms refer to an exaggeration of brain function. This can be characterized by unusual thoughts, hallucinations, and delusions. Hallucinations are things a person sees, hears, smells or feels that no other person can. Hearing “voices” is the most common

The DSM- IV categorizes these states based on the expressed symptoms as paranoid, disorganized, catatonic, residual, and undifferentiated (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Although the symptoms can be easily categorized, diagnosing schizophrenia is much more difficult. This is due to the spectrum of severity and if the client projects positive or negative symptoms. In the case of schizophrenia, positive symptoms are the behaviors that are added to or

Schizophrenia usually starts with a high-risk period of thought disturbances or unusual ideas. Along with that, individuals experience negative symptoms such as social withdrawal, anhedonia, and low mood (Pringle, 2013, p. 505). These negative symptoms can lead to poor quality of life and are difficult to treat. In the acute phase, which begins up to two years later, positive symptoms of schizophrenia are “hallucinations (changes in perception involving any of the five sensory modalities) and delusions (unusual thoughts or beliefs)” (Pringle, 2013, p. 505). Along with positive and negative symptoms, there are cognitive symptoms and first rank symptoms. Cognitive symptoms include deficits in attention, verbal and visual learning, executive function, social cognition, processing speed, and working memory. First-rank symptoms include somatic passivity, delusional perceptions, voices commenting on the patient’s action, audible thought, withdrawal thought, voices arguing, and passivity of impulse, volition, and affect (Giannopoulos, Carroll, Ebmeier, 2014, p. 12). These symptoms help diagnose schizophrenia. For some individuals antipsychotic medications were needed and for others, symptoms resolved quickly.

Positive symptoms are displays of abnormal behavior. Sufferers with positive symptoms may “lose touch” with some aspects of reality. Symptoms include seeing things that aren’t there, unable to think clearly, random body movements, and abstract thinking/ideals. Negative symptoms are described as irregular emotions or feelings. Symptoms include minimal expression and emotions, reduced feeling of satisfaction, difficulty starting and completing activities, and difficulty speaking/articulating. Cognitive symptoms affect a person’s ability to learn, process information, and retain information. Symptoms include unable to properly understand information, trouble focusing, inhibits ability to learn, and trouble remembering

Positive symptoms are when symptoms of schizophrenia are bizarre additions to an individual’s behavior, such as delusions, disorganized thinking and speech, hallucinations, and inappropriate affect. Delusions, or incorrect thoughts, occur in various ways but the most popular is persecution, when the individual feels like everyone is out to get them, following delusions of grandeur, or feeling like they are of higher power such as being the Queen of England, when they clearly are not. Another symptom is disorganized thinking and speech that can include loose associations in which the conversation is all over the place, neologisms which is making up words, or the individual with schizophrenia will talk in clang or repeated rhymes. Third, is hallucinations

The characteristic symptoms of schizophrenia, according to The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text rev.; DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000), first require that at least two symptoms from the following list are pointedly exhibited within a month: delusions, hallucinations, disordered speech, catatonic behavior, and other negative symptoms such as a lack of emotional expressiveness known as affective flattening, a deficiency of speech known as alogia, or a general lack of drive known as avolition. However, if the delusions or hallucinations are extreme, only one of these symptoms is required. These symptoms are mainly behavioral core symptoms. Moreover, affective core symptoms of schizophrenia include paranoia. Secondly, the patient must experience social and/or occupational dysfunction. The patient noticeably begins to perform insufficiently in these major areas of functioning. This traces to cognitive core symptoms in the sense of mental impairments. For example, schizophrenic patients often believe that they hear voices, feel paranoid and threatened without reason, and cannot grasp social cues or functions. Third, duration is a key aspect of the symptoms that characterize

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder and it is defined by the diagnostic statistical manual of mental disorder (DSM-IV) as a term introduced by Bleuler, which refers to a persistent, often chronic and usually serious mental disorder affecting a variety of aspects of behavior, thinking, and emotion. Patients with delusions or hallucinations may be described as psychotic. Thinking may be disconnected and illogical. Peculiar behaviors may be associated with social withdrawal and disinterest. According to the DSM-IV, schizophrenia is divided into positive and negative clusters of mental symptoms. The positive may be considered as symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations. Unlike the positive symptoms, the negative cluster of symptoms for

The characteristics of Schizophrenia have often been confused with those of other diseases. Such characteristics are: Decline from a previous level of functioning, disturbances of thought and speech, delusions, hallucinations, and withdrawal. All of these symptoms are sure signs of schizophrenia, but they do vary between people and may also change over periods of time. There are positive symptoms which

The symptoms of schizophrenia are wide and varied, typically falling into three main categories, positive symptoms, negative symptoms, and cognitive symptoms. Each of these symptom types affect the patient in different ways, and in different degrees of severity. The symptoms may range from mildly irritating, to severe and debilitating. Positive symptoms are behaviors not normally seen in healthy people. Negative symptoms are behaviors that are usually exhibited in healthy people but are lacking in the patient. Cognitive symptoms are subtle symptoms that affect the patient’s thought processes and cognitive functioning.

Three types of negative symptoms are recognized by the DSM-IV-TR: affective flattening, alogia, and avolition. ( Hoeksema, 2009). Affective flattening is a person’s inability to express emotion. Alogia is a person’s poverty of speech, or decrease in speaking. Avolition which is someone who has become completely unmotivated and cannot persist at goal - oriented tasks. Negative symptoms of schizophrenia are more likely than not disabling. They affect ones’ daily communication and functioning

Schizophrenia has a lot of known and unknown causes. Scientist believes that genetics and environment are the most recognized causes of schizophrenia (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2014). Other causes of schizophrenia could be that people who are diagnosed with schizophrenia have a chemical imbalance. Chemical imbalances can affect the way a person reacts to certain stimuli. For example reactions can differentiate from stimuli such as the senses: sound, taste, smell, and sight (Mental Health America, 2013). The symptoms of schizophrenia can range from positive to negative symptoms. Positives symptoms are called positive because the symptoms are things that are added to the patient 's personality. Some positive symptoms of schizophrenia are as follows: delusions, hallucinations, and disordered thinking and speech. Negative symptoms would be things that are lost in a patient’s personality. Some negative symptoms of schizophrenia are as followed: social withdrawal, emotionless responses to stimuli, and lack of ambition and drive (Mental Health America, 2013).

According to Abnormal Psychology, the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association of what mental health professionals classify as mental disorders, "the DSM-IV, lists five characteristics of schizophrenia. They are, delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, disorganized or catatonic behavior, and "negative symptoms," meaning a reduction or loss of normal functions such as language and goal-directed behavior. If a person has shown two or more of those signs for at least a month and has noticeably disturbed for at least six months, the diagnosis is schizophrenia"