A Level - Schizophrenia Clinical Characteristics
July 26, 2017What is Schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is a disorder of the brain which is characterised by a break down between thought, emotion and perception. This can lead to a faulty perception of reality and also a withdrawal from reality.
DSM 5
The diagnostic and statistical manual (DSM) is used by healthcare professionals to diagnose mental health disorders.
In the DSM 5, Schizophrenia is diagnosed by the following:
A: Show two or more of the following symptoms (each present for a large amount of time during a 1 month period) -
- Delusions
- Hallucinations
- Disorganised Speech
- Grossly disorganised or catatonic behaviour
- Negative symptoms (affective flattening, poverty of speech, loss of motivation, reduced social interest etc...)
B: Social/Occupational Dysfunction -
This occurs for a significant period from the onset of the disturbances. Occur in 1 or more areas of functioning such as at work, interpersonal relations, or self care.
C: Duration -
Continuous signs of disturbance for a 6 month period, at least. This must include at least 1 month of symptoms from criteria A.
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Positive and Negative Symptoms
Positive Symptoms -
Positive symptoms are feelings or behaviours that are usually not present. They are a dysfunction of normal functioning.
Examples include; hallucinations and delusions.
Hallucinations are when someone sees, hears, smells, tastes or feels something that isn't really there. It's only in their mind but feels like it is really happening to them. Hearing voices is an example of this.
Delusions are a strongly held belief that isn't really true. It is an impairment from reality - not being able to tell the difference between what is real and what is imaginary.
Negative Symptoms -
Negative symptoms are when a person lacks something from their normal functioning. It is when their normal functioning is limited.
Examples include; affective flattening (a reduction in the range and intensity of emotional expression), poverty of speech, lack of motivation etc...
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There is a lot of misconceptions and stigma surrounding Schizophrenia and a lot of this is caused by the media getting it wrong. This video below is incredibly useful to get a true understanding of SZ, so if you have 15 minutes to spare, take a look.
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