SCHIZOPHRENIA

There is a reason why schizophrenia is nicknamed “mankind’s worst disease”. This mental disorder can be very dangerous if left untreated. There are a few tell-tale signs of a possible schizophrenia:

Schizophrenia causes thought dysfunction and when that happens, speech becomes disorganized too. Apart from stopping abruptly in mid-sentence, schizophrenics also have difficulties in forming sentences. Instead of organizing their words based on the rules of grammar, they string together random words that is difficult or impossible to understand.

Affective flattening is a symptom that involves a reduction in emotional expressions and a difficulty in using and understanding body language. When you tell a joke, he/she doesn’t laugh. When you speak to him/her, it feels like you’re talking to a wall because you’re not getting any feedback in return, except for awkward stares.

This symptom appears in the form of agitated body movements or the repetition of certain motions over and over again. It also includes clumsiness, unplanned movements and inappropriate mannerisms. In a few rare cases, some also fall into a state of catatonia where he/she is unable to move and cannot respond to others. Fortunately, the number of catatonia cases is slowly decreasing.

Is he/she shying away from friends and family members? Does he/she prefer to be alone? As a result of emotional distress, and speech and auto impairments, some may find it difficult to make or keep friends and choose to remain in social isolation.

Delusions come in various forms. Some believe that people are out to hurt them while a few others are convinced that something foreign is passing through their body although there are no evidences to confirm their beliefs. Interestingly, there are also some who believe that they have super powers.

Many schizophrenia patients suffer from hallucinations. Not only do they see things that are not there, they also have a tendency to hear, smell, touch and taste things that nobody else does. In one example, a patient reportedly heard God telling him/her what numbers to play for the lottery.

Since schizophrenia is often accompanied by depression and a lost of motivation in life, it is no surprise then that many end up becoming suicidal. According to www.schizophrenia.com, over 40% of schizophrenia patients will make at least one suicide attempt, and between 10%  to 15% actually succeed in killing themselves.