How to recognize a schizophrenic by behavior. What is schizophrenia and how does it manifest

Schizophrenia is such a multifaceted disease in its manifestations that it is sometimes quite difficult to recognize it in time. Before the first obvious signs appear, the disease can slowly develop over the years, and some of the oddities manifested in a person's behavior are mistaken by many for a spoiled character or adolescent changes. At the same time, having noticed such oddities, people often, instead of referring to a psychologist or psychiatrist, run to grandmothers or traditional healers to remove spoilage, roll out eggs, buy "magic" herbs, etc. Such actions only lead to a worsening of the patient's condition and a delay in professional therapy. But it is precisely the early diagnosis of schizophrenia and timely treatment that can greatly improve the prognosis of the disease and get high chances of a full recovery. What are the signs that make it possible to suspect the approach of the disease and reveal a tendency to schizophrenia?

Signs of a schizophrenic disorder in the non-painful stage

Schizophrenia is an endogenous disease and is associated with biochemical disorders of the brain. And pathological processes in the brain cannot but affect the behavior and thinking of a person. In childhood or adolescence, a person who may develop schizophrenia in the future does not stand out much from other people. However, some signs are still worth paying attention to. Such children are usually a little withdrawn, they may have difficulties in learning. Behind them, you can notice some oddities in behavior, for example, too frequent hand washing, unusual hobbies, coldness in relation to animals. Of course, the fact that a child lags behind in school and behaves in a closed manner does not mean that he will definitely suffer schizophrenia in the future. It's just that such a child or adolescent should be watched more carefully. A consultation with a child psychologist will also not be superfluous.

The incubation period of the disease

As the pathological processes of the brain in schizophrenia worsen, changes in the psyche and thinking become more pronounced. The incubation (prodromal) stage of the disease lasts on average about three years. Relatives do not always pay attention to the gradually increasing strangeness in the patient's behavior, especially if it coincides with adolescence. Signs of the disease at this stage, making it possible to understand whether a person has schizophrenia, may be as follows:

strange behavioral reactions;
the desire for solitude, a decrease in initiative and energy levels;
changes in handwriting (for example, handwriting may become illegible or the slope of letters in handwriting changes);
change in personality traits (a diligent and punctual teenager suddenly becomes absent-minded and careless);
deterioration in creative, educational or work abilities;
episodic simple hallucinatory or illusory manifestations;
new overvalued hobbies, for example, philosophy, mysticism, religious ideas.

Graphologists believe that it is possible to understand whether there is a predisposition to schizophrenia by the person's handwriting.

Handwriting can say a lot about personality and thinking. However, illegible and intermittent handwriting in itself does not indicate schizophrenia, there must be other characteristic manifestations of the disease. If you begin to notice a change in handwriting and other signs in yourself or in a loved one, you need to consult a psychiatrist as soon as possible.

Self-diagnosis

Diagnosing schizophrenia is challenging even for experienced professionals. What can we say about trying to find out about the presence of such a complex disease on our own. An accurate diagnosis with the definition of the form of the disorder can be made only after a series of examinations, differential diagnostics and a conversation with a doctor. However, often people, in view of their negative attitude towards psychiatry and stereotyped beliefs, are afraid to go to a psychiatrist, even if they find alarming signs in themselves. Therefore, many are interested in how to define schizophrenia in oneself without the help of a psychiatrist? You can tell if you have any reason to worry about schizophrenia with some self-diagnosis techniques.

To get started, try the following statements for yourself:

i find it difficult to remember recent events, but what happened a long time ago is clearly remembered;
boredom from most conversations attacks me and new acquaintances are not interesting to me;
i sometimes find it difficult to carry out my daily duties;
sometimes I have thoughts that I am acting against my will;
it can be difficult for me to forget even minor grievances;
i often cannot force myself to leave the house for days on end;
i am sometimes attacked by stupor or sudden agitation with aggression;
my thoughts are sometimes hazy and confused;
i am confident that I have unique abilities;
others try to control my feelings and thoughts;
i am not interested in anything, and I do not want to do anything;
i feel that my family is under threat;
for me the main advisor is my inner voice, I always consult with him;
close people annoy me for unknown reasons;
i sometimes notice in myself a discrepancy between the displayed emotions and the surrounding environment and the emotions of other people;
i often find in myself an unreasonable feeling of fear;
i find it difficult to show a feeling of tenderness and love, I am often immersed in myself.

Think about how true it will be for you to hear the following statements from your loved ones:

you are not at all worried about the torment of other people or animals, your face does not reflect a feeling of compassion;
you do not look into the eyes of the interlocutor;
you sometimes talk out loud to yourself;
you most of all love to spend time alone with yourself, avoid crowded places and attention from others;
you hear what is not in reality, and what others do not hear;
you began to speak indistinctly (stutter, lisp);
you have become worse at writing, your handwriting is kind of strange and illegible;
you are considered a little eccentric, and strange expressions are noticed on your face;
you talk to inanimate objects as if they were alive;
you sometimes laugh or cry for no reason;
you devote quite a lot of time to meaningless activities (you lie for hours, staring at the ceiling).

How can such testing be assessed? The more of the above statements suits you, the higher your tendency and predisposition to schizophrenia and the more important it is for you to visit a specialist. Note, it is the tendency! Because even if absolutely all statements are identical to you, this does not mean that you have a schizophrenic disorder. The diagnosis can only be made by a psychiatrist.

To understand if you have signs of schizophrenia, you can also use the Chaplin mask visual test, created by the British neuropsychologist R. Gregory. The experience of observing patients shows that a characteristic handwriting of schizophrenia is a person's immunity to visual illusions.

While taking this test, keep your eyes on the picture. If everything is in order with your psyche, you will notice an optical illusion.

Diagnostics and ITU

The process of diagnostics and MSE (medical and social examination) in schizophrenia can take quite a long time, since the manifestations of the disease are very diverse. Differential diagnosis makes it possible to exclude mental, somatic and neurological pathologies that have symptomatology similar to schizophrenia. However, it is not always possible to make an accurate diagnosis immediately, even after a differential diagnosis. How is the diagnostic process going? To begin with, the psychiatrist assesses the patient's condition during the conversation. It identifies productive and negative symptoms as well as the degree of cognitive impairment. Various tests are often used. For example, schizophrenia can be reasonably predicted by eye movement.

A person with this pathology cannot smoothly follow a slowly moving object with his eyes. Specific eye movement in schizophrenics is also observed with free viewing of pictures. An experienced physician is able to recognize signs of pathology in the movement of the eyes. It is also difficult for such people to keep their eyes still for a long time and fix their gaze on something. After the conversation, a number of examinations are carried out that allow you to assess the features of the central nervous system, identify concomitant diseases, and endocrine disruptions. Studies such as EEG, MRI, TDS (special ultrasound scanning of cerebral vessels) allow for more accurate differential diagnosis, assess the severity of schizophrenia and the most effective selection of drugs. MRI for schizophrenia is one of the most effective ways to solve the problem - how to recognize schizophrenia even before the appearance of its obvious signs and deterioration of a person's well-being. It has been proven that changes in the structures of the brain begin long before the development of the symptoms of schizophrenia.

In the course of treatment, the patient's MSE is carried out at each stage of remission. If the exacerbation is protracted, ITU can be carried out during the period of the attack. MSE evaluates the duration and clinical form of schizophrenia, the dynamics and nature of negative disorders, the type and characteristics of mental disorders. Also in the ITU process, it is important to assess how critical the patient is to his condition. With MSE, the stage of the disease, the nature of the leading syndrome and the quality of remission are assessed. All this is necessary in order to determine the patient's disability group based on the ITU results. The first group of disability is most often caused by the ongoing malignant form of the disease, which develops early and causes a rapid increase in negative disorders.

Schizophrenia is a polymorphic mental disorder characterized by the breakdown of affects, processes of thinking and perception. Previously, specialized literature indicated that about 1% of the population suffers from schizophrenia, but recent large-scale studies have shown a lower figure - 0.4-0.6% of the population. Symptoms and signs of schizophrenia can begin to manifest at any age, but most often the disease occurs after 15 to 25 years. Interestingly, for unknown reasons, the female population is more prone to mental illness than men.

Let's find out: what is schizophrenia and how does it manifest itself in a person, as well as what is the cause and can this mental disorder be treated?

What is schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is a mental illness characterized by distorted thinking (in the form of delusions) and perception (in the form of hallucinations). The term "schizophrenia" literally means "splitting of the mind", which does not quite accurately reflect the essence of this disease, because many confuse it with dissociative personality disorder (popularly - multiple personality disorder).

The schizophrenic is not aware of the reality of what is happening around... The thoughts that arise in his imagination, and all those events that occur in reality, are mixed in his head.

The information that has made its way into the consciousness of such a person is a chaotic set of color pictures, all kinds of sounds and meaningless images. It often happens that the schizophrenic completely denies the existing reality - he lives life in his own illusory world.

Schizophrenia is often associated with depression, anxiety disorders, drug addiction and alcoholism. Significantly increases the risk of suicide. It is the third most common cause of disability after dementia and tetraplegia. Often it entails pronounced social maladjustment, resulting in unemployment, poverty and homelessness.

Men and women suffer from schizophrenia equally often, but the townspeople - more often, the poor - more often (more stress). If the patient is a man, the disease has an earlier onset and severe course, and vice versa.

Causes

Causes of occurrence:

genetic predisposition;
prenatal factors (for example, the development of abnormalities as a result of problems with abnormal intrauterine development of the fetus);
social factors (the background of urbanization contributes to the growth of mental disorders);
early childhood experiences can cause schizophrenia;
environmental factors;
brain injury during or immediately after childbirth;
social isolation;
alcoholism causes schizophrenia and a person, and contributes to a gene mutation, due to which the disease can develop in his children;
drug addiction leads to the development of schizophrenia and a gene mutation, similar to alcohol.

A group of stressful conditions caused by external factors, which, in turn, can play a role in the formation of schizophrenia, is noted:

A viral infection that affects the brain during childbirth
Fetal hypoxia
The birth of a child before the end of the full term of pregnancy
Infant exposure to the virus
Loss of parents or separation from family
Physical and mental trauma resulting from domestic violence

The first signs of schizophrenia

Like any other disease, schizophrenia has the first signs that you must pay attention to and consult a psychiatrist.

Signs of schizophrenia:

Inability to perform habitual actions, since the patient does not see an obvious meaning in them. For example, she does not wash her hair, as her hair will get dirty again;
Speech disorders, which are expressed mainly in monosyllabic answers to the questions posed. If the patient is still forced to give a detailed answer, he will speak slowly;
Low emotional component. The patient's face is not expressive, it is impossible to understand his thoughts, he avoids meeting his interlocutor with his eyes;
Low concentration on any subject or object of action;
Anhedonia also refers to the early signs of the disease. At the same time, even the activities that previously attracted a person, gave him minutes of joy, now become completely uninteresting.
Affective inadequacy - is expressed in a completely inadequate reaction to various events and actions. For example, seeing a drowning person, a person laughs, and when he receives any good news, he cries, etc.

It is worth thinking about the disease in the following cases:

drastic changes in character,
the appearance of neurotic symptoms - persistent fatigue, increased anxiety, constant
rechecking decisions and actions,
nightmares
vague sensations in the body.

A person prone to the development of schizophrenia loses interest in life, family, notes a depressive state, suddenly becomes addicted to alcohol, draws gloomy pictures.

It is worth noting that similar symptoms to one degree or another can manifest itself in every person, therefore, the signs of schizophrenia should be diagnosed qualified specialist.

Classification

Based on clinical symptoms, the DSM-4 distinguishes five types of schizophrenia:

Paranoid schizophrenia - characterized by undisturbed thought processes, the patient mainly suffers from delusions and hallucinations. It is paranoid delirium that predominates, delusions of grandeur, persecution or influence prevail. Emotional disorders are not very pronounced, sometimes they are absent altogether.
Disorganized schizophrenia (hebephrenic) - disorders of thinking and emotional flattening are revealed.
Catatonic schizophrenia - psychomotor disorders predominate.
Undifferentiated schizophrenia - psychotic symptoms are revealed that do not fit into the picture of catatonic, hebephrenic or paranoid schizophrenia
Sluggish, neurosis-like schizophrenia: age of onset from 16 to 25 years on average. There is no clear boundary between the initial and manifest periods. Dominated by neurosis-like phenomena. Schizophrenic psychopathization is observed, but the patient can work, maintain family and communication ties. At the same time, it is clear that the person is "distorted" by the disease.

Symptoms of schizophrenia in adults

In patients with schizophrenia, there is a combination of disorders in thinking, perception, as well as emotional-volitional disorders. The duration of the symptoms is observed for about a month, but a more reliable diagnosis can be established within 6 months of observation of the patient. Often, at the first stage, a transient psychotic disorder is diagnosed with signs of schizophrenia-like disorder, as well as symptoms of schizophrenia.

Positive symptoms

Positive symptoms include symptoms that a healthy person did not have before and they appeared only with the development of schizophrenia. That is, in this case the word "positive" is used not in the meaning of "good", but reflects only the fact that something new has appeared. That is, there was a certain increase in the qualities inherent in man. Positive symptoms of schizophrenia include the following:

Rave;
Hallucinations;
Illusions;
State of arousal;
Inappropriate behavior.

Negative Symptoms and Signs of Schizophrenia

Inhibition - the patient loses the ability to quickly respond and make decisions, is not able to maintain a conversation.
Emotional coldness - the line is erased in the mimic and vocal manifestation of feelings. Monotony of speech and "frozen" facial expressions are characteristic.
Asociality - it becomes difficult for a person to be in society. He makes poor contact and makes acquaintances.
Low concentration of attention, which leads to the inability to lead a normal life, go to work, do what you love. Even the handwriting is distorted.
Loss of interest in what is happening. In contrast, obsessions appear on which a person becomes obsessed. A productive life becomes unreal.

Due to a lack of motivation, schizophrenics often stop leaving the house, do not perform hygienic manipulations (do not brush their teeth, do not wash, do not take care of clothes, etc.), as a result of which they acquire a neglected, sloppy and repulsive appearance.

With the course of the disease, the symptoms of the emotional manifestations of schizophrenia weaken to the point of emotional dullness.

Emotional decline affects the patient's entire appearance, facial expressions and behavior.
His voice becomes monotonous, expressionless.
The face loses its expressiveness and becomes motionless (sometimes a masked face, monotony of voice, angular movements, their stiffness are a manifestation of the side effects of drugs, this should be taken into account).

How does schizophrenia manifest itself: hallucinations, delusions and aggression

Before determining schizophrenia in a person, it is recommended to observe him. In patients with this pathology, a distorted picture of the environment appears, created by their own consciousness on the basis of the initial correct signals.

The onset of the disease (manifest period) is characterized by:

Delusions of persecution, relationships, meanings, high origin, endowed with a special purpose and ridiculous delusions of jealousy, as well as delusions of influence.
Auditory true, as well as pseudo-hallucinations of the commentator, contradictory judgments.
Sexual, olfactory, gustatory, and somatic hallucinations.

Hallucinations

Hallucinations are disorders of perception and the emergence of phenomena (objects, sensations) where they are not. They can be visual, auditory, tactile, and so on. Schizophrenia is characterized by auditory hallucinations of various contents. Auditory hallucinations, or "voices," arise from a person inside the head or from objects.

There are four types of hallucinatory disorders:

auditory - most characteristic of schizophrenia. A voice appears in the patient's head or from the surrounding objects, which comments, criticizes the person's actions, or instructs him how to live correctly and what to do;
tactile - develop less often auditory. The patient may feel that boiling water or, conversely, ice water is being poured onto his skin. Also, patients may complain about the feeling that someone lives inside them (fish swim through the veins, a snake crawls in the stomach);
olfactory - the most expressionless hallucinations. A person complains about the presence of odors that no one else can smell;
visual - very rarely appear in schizophrenia.

Auditory and visual hallucinations in schizophrenia are manifested as follows:

conversations with oneself, reminiscent of a conversation or responses to someone's questions (of course, except for remarks like “Where did I take the keys?”);
laughing for no apparent reason;
the impression that a person sees and hears what no one else perceives;
sudden silence, as if he was listening to something;
anxious or anxious look;
inability to focus on the topic of conversation or a specific task.

Rave

Delusions are cumulative beliefs, conclusions, and inferences that differ from reality. Before the acute form of schizophrenia manifests itself, the patient is delirious and suffers from hallucinations.

There are some tips for recognizing delusional schizophrenia. This is indicated by the following main signs:

changes in behavior, the appearance of unmotivated aggression;
persistent stories of an implausible nature, like vivid colored dreams;
unfounded fear for your life and health;
manifestation of fear in the form of voluntary confinement at home, fear of people;
constant annoying complaints to the authorities for no reason.

With the progression of the disease, the patient becomes conflict and explosive. During the course of the disease, the doctor pays special attention to resonance - empty reasoning of a constant nature. At the same time, the ultimate goal of reasoning is absent. With anhedonia, the ability to get pleasure from something is lost.

Exacerbation of schizophrenia

Relapse or exacerbation of schizophrenia is the development of an acute phase in which the disorder takes an active course, productive symptoms appear, an adequate assessment of one's condition decreases or is completely lost. Such a patient's condition can lead to adverse consequences, both for the carrier of the disease himself and for those around him. In this regard, early recognition of signs of an exacerbation of the disease is of particular importance.

Factors contributing to the exacerbation of schizophrenia are:

Withdrawal of medications is one of the most common reasons for decompensation of remission.
Somatic pathology also provokes exacerbations. Most often it is cardiovascular, respiratory pathology or kidney disease.
Infections are often accompanied by the development of arousal.
Stress - also leads to the decompensation of the patient's condition. Conflicts in the family, in the circle of friends, at work are inducers of psychotic states.

When the first signs of psychosis appear, you should consult your doctor. The relatives of the carrier of the disorder and the patient himself are already familiar with the manifestations of the disease, therefore, even minor changes should alert them, especially in the spring-autumn time.

Treatment methods

Treatment of schizophrenia is carried out primarily with the aim of reducing severe symptoms, reducing the chances of recurrence of the disease, as well as the return of symptoms after improvement.

Among the methods used for the treatment of schizophrenia, we highlight the following:

drug therapy;
electroconvulsive therapy (used when drug therapy is ineffective, provides for the passage of electrical impulses through the brain);
social therapy (involves improving the patient's living conditions, long-term implementation of such measures ensures appropriate effectiveness);
psychotherapy (used as a supportive method of treatment, for example, in combination with drug therapy, helps to alleviate the general condition of the patient).

During the period of remission, supportive therapy is required, without this, deterioration of the condition is inevitable. As a rule, after discharge, patients feel much better, believe that they are completely cured, stop taking medications, and the vicious circle starts again.

This disease cannot be completely cured, however, with adequate therapy it is possible to achieve stable remission against the background of supportive treatment.

According to experts, people who suffer from schizophrenia are in some cases a danger, primarily for themselves. Therefore, cases of suicide are often recorded among such patients. It is also possible manifestation of violent behavior in those patients who use alcohol or drugs. Therefore, periodic treatment of schizophrenia is a must.

Instructions

The development of schizophrenia may be preceded by frequent and severe headaches, the attacks of which appear and disappear with a break in the years. Over time, an indifference arises to everything that happens and to oneself. Because of this, there is sloppiness in clothes or her strange, eccentric style. Interest in work and past hobbies disappears.

A person with schizophrenia stops communicating with others, even with close friends and relatives. In all, he sees conspirators and enemies who wish him evil and even death. Often he makes ridiculous assumptions about this, which is a clear sign of paranoid schizophrenia.

The attack is often replaced by excessive talkativeness, which looks like a set of unrelated words or sentences. And attacks of aggression or hostility are replaced by a complete disposition to their surroundings. Often a schizophrenic discusses scientific and philosophical topics or, unexpectedly for everyone, begins to really get carried away with them.

As schizophrenia progresses, hallucinations and delusions can begin. The patient begins to hear voices to which he often answers, giving a clear impression of insane. This is often what makes it possible to define a schizophrenic.

The latent course of schizophrenia is known, which for years can only manifest itself in fits of rage, turbulence and unreasonable jealousy. In a state of anger (during an exacerbation of the disease), a schizophrenic is capable of even inappropriate actions that threaten the lives of those around him.

Even less suspicion of the development of schizophrenia is caused by phobias, anxiety, obsessive thoughts. These symptoms of neurotic disorders may actually be the initial signs of it. However, it is not easy to identify a schizophrenic in these cases.

Schizophrenia can occur in flare-ups and subside for many years, returning a person to normal life. But in the absence of treatment, the periods between exacerbations of the disease are shortened, and the symptoms of schizophrenia become more pronounced, making noticeable and irreversible changes in a person's personality.

However, it is quite difficult to establish schizophrenia in time, and even more so to treat it, since few people are able to assume or admit this unpleasant diagnosis. Meanwhile, timely treatment can stop the disease or weaken its manifestations during periods of exacerbation.

Sources:

how to know that I do not have schizophrenia

The first signs of schizophrenia may appear already at a young age, but due to the similarity of symptoms with other mental disorders, they are often left without proper attention and treatment, and only a repetition of attacks characteristic of schizophrenia and noticeable personality changes can indicate a possible disease that requires immediate treatment ...

Instructions

Schizophrenia is one of the most common mental illnesses. In translation, it means "splitting of the soul", ie. the discrepancy between the patient's intentions and his capabilities. The initial symptoms of the disease are severe headaches, causeless anxiety and panic, obsessive thoughts and phobias, sudden attacks of aggression and mood swings. A once cheerful and sociable person can suddenly become withdrawn, absent-minded, with a hostile attitude towards everything that happens.

Depending on the degree of damage to the cells, schizophrenia can proceed continuously - without a tendency to improve, periodically - manifesting itself in flashes, in combination with enlightenment of consciousness, paroxysmal - periodic attacks, which more and more change the personality. And also to be sluggish - without the manifestation of negative symptoms (except for neurosis-like manifestations: obsessive thoughts, fear) and malignant - with the aggravation of existing diseases and the addition of new ones.

Depending on the form of schizophrenia, it can be:

In the form of delirium - paranoid schizophrenia. She is characterized by delirium, sometimes delirium of jealousy. It is manifested by the suspicion of all the people around them of malicious intent against the patient or a hostile attitude towards him. As the disease progresses, hallucinations appear;
- hallucinations - depressive-paranoid schizophrenia. The first of this form are melancholy with delirium. There is a persistent anxiety, a feeling of impending grief or an accident. The patient regresses so much that he begins to talk about the rotting of his insides and decay of the body;
- excitement - circulatory schizophrenia. This form is characterized by talkativeness and an excited state. The patient becomes confident in his "superpowers", and in the fact that he is the "soul" of the company, because of which he supposedly has many envious people and enemies;
- immobilization - catatonic schizophrenia. It is characterized by either increasing immobility or sudden excitement. During immobilization, the patient can stand for hours in a frozen position, refusing to eat and not responding to an appeal to him. On the contrary, when excited, excessive mobility occurs. The patient can jump, run, jump in place, grimace, yell, sing, laugh, and throw things around.

The exact cause of schizophrenia has not yet been established. However, its development is facilitated by intoxication, brain trauma, mental shock, and some helminthic invasions. There are cases of schizophrenia developing after childbirth.

A person gradually withdraws into himself, losing social contacts.

In the presence of delusional ideas, by the middle of the illness, delirium is systematized - the picture links the images with a certain logic understandable to the patient. By the end of the disease, when there is practically no criticism of the state and there are signs of personality degradation, delirium becomes torn, i.e. unsystematic. The complexity of delusional content is simplified, hallucinations lose their brightness and direction. Lack of interest in the external world leads to impoverishment of the internal world.

The progression of any kind of schizophrenia sooner or later leads to the destruction of the personality, aimless existence and loss of interest, both in the world around and in oneself. The earlier drug treatment is started, the greater the likelihood of maintaining individuality and striving for social activity. SavingCenter "Clinic Transformation" offers outpatient and inpatient treatment in Moscow. If necessary, you can call a psychiatrist at home. Patients can attend social and psychological rehabilitation groups and learn to understand themselves and the external space.

How to identify schizophrenia in humans and animals

Schizophrenia and other endogenous mental illnesses are completely absent in animals. If pets have neurosis after experiencing severe stress or prolonged discomfort, then wild animals do not even have neurotic disorders. What does this mean? That animals are not prone to unproductive mental and physical activity.

All animal behavior is constructive and aimed either at gaining experience or at ensuring its life. Moreover, the presence of reason and complex emotions has been proven in higher animals. They do not have a wrong upbringing, insoluble conflicts or eternal sadness about the lost. All questions are resolved and brought to their logical conclusion. Lonely maladaptive animals either die or become accustomed to solitary existence. Sadness is forgotten, wounds heal, bones grow together - and the beast is again activated to life.

Schizophrenia definition

Schizophrenia is a serious pathology of the behavioral-cognitive sphere associated with profound disturbances in relationships with oneself and the world. The change of generations transfers from one generation to another a certain style of behavior, fixing it at the genetic level. In schizophrenia, thinking, attention, the area of \u200b\u200bemotions and intentions are irreversibly changed. But it is possible to smooth out the changes and learn how to manage your mental health with long-term and deep psychotherapy.

Does schizophrenia happen in animals?

Not. And this gives us the understanding that there are no structural changes in the brain in this disease, but there is a distorted perception of oneself and the environment. This speaks for the possibility of a cure for schizophrenia. But the life of one person is not always enough to heal a generic disease. But with each new effort, the condition will stabilize, and the disease will recede.

How to define schizophrenia

Schizophrenia affects almost all areas of human mental activity.

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How to define a schizophrenic? The manifestation of schizophrenia can be recognized by the following parameters:

An apathetic attitude towards oneself and the outside world is manifested in sloppiness and strange style in clothes, lack of self-care. Patients are often unshaven with dirty hair. Loss of interest in work, disappearance of previous interests, there is no strength and desire to gain new experience and learn.
A person with schizophrenia stops communicating with people. Becomes colder with friends and relatives, he does not trust people. In his delusional reasoning, he ceases to need an interlocutor.
Thinking becomes torn and speech incoherent; although the phrases have a formal correct construction of words, the very essence of the story is absent; neologisms are invented - new words completely devoid of meaning.
Emotions are either contradictory and inadequate to the situation, or flattened. In patients with schizophrenia, at the time of exacerbation, states of fading in unusual positions are possible. Mental and motor restlessness. Moments of aggression are often followed by periods of good nature and submission. Anxiety due to inability to control conditions leads to sleep disturbance and general anxiety. Depression in schizophrenia has no cause and is usually subtle in appearance.
Changes in behavior are manifested by unusual hobbies, eccentricity and pretentiousness, asociality with early alcoholism, running away from school, and stealing. Patients experiencing hallucinations listen to something, hide, become suspicious.

It is multifaceted, has many symptoms, and the question of how to recognize schizophrenia has been one of the leading in the field of psychiatry for many decades. There are known cases of overdiagnosis, as well as, in fact, the opposite phenomenon, when the correct diagnosis is made with a delay.

However, at the moment, certain ones have been developed, which are guided by specialists.

This question is much more important for those whose relatives are at risk. After all, it is the timely appeal to and getting the right one that can help cope with a painful condition and prevent its progression.

Therefore, here we will try to consider those factors that can help in how to recognize schizophrenia at the very beginning of the disease.

Diagnosis of schizophrenia (according to ICD-10) is based on the allocation of three symptomatic groups:

1. Productive symptoms

Hallucinations: there is a certain image in the person's mind (most often - a voice / voices), which are not in reality. The patient can listen to something, look for a sound source, talk with an invisible interlocutor. Voices can discuss a person's actions, comment on his actions, give some commands. These signs are found in about half of people with schizophrenia.
Delusions of the most varied content: delusions of persecution, attitudes, influences. About 80% of patients with schizophrenia show this symptom throughout the course of the disease.
Disorganization of speech and thinking: thoughts can get confused or cut off, a person falls silent in mid-sentence and then does not remember why he began to say this or that phrase.
The world may seem unreal, sounds and colors are perceived distorted (derealization).
The boundaries between the surrounding world and the sense of "I" (depersonalization) are being erased.

2. Negative symptoms

cognitive impairment: disorders of attention, memory, thinking, speech;
poverty of facial expressions and expressionless voice;
passivity (there is no spontaneity, willingness to make decisions);
autism: a person has difficulty making contact, the circle of communication and interests is narrowed;
volitional regulation is disturbed: lack of initiative, apathy.

3. Mood disorders

depression with a tendency to self-blame and suicidal intentions can often occur in the initial stages of schizophrenia (unfortunately, 40% of patients make attempts during their lifetime);

Also distinguish psychomotor manifestations,the so-called catatonia: refusal to eat, silence, up to a complete lack of speech, muscle tension, up to complete immobility, a "frozen" look.

What should you pay attention to first of all?

At the beginning of the development of the disease

memory deteriorates
concentration of attention decreases,
loss of interest in work, communication with others,
a person strives for loneliness,
ceases to follow the rules of hygiene and to take care of his appearance,
lack of initiative appears,
the person becomes irritable, apathetic,
unusual headaches appear
speech and motor skills begin to suffer,
"magical thinking" appears.

Recognition of schizophrenia, especially at the very beginning, is difficult because the sick person himself does not consider himself as such. But it is very important to see a doctor in time. High-quality diagnostics of schizophrenia and timely prescribed treatment and rehabilitation make a person's life full.