Psychopathology: Schizophrenia

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• 'schizophrenia is a generic name for a group of disorders, characterised by a progressive disintegration of emotional stability, judgement, contact with and appreciation of reality, producing considerable secondary impairment of personality relationships and intellectual functioning' (Stafford-Clarke 1964)
• 1 per cent of the world's population suffers from schizophrenia. 
• Type 1: acute type characterised by positive symptoms and better prospects of recovery.
• Type 2: chronic type characterised by negative symptoms and poorer prospects of recovery.
• To be diagnosed with schizophrenia, you must have two or more symptoms for more than 1 monthas well as reduced social functioning.
• Positive Symptoms: additional features to everyday experience, involving an excess or distortion of perceptual functioning.
• Negative Symptoms: lessening or loss of normal functioning, are chronic, as they last beyond acute episodes, and are resistant to medication. 
• Chronic Onset Schizophrenia: sufferers become increasingly disturbed through gradual withdrawal and motivational loss over a prolonged period. 
• Acute Onset Schizophrenia: symptoms appear suddenly, after a stressful incident. 
• Can occur at ages 15-45. 

Symptoms

• Passivity experiences and thought disorders: thoughts and actions percieved as under external control.
• Auditory hallucinations: derogotary voices inside their head.
• Primary Delusions: (delusions of grandeur) where they are believe they are of someone of importance e.g. Jesus. (delusions of persecution) where they believe someone is out to get them. 
• Though process disorders: wander off point, invent…