Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that affects somewhere between 0.4% and 0.6% of humans. The overarching symptom of schizophrenic patients is a distorted or detached perception of reality. Although there are medications and treatments that can help control the symptoms of schizophrenia, there is no cure, as with many mental disorders.
Positive Symptoms
The term "positive symptoms" does not refer to the symptoms being "good," but rather refers to them being more obvious than other symptoms. These symptoms include visual and auditory hallucinations, delusions, and "thought disorder," which affects the ability to form thoughts in a logical or normal manner. This often manifests itself in difficulties with speech.
Negative Symptoms
Negative symptoms are, rather than something unusual being added to an individual, something normal being weakened or removed. This often manifests itself as emotional "flatness": monotone speech, a lack of pleasure, reluctance to speak and antisocial behavior. These symptoms are sometimes confused with laziness.
Cognitive symptoms are often the most difficult and subtle symptoms to diagnose. They manifest as an inability to pay attention, slow recall of short-term memories, and difficulty in making decisions.
Possible Causes
No definite, single cause has been found for schizophrenia. Many doctors and researchers believe that the condition is a combination of several possible factors. Some common factors are genetic inheritance, complications during the child's delivery, childhood infection, traumatic life experiences, and structural or chemical disorders in the brain.
Diagnosis
There is no lab test for schizophrenia, so diagnosis is made by both the individual's behavior and through self-reported symptoms. Only a properly trained mental health professional can diagnose schizophrenia.
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