Learn about schizophrenia.

Hello everyone. I decided to make a learn-about series about mental illnesses. This is basically when we pick a topic about mental health and learn about it.

So our topic today is schizophrenia. I believe this is a mental illness less talked about and when talked about made fun of or not really understood

So, starting off let’s define schizophrenia and discuss it’s symptoms.

"A disorder that affects a person's ability to think, feel and behave clearly." (“Schizophrenia : A disorder that affects a person's ability to think ...”)

Now that we’ve defined schizophrenia let us go it to the symptoms. What makes schizophrenia, schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia consists of positive and negative symptoms. Which are simply put positive, things that might start happening and negative, things that might stop happening.

Positive symptoms include: hallucinations (A perception of having seen, heard, touched, tasted or smelled something that wasn’t there) auditory, visual, olfactory and gustatory and tactile. Delusions( a fixed false belief), persecutory, referential, somatic, erotomanic , religious and grandiose. Disorganized speech and thinking, trouble concentrating and movement disorders.

negative symptoms include, lack of pleasure, trouble with speech, flattening, withdrawal, struggling with basics of daily life and no follow through .

Let us now go into the definitions of each symptom.

Hallucinations: A perception of having seen, heard, touched, tasted or smelled something that wasn’t there) (“What is hallucination, and what are the types of hallucination ... - Quora”)

Auditory hallucination: The person most often hears voices in their head.

Visual hallucination: Someone might see lights, objects, people, or patterns.

Olfactory and gustatory hallucinations: This can include good and bad smells and tastes.

Tactile hallucination: This creates a feeling of things moving on your body, like hands or insects.

Persecutory delusions: The feeling someone is after you or that you’re being stalked, hunted, framed, or tricked. (“What Symptoms Of Schizophrenia Does Nash Possess”)

Referential delusions: When a person believes that public forms of communication, like song lyrics or a gesture from a TV host, are a special message just for them. (“Schizophrenia Symptoms: Positive and Negative Symptoms of ... - WebMD”)

Somatic delusions: These center on the body. The person thinks they have a terrible illness or bizarre health problem like worms under the skin or damage from cosmic rays.

Erotomanic delusions: A person might be convinced a celebrity is in love with them or that their partner is cheating. Or they might think people they’re not attracted to are pursuing them.

Religious delusions: Someone might think they have a special relationship with a deity or that they’re possessed by a demon.

Grandiose delusions: They consider themselves a major figure on the world stage, like an entertainer or a politician.

Confused thoughts and disorganized speech. People with schizophrenia can have a hard time organizing their thoughts. They might not be able to follow along when you talk to them. "Instead, it might seem like they’re zoning out or distracted." (“Can zoning out be a panic attack?”) When they talk, their words can come out jumbled and not make sense.

Trouble concentrating. For example, someone might lose track of what’s going on in a TV show as they’re watching.

Movement disorders. Some people with schizophrenia can seem jumpy. Sometimes they’ll make the same movements over and over again. But sometimes they might be perfectly still for hours at a stretch, which experts call being catatonic. Contrary to popular belief, people with the disease usually aren’t violent

Lack of pleasure. The person may not seem to enjoy anything anymore. A doctor will call this anhedonia.

Trouble with speech. They might not talk much or show any feelings. Doctors call this alogia.

Flattening: When they talk, their voice can sound flat, like they have no emotions. A doctor might call this affective flattening.

Withdrawal. Also known as apathy. "This might include no longer making plans with friends or becoming a hermit." (“Schizophrenia Symptoms: Positive and Negative Symptoms of ... - WebMD”)

Struggling with the basics of daily life. They may stop bathing or taking care of themselves.

No follow-through. Also known as avolition. People with schizophrenia have trouble staying on schedule or finishing what they start. Sometimes they cannot get started at all.

Now we are discussing three myths about schizophrenia.

Myth no 1 People with schizophrenia are dangerous. It is often portrayed that people with this condition are violent and dangerous but this is far from the truth. People with schizophrenia are more likely to harm themselves than others. ok

Myth no 2: People with schizophrenia belong in a mental hospital. It was often believed that people with mental illnesses should be put in mental hospitals but now we know with proper treatment and care mental illnesses can be treated outpatient. Not that mental hospitals are bad places.

Myth no 3: Having schizophrenia means you have multiple personalities. People often confuse schizophrenia with DID formerly known as multiple personality disorder.

Conclusion: Schizophrenia is an illness, not a personality decider it does not make the person suffering from Schizophrenia dangerous. You can still live a fulfilled and happy life with schizophrenia there are treatments out there to help.