Schizophrenia?

Question

Hi, I was wondering if anyone can tell me how a schizophrenic person behaves...a little more detailed please than just "they see and hear things that are not there". If anyone has personal experience or knows someone, please share and give examples. Also, are people who are schizophrenic usually aware that they have a mental problem? I am concerned about a family member. Thank you.

Answer 1

I used to work with chronic schizophrenics and each one presented in a different way. For the most part, they knew that they were not like everyone else, but denied they had a mental illness. Here's how some of them behaved:
Client 1: Disheveled, with a lot of body odor because tactile hallucinations combined with the shower were unbearable; extremely disorganized; slow cognitive processing and difficulty making decisions; poor interpersonal relationships; chain smoker; responding to internal stimuli (hallucinations); hyperreligious (at one point, believed he was Jesus)
Client 2: Quiet and passive, so he was constantly exploited by his neighbors; terrified of voices, so he always appeared frightened; occassionally refused to leave the house; chain smoker; disorganized
Client 3: High functioning baseline, but prone to psychotic breaks. Last break, he believed his father was the head of the FBI and warned me of a conspiracy involving the library. Heard voices and described the devil
Client 4: Worked full-time, but still disorganized. Could not go grocery shopping without a lot of assistance (she would pick up and put back and item repeatedly). Poor judgment and easily exploited. Chain smoker Talked and laughed to herself. VERY delusional. She believed she was someone else and had her name legally changed- then changed her birthday. She once told me she gave birth to a baby in the toilet, but it turned into a fish and it swam away.
Client 5: Had conversations with himself. Often believed he was dead (we were constantly checking his pulse to put him at ease). Highly disorganized. Disheveled. Always thought others were after him. He threw himself out a second story window to escape the devil.

The best thing to do is to try and get this family member some help, or seek involuntary hospitalization when he/she becomes a danger to himself/herself or others. (This includes not eating, drinking, and sometimes showering)

Answer 2

From experience in my profession... people with schizophrenia hardly ever know they are abnormal. They may see, hear, smell, taste, or feel things that aren't there but they don't have the ability because of the illness to tell that those things aren't real. They become detached from reality to the point where they stop even bathing or eating, let alone working or socializing. They are consumed by their thoughts and hallucinations.

You may notice the family member getting more and more distant perhaps to the point where they stop talking or communicating in any way with you. To them, all they can see and hear is the hallucinations. Some people have pleasant hallucinations, such as seeing dogs running around them (assuming of course they aren't scared of dogs). More often however the person sees and hears and smells things that are very unpleasant for them. Most commonly delusions and hallucinations are about religion (the person may see 666 everywhere they look or hear God talking to them), politics (the person believes President Bush is tapping their phone line), and sex (they may believe that every person they see is trying to rape them or they may see themselves as very irresitable).

The trouble is the disease affects every person differently. There are hallmark signs, such as the becoming more distant and a dissheveled appearance. But usually, no, the person will have no idea they are ill. Be carful with this. Make sure if you are concerned that you get the person checked out. Early treatment is a good idea. Good Luck with your family member!

Answer 3

Better to get the family member to a psychologist. I had the tag 'Paranoid Schizophrenia' . I took medication from when I was 6 years old till I was in Junior high. When I was 18 I stayed in a psych hospital for 8 months. I got released from that tag when i finally faced a situation that happened when I was 16 ( I was 18 thinking like I was 16). The only signs of the schizophrenia now are anxiety and unorganized..

Answer 4

Schizophrenics often have dilusions, such as thinking they are someone else, or seeing or hearing things which are not there. A very good example of a schizophrenic person is the movie A Beautiful Mind with Russel Crowe. It really shows schizophrenic behavior well, and may help you to better understand it.

Answer 5

Well i don't know if i am schizophrenia but i do see things and i hear things but even when i do see or hear these things i somehow know that it ain't real but it still bothers me. I have been told that i am psychotic because of this. here are some of the things i have seen. I seen money laying on my counter in the kitchen. Ive seen i don't know what you would call them but little brown crashers. Ive seen flowers in the middle of winner. and a lot more. And things i have heared are people talking to me but no one here and it seems like there in a crowed more than one voice aslo hearing someone telling my to just give up also lots of other mental problems like nervousness confusion mixed up feelings depression but i try to keep in a good mood even if i am having a bad day. Some of the thing i do to deal with this is to try to stay busy or even worse i wear diapers because it makes me feel better and i have to anyway because of a medical problem

Answer 6

I used to work in a psychiatric unit and I can say from personal experience the most difficult thing for me was understanding the schiz is not retarded, actually a couple of them were in college when they were diagnosed. They just view reality in a different way than a nomal non schiz does. When a schiz is not in an acute state of delusional thinking, and the medications have them controlled, they understand that they were off their rocks, but when they don't take their meds,, its a whole different story. Many schiz pt I took care of were paranoid and delusional. Some of them were self medicating with drugs and alcohol to control their symptoms. They have a lot of anxiety.
One of my pts shot his mother while she was hanging clothes on the clothes line, then walked to his brothers house and told him " I just killed your mother" The brother responded, "well, she's your mother too" and the pt said "oh, I didn't know that" The pt was totally out of touch with reality. Psychiatrist examine pts with psych histories and determine wether they are in touch with reality or not. If you are concerned about your relative, have him evaluated by a doctor of psychiatry, not just a mental health caseworker.

Answer 7

Go to www.schizophrenia.com there are hundreds of types of just Schizophrenia and choices and conditions everyone is different and the word Schizophrenia covers a corner of Mental Illnesses. Same as many others.

Answer 8

They usually display obsessive thoughts and behaviors, they have auditory hallucinations, and tend to lose a sense of reality.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophrenia has great info about Schizophrenia.

Answer 9

I have a daughter that is schizophrenic.There was one day she was helping me clean house,up in the evening she sat down to smoke a cigarette and all at once she got a funny look on her face and asked me who was in her room,I told her no one,it was only she and I in the house.Later she questioned me again,so I asked her.Did you see them?She responed yes,so I asked her what did they look like?She said it was a man with dark eyes,dark hair and he had long claws for fingernails,she said it was a devil.It scared me so bad ,I went into the room praying and rebuking the devil to leave.THESE THINGS CAN BE FRIGHTING.