Can anyone tell me about the behavior effects of schizophrenia?

Question

I know someone who has it and I just want to know more about it so I can better understand this person.

Answer 1

no 2 are the same
// deal with the entity individually

Answer 2

Schizophrenia is not a single describable disease; it is a whole spectrum of disorders. To predict the behavior of someone diagnosed as such you would have to know specifically which type of schizophrenia they have. For the most part schizophrenics on medication are not much different than normal people. The "stereotypes" that are passed around by the media and general public that they are prone to violence is not based on fact. Schizophrenics are no more violent than "normal" people.

If you truly want to know more about it just type "schizophrenia" into Yahoo! search and a number of links comes up most with good summaries. Wikipedia is a good link.

Schizophrenics who hallucinate are mostly withdrawn trying hard to figure out what has happened to them and adjust to a world gone mad. Good luck, good health, peace and love!

Answer 3

Hi

I have schizophrenia and I have friends who have it too.
Like the 1st person said, all people are different.
Some think they are jesus, and that is called schizophrenia, and some hear voices and that is called schizophrenia....
Also there are more severe and more lighter forms....

Get to know the person so you'll understand him or her better.

Answer 4

Your best source for information is the National Institute of Mental Health.

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/schizoph.cfm

This will give you all the answers you could ask about your friends behavior. Support from friends and family is very important. You are to be commended for your interest in understanding.

Answer 5

www.Schizophrenia.com

It's a great site. Lots of facts and articles.
Also storys from families of people with Schizophrenia and storys from Schizophrenics themselves.

and- www.SchizophreniaDiaries.com

Answer 6

It would be interesting to have a friend that is schizophrenic. I would wear those paper red/blue movie glasses so that I could see the full effects of craziness in 3D.

Answer 7

Take a look at this link it should give you all the info you require.

Its really nice that you are taking the time and effort to be supportive to someone!

Answer 8

i knew a guy who would stalk people when he was not on his meds. he would think people were talking to him trough the television to

Answer 9

Schizophrenia (from the Greek word σχιζοφρένεια, or schizophreneia, meaning "split mind") is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a mental illness characterized by impairments in the perception or expression of reality, most commonly manifesting as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions or disorganized speech and thinking in the context of significant social or occupational dysfunction. Onset of symptoms typically occurs in young adulthood, with approximately 0.4–0.6% of the population affected. Diagnosis is based on the patient's self-reported experiences and observed behavior. No laboratory test for schizophrenia exists.

A person experiencing schizophrenia may demonstrate symptoms such as disorganized thinking, auditory hallucinations, and delusions. In severe cases, the person may be largely mute, remain motionless in bizarre postures, or exhibit purposeless agitation; these are signs of catatonia. The current classification of psychoses holds that symptoms need to have been present for at least one month in a period of at least six months of disturbed functioning. A schizophrenia-like psychosis of shorter duration is termed a schizophreniform disorder. No one sign is diagnostic of schizophrenia, and all can occur in other medical and psychiatric conditions.

Social isolation commonly occurs and may be due to a number of factors. Impairment in social cognition is associated with schizophrenia, as are the active symptoms of paranoia from delusions and hallucinations, and the negative symptoms of apathy and avolition. Many people diagnosed with schizophrenia avoid potentially stressful social situations that may exacerbate mental distress.

Late adolescence and early adulthood are peak years for the onset of schizophrenia. These are critical periods in a young adult's social and vocational development, and they can be severely disrupted by disease onset. To minimize the impact of schizophrenia, much work has recently been done to identify and treat the prodromal (pre-onset) phase of the illness, which has been detected up to 30 months before the onset of symptoms, but may be present longer. Those who go on to develop schizophrenia may experience the non-specific symptoms of social withdrawal, irritability and dysphoria in the prodromal period, and transient or self-limiting psychotic symptoms in the prodromal phase before psychosis becomes apparent.

Schizophrenia is often described in terms of positive (or productive) and negative (or deficit) symptoms. Positive symptoms include delusions, auditory hallucinations, and thought disorder, and are typically regarded as manifestations of psychosis. Negative symptoms are so-named because they are considered to be the loss or absence of normal traits or abilities, and include features such as flat or blunted affect and emotion, poverty of speech, and lack of motivation. A third symptom grouping, the disorganization syndrome, is commonly described, and includes chaotic speech, thought, and behaviour. There is evidence for a number of other symptom classifications. Neurocognitive deficits may also be present, taking the form of reduced or impaired psychological functions such as memory, attention, problem-solving, executive function or social cognition.

To be diagnosed with schizophrenia, a person must display:

Characteristic symptoms: Two or more of the following, each present for a significant portion of time during a one-month period (or less, if successfully treated)

delusions
hallucinations
disorganized speech (e.g., frequent derailment or incoherence; speaking in abstracts). See thought disorder.
grossly disorganized behavior (e.g. dressing inappropriately, crying frequently) or catatonic behavior
negative symptoms, i.e., affective flattening (lack or decline in emotional response), alogia (lack or decline in speech), or avolition (lack or decline in motivation).
Note: Only one of these symptoms is required if delusions are bizarre or hallucinations consist of hearing one voice participating in a running commentary of the patient's actions or of hearing two or more voices conversing with each other.
Social/occupational dysfunction: For a significant portion of the time since the onset of the disturbance, one or more major areas of functioning such as work, interpersonal relations, or self-care, are markedly below the level achieved prior to the onset.
Duration: Continuous signs of the disturbance persist for at least six months. This six-month period must include at least one month of symptoms (or less, if successfully treated).
Additional criteria are also given that exclude the diagnosis; thus schizophrenia cannot be diagnosed if symptoms of mood disorder or pervasive developmental disorder are present, or the symptoms are the direct result of a substance (e.g., abuse of a drug, medication) or a general medical condition.

There is more information at ''Wikipedia''.