Schizophrenia

Question 1

What is schizophrenia?

Answer 1

• a mental disorder characterised by disruption of cognition and emotion.
• it manifests through a persons sense of self, actions, thoughts, perceptions and language.

Question 2

Diagnostic tools for diagnosing schizophrenia

Answer 2

DSM 5 - US based
ICD II - europe based

Question 3

Characteristics of schizophrenia from the DSM 5

Answer 3

1) delusions
2) hallucinations
3) disorganised speech
4) grossly disorganised / catatonic behaviour
5) negative symptoms, e.g alogia, avolition, affective flattening

Question 4

What criteria must you meet for a diagnosis?

Answer 4

• two or more of the DSM 5 symptoms, or only one needed if that symptom is ‘bizarre’.
• has to negatively impact your life, relationships and self care must be substandard etc
• continuous signs of disturbance for longer than six months

Question 5

What are positive and negative symptoms

Answer 5

• positive adds or distorts normal functions
• negative take away or indicate a loss of function

Question 6

Hallucinations

Answer 6

• positive symptom
• sensory malfunction, perceiving info incorrectly
• hearing voices, seeing things, smelling, feeling things that aren’t there
• voices can be running commentary, discussions, voices from another part of the body etc

Question 7

Delusions

Answer 7

• positive symptoms
• bizarre beliefs rather than perceptions, eg paranoid delusions
• delusions of grandeur = inflated self importance
• delusions of reference = believing secret messages meant just for them

Question 8

Disorganised speech

Answer 8

• negative symptom
• abnormal thought processes lead to disorganised thoughts, which in turn affect speech
• derailment = slipping from one topic to another, often in mid sentence

Question 9

Grossly disorganised / catatonic speech

Answer 9

• positive symptom
• can’t start of complete a task due to lack of motivation or focus
• can lead to poor functioning
• reduced response to immediate environment, rigid postures or aimless repeated motor activity

Question 10

Alogia

Answer 10

• negative symptom
• speech poverty
• slowed, blocked thoughts lead to lessened speech fluency and productivity
• poorer at speech tasks, simplified speech

Question 11

Avolition

Answer 11

• negative symptom
• less interest in / desire for things
• inability to begin meaningful behaviour

Question 12

Affective flattening

Answer 12

• negative symptom
• emotions are wrong / dulled, poorer emotive language use, body language, tone, that indicate emotion

Question 13

Anhedonia

Answer 13

• negative symptom
• loss of interest / pleasure in all activities
• emotional anhedonia is not considered reliable as a diagnosis as it overlaps with other disorders