Schizophrenia Flashcards
What is Schizophrenia?
A type of psychosis, a severe mental disorder in which thoughts and emotions are so impaired that context is lost with external reality.
What two statistical manuals are used to diagnose SZ and where are they from?
DSM - United States of America - takes 6 months to be diagnosed.
ICD - United Kingdom - takes 1 month to be diagnosed.
Outline what positive symptoms are.
Those that appear to reflect an excess or distortion or normal functions. They are added on. Examples are - Hallucinations, delusions and disorganised speech.
What are hallucinations?
Positive symptom - bizarre, unreal perceptions of the environment that can be both auditory, visual, olfactory (smells) or tactile ( e.g sensation that something is touching the skin) .
Outline what delusions are.
Positive symptom - bizarre beliefs that seem real to the person with SZ, but they aren’t real. These can be paranoid I.e someone believe they we being followed. Someone who experiences delusions usually have inflated beliefs.
Outline what disorganised speech is.
The individual has problems organising there own thoughts and this shows up in there speech. They may slip from one topic to another. This can be called a “word salad”
What are negative symptoms of SZ?
Reflect a reduction or loss of normal functions. Examples - speech poverty (alogia), avolition, affective flattening, grossly disorganised behaviour and catatonic behaviour.
What is speech poverty (alogia)?
Negative symptoms - Lessing of speech fluency reflecting slow or blocked thoughts. People who display alogia produce fewer words in a given time.
Outline avolition.
Negative symptoms - A reduction of interests and desires and an inability to persist in goal directed behaviour.
Outline what affective flattening is.
Negative symptom - A reduction in the range and intensity of emotional, voice tone, eye contact and body language. (Fewer body and facial movements).
Outline what grossly disorganised behaviour is.
Negative symptom - The inability or motivation to imitate a task or complete it when started. Can lead to decreased intrest in personal hygiene.
Outline what catatonic behaviour is.
A reduced reaction to the immediate environment. These individuals usually sit in unusual positions for long periods of time.
