Schizophrenia Introduction Flashcards
What is schizophrenia?
Severe, chronic mental illlness where contact with reality and insight are impaired
What do people with schizophrenia experience?
Psychosis where they may see, hear or believe things that are not real
Who experiences schizophrenia and how common is it?
It is experienced by 1% of the population and is more commonly diagnosed in males, people who live in cities and people from lower socio-economic groups
What is classification (of a disorder)?
The process of organising symptoms into categories based on which symptoms frequently cluster together
What are the two major systems used to classify mental health disorders?
- WHO’s international classification of Disease (ICD-11) - effective Feb 2022
- APA’s Diagnostic and Statistical manual (DSM-5) - effective May 2013
What are the requirements for each systems that classify mental health disorders?
ICD - 11: two negative symptoms
DSM - 5: one positive symptom
What are two positive symptoms and what are examples?
Atypical symptoms experienced in addition to normal experiences
- Hallucinations
- Delusions
What are hallucinations?
Sensory experiences that have no basis in reallity (or are distorted perceptions of reality)
- They can be related to any sense, though most are auditory or visual
What are delusions?
Irrational beliefs that have no basis in reality
- They can take a range of forms but commolly include delusioos of grandeur and persecutory delusions
What are negative symptoms and examples?
Atypical symptoms that represent a loss of usual experience
- They include speech poverty and avolition
What is speech poverty?
Reduced frequency and quality of speech
- However, there is now more focus on disorganised speech which is a positive symptom
What is avolition and what are the signs?
A loss of motivation to carry out tasks, resulting in lowered activity levels
Andreasen identified three signs of avolition
- Poor hygiene/grooming
- Lack of persistennce in work/education
- Lack of energy
