Schizophrenia Spectrum And Other Psychotic Disorders Flashcards
Démence précoce
Mental deterioration at an early age
Dementia praecox
Someone who becomes suspicious of those around him, sees poison in his food, is pursued by the police, feels his body is being influenced or thinks that he is going to be shot or that the neighbors are mocking at him
Schizophrenia
A chronic, severe, devastating mental illness characterized by disordered thoughts, abnormal and anti social behavior
It is a psychotic disorder meaning the person with schizophrenia does not identify with reality.
Delusions
A delusion is essentially an erroneous belief that is fixed and firmly held despite clear contradictory evidence.
A delusion involves a disturbance in the content of thought
Prominent delusions ( beliefs)
Thought broadcast Thought insertion Made feelings or impulses Thought withdrawal Reference delusions Bodily changes beliefs
Hallucinations
A sensory experience that seems real to the person having it, but occurs in the absence of external perceptual stimulus
Hallucinations occur in any sensory modality e.g auditory, visual, olfactory, tactile or gastory
Disorganized speech and behaviour
Disorganized Speech is the external manifestation of a disorder in thought form.
Basically an affected person faulty make sense, depsite seemingly following semantic and syntactic rules governing verbal communication. The failure is not attributed to low intelligence, poor education or cultural deprivation
In other cases grossly disorganized behavior Appears as silliness or unusual dressing
Tyoes of schizophrenia
Paranoid schizophrenia Disorganized schizophrenia Catatonic schizophrenia Undifferentiated schizophrenia Residual schizophrenia
Paranoid schizophrenia
Paranoid behavior including delusions and auditory hallucinations
Feelings if persecution, of being watched sometimes this behavior is associated with a famous or a celebrity or politician or an entity such as a corporation
May display anger anxiety or hostility
Relatively normal intellectual functioning and expression of affect
Disorganized schizophrenia
Exhibit behavior that’s are disorganized or speech that may be bizzare or difficult to understand
They may display inappropriate emotions or reactions that do not relate to the situation at hand
Daily activities such as hygiene eating and working may be disrupted or neglected by their disorganized thought patterns.
Catatonic schizophrenia
Disturbance of movement
Vary between extremes: may remain immobile or may move all over the place
May say nothing for hours or they may repeat everything you say or do.
At high risk because they are unable to take care of themselves or complete daily activities
Undifferentiated schizophrenia
Classification used when a person exhibits behavior which fit into two or more of the other types of schizophrenia, including symptoms such as delusions hallucinations, disorganized speech or behavior catatonic behavior.
Residual schizophrenia
When a person has a past history of at least one episode of schizophrenia, but the currently has no symptoms (delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech or behavior) they are considered to have residual type schizophrenia.
The person may be in complete remission, or may at some point resume symptoms
Causes of schizophrenia
Genetics Environment age and life event Brain chemistry History of abuse or neglect Children whose father's are older at the time of their birth
General schizophrenia symptoms
Social withdrawal
Anxiety
Loss of appetite or neglecting to eat
Loss of hygiene
Positive symptoms of schizophrenia
Overtly psychotic symptoms Delusion Hallucinations Disorganized speech or behavior Dysfunctional thinking Catatonia
Negative (deficit) symptoms of schizophrenia
Negative symptoms disrupt normal emotions and behaviour and include:
Social withdrawal
Flat affect, dull or monotonous speech and lack of facial expressions
Difficulty expressing emotions
Lack of self care
Inability to feel pleasure (anhedonia)
Cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia
Inability to process info and make decisions
Difficulty focusing or paying attention
Problems with memory or learning new tasks
Affective symptoms of schizophrenia
Depression
Suicidal thoughts or behaviors
Schizoaffective disorder
A hybrid used to describe people who have features of schizophrenia and a severe mood disorder.
The person has psychotic symptoms that meet criteria for schizophrenia but also has marked changes in mood for a substantial amount of t
Schizophreniform disorder
Reserved for schizophrenia-loke psychoses that last at least a month but do not last for 6 months and so do not warrant a diagnosis of schizophrenia.
It may include any of the symptoms described in schizophrenia
There is a possibility of an early and lasting remission after a first psychotic breakdown
Brief psychotic disorder
Involves a sudden onset of psychotic symptoms or grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior.
No matter the intensity the episodes usually lasts only a few days (too short to warrant a diagnosis of schizophrenia)
After this the person returns to his or her former level of functioning and may never have another episode again
Delusional disorder
Hold beliefs that are considered false and absurd by those around them
May otherwise behave quite normally
Behavior does not show gross disorganization and performance deficiencies characteristic of schizophrenia
One interesting subtype of delusional disorder is erotomania where the theme of the delusion involves great love for a person, usually of higher status
Shared psychotic disorder
Folie à deux
A delusion that develops in someone who has a very close relationship with a person who is delusional.
Over time, this second person comes to believe in the delusions
In some cases the contagion of thought may spread even further and whole families may adopt the same delusional beliefs
Schizophrenia treatment - medication
Antipsychotics
Psychosocial intervention
Family psycho-education: including family members to support patients decreases the relapse rate of psychotic episodes and improves the persons out comes
Assertive community treatment (ACT): outpatient support groups
Substance abuse treatment
Social skills training: relearning how to appropriately interact in social situations
Supported employment
Cognitive behavioral therapy: help change disruptive or destructive thought patterns and enable them to function more optimally
Weight management: antipsychotics and psychiatric drugs cause weight gain as a side effect
