schizophrenia - symptoms and features Flashcards
1
Q
what is schizophrenia?
A
- a mental illness that can affect how someone thinks, speaks and feels to a degree that they may lose focus on reality
2
Q
what are the first and second rank symptoms of schizophrenia?
A
- first rank = hearing voices and ideas about being controlled by others
- second rank = flattened emotions
3
Q
what is the diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia?
A
- 2/4 key symptoms, one must be delusions, hallucinations or disorganised speech but the person must also have grossly disorganised or catatonic behaviour or negative symptoms
- at least one month of active symptoms and 6 months of disturbance to everyday functioning
4
Q
what is thought insertion?
A
- a person thinks their own thoughts are put there by someone else
5
Q
what are hallucinations?
A
- seeing or hearing things that are not there
- voices often harsh or critical or can be controlling
6
Q
what are delusions?
A
- false beliefs that remain even when shown not to be true
- e.g. thinking that their movements are being controlled by someone else
7
Q
what is disordered thinking?
A
- find it hard to put thoughts into logical sense
- thought blocking = someone stops mid sentence in the middle of a thought and may say that the thought has been taken out of their head
8
Q
what are some examples of negative symptoms (second rank)?
A
- lack of energy and apathy
- social withdrawal
- flattened emotions
9
Q
what is the prevalence of schizophrenia?
A
- 0.3-0.7%
- depends on factors such as ethnicity, country of birth and gender
10
Q
what is the onset of schizophrenia?
A
- late adolescence to mid thirties
- peak onset = mid twenties in males and late twenties in females
11
Q
what is the prognosis and suicide risk of schizophrenia?
A
- 20% respond well to treatment
- patients experiencing psychotic episodes earlier tend to have a worse prognosis
- 5-6% die by suicide and there is a 20% attempt at suicide at least once
12
Q
what are some examples of comorbidity with schizophrenia?
A
- over half have tobacco use disorders
- rates of OCD and panic disorders are higher compared to general population
13
Q
what is residual schizophrenia?
A
- low level positive symptoms but psychotic symptoms are present
14
Q
what is catatonic schizophrenia?
A
- withdrawn and isolated with little physical movement, may assume unusual body positions
15
Q
what is disorganised schizophrenia?
A
- disorganised speech that is hard to follow
- inappropriate mood for situation
- no hallucinations
