schizophrenia

            Schizophrenia is marked by abnormalities of thought, perception, emotion, language, attention and motor behavior.
             Thought disturbances may include delusional thinking:.
             C P believes that everyday events have a special significance for him (e.g., noticing a person walking behind him, he concludes that the person is following him; or, trivial conversations or words that he overhears are interpreted as "messages" for him.).
             C P may believe that he is being threatened or victimized by other people, and that "they" are exerting control over his bodily or mental functions.
             P may have delusions of persecution (sees himself as the target of hostile forces) and/or .
             delusions of grandeur (P sees herself as having great powers and/or importance).
             Other disorders of thought: .
             C Thinking becomes confused and disorganized.
             C Inability to stay focused on one topic.
             Disorders of attention:.
             C inability to concentrate; P easily distracted by irrelevant stimuli.
             C P may experience difficulty focusing on a single chain of events.
             Verbal behavior anomalies:.
             C Incoherent strings of words ("word salad").
             C Neologisms (made-up words).
             Disorders of emotion:.
             C Can range from apathy and total withdrawal to intense but inappropriate emotional expression (referred to as "inappropriate affect").
             C Emotion (affect) may be generally "flattened" (few highs or lows) .
             C Inappropriate affect may be elicited by trivial events or for no apparent reason.
             Perceptual disorders:.
             C Many schizophrenics report the loss of the ability to "filter out" irrelevant sensory input and to selectively focus attention.
             C Most schizophrenics experience hallucinations (usually auditory-hearing voices. The voices are often critical and threatening.).
             The occurrence of hallucinations and delusional thinking is the basis for the statement that the schizophrenic has suffered a "loss of contact with reality".
             .
             3 MAJOR TYPES OF SCHIZOPHRENICS:.
             1. CATATONIC: Characterized by catatonic stupor alternating with periods of catatonic excitement.