Schizophrenia - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic

Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder in which people interpret reality abnormally. Schizophrenia may result in some combination of ... COVID-19:Advice,updatesandvaccineoptions FindoutaboutCOVID-19,COVID-19vaccines,andMayoClinicpatientandvisitorupdates. Skiptositenavigation SkiptoContent ThiscontentdoesnothaveanEnglishversion.ThiscontentdoesnothaveanArabicversion. SectionsforSchizophreniaSymptoms&causesDiagnosis&treatmentDoctors&departments Print OverviewSchizophreniaisaseriousmentaldisorderinwhichpeopleinterpretrealityabnormally.Schizophreniamayresultinsomecombinationofhallucinations,delusions,andextremelydisorderedthinkingandbehaviorthatimpairsdailyfunctioning,andcanbedisabling. Peoplewithschizophreniarequirelifelongtreatment.Earlytreatmentmayhelpgetsymptomsundercontrolbeforeseriouscomplicationsdevelopandmayhelpimprovethelong-termoutlook.Products&ServicesBook:MayoClinicFamilyHealthBook,5thEditionNewsletter:MayoClinicHealthLetter—DigitalEditionShowmoreproductsfromMayoClinic SymptomsSchizophreniainvolvesarangeofproblemswiththinking(cognition),behaviorandemotions.Signsandsymptomsmayvary,butusuallyinvolvedelusions,hallucinationsordisorganizedspeech,andreflectanimpairedabilitytofunction.Symptomsmayinclude: Delusions.Thesearefalsebeliefsthatarenotbasedinreality.Forexample,youthinkthatyou'rebeingharmedorharassed;certaingesturesorcommentsaredirectedatyou;youhaveexceptionalabilityorfame;anotherpersonisinlovewithyou;oramajorcatastropheisabouttooccur.Delusionsoccurinmostpeoplewithschizophrenia. Hallucinations.Theseusuallyinvolveseeingorhearingthingsthatdon'texist.Yetforthepersonwithschizophrenia,theyhavethefullforceandimpactofanormalexperience.Hallucinationscanbeinanyofthesenses,buthearingvoicesisthemostcommonhallucination. Disorganizedthinking(speech).Disorganizedthinkingisinferredfromdisorganizedspeech.Effectivecommunicationcanbeimpaired,andanswerstoquestionsmaybepartiallyorcompletelyunrelated.Rarely,speechmayincludeputtingtogethermeaninglesswordsthatcan'tbeunderstood,sometimesknownaswordsalad. Extremelydisorganizedorabnormalmotorbehavior.Thismayshowinanumberofways,fromchildlikesillinesstounpredictableagitation.Behaviorisn'tfocusedonagoal,soit'shardtodotasks.Behaviorcanincluderesistancetoinstructions,inappropriateorbizarreposture,acompletelackofresponse,oruselessandexcessivemovement. Negativesymptoms.Thisreferstoreducedorlackofabilitytofunctionnormally.Forexample,thepersonmayneglectpersonalhygieneorappeartolackemotion(doesn'tmakeeyecontact,doesn'tchangefacialexpressionsorspeaksinamonotone).Also,thepersonmayloseinterestineverydayactivities,sociallywithdraworlacktheabilitytoexperiencepleasure. Symptomscanvaryintypeandseverityovertime,withperiodsofworseningandremissionofsymptoms.Somesymptomsmayalwaysbepresent. Inmen,schizophreniasymptomstypicallystartintheearlytomid-20s.Inwomen,symptomstypicallybegininthelate20s.It'suncommonforchildrentobediagnosedwithschizophreniaandrareforthoseolderthanage45. SymptomsinteenagersSchizophreniasymptomsinteenagersaresimilartothoseinadults,buttheconditionmaybemoredifficulttorecognize.Thismaybeinpartbecausesomeoftheearlysymptomsofschizophreniainteenagersarecommonfortypicaldevelopmentduringteenyears,suchas: Withdrawalfromfriendsandfamily Adropinperformanceatschool Troublesleeping Irritabilityordepressedmood Lackofmotivation Also,recreationalsubstanceuse,suchasmarijuana,methamphetaminesorLSD,cansometimescausesimilarsignsandsymptoms. Comparedwithschizophreniasymptomsinadults,teensmaybe: Lesslikelytohavedelusions Morelikelytohavevisualhallucinations WhentoseeadoctorPeoplewithschizophreniaoftenlackawarenessthattheirdifficultiesstemfromamentaldisorderthatrequiresmedicalattention.Soitoftenfallstofamilyorfriendstogetthemhelp. HelpingsomeonewhomayhaveschizophreniaIfyouthinksomeoneyouknowmayhavesymptomsofschizophrenia,talktohimorheraboutyourconcerns.Althoughyoucan'tforcesomeonetoseekprofessionalhelp,youcanofferencouragementandsupportandhelpyourlovedonefindaqualifieddoctorormentalhealthprofessional. Ifyourlovedoneposesadangertoselforothersorcan'tprovidehisorherownfood,clothing,orshelter,youmayneedtocall911orotheremergencyrespondersforhelpsothatyourlovedonecanbeevaluatedbyamentalhealthprofessional. Insomecases,emergencyhospitalizationmaybeneeded.Lawsoninvoluntarycommitmentformentalhealthtreatmentvarybystate.Youcancontactcommunitymentalhealthagenciesorpolicedepartmentsinyourareafordetails. SuicidalthoughtsandbehaviorSuicidalthoughtsandbehaviorarecommonamongpeoplewithschizophrenia.Ifyouhavealovedonewhoisindangerofattemptingsuicideorhasmadeasuicideattempt,makesuresomeonestayswiththatperson.Call911oryourlocalemergencynumberimmediately.Or,ifyouthinkyoucandososafely,takethepersontothenearesthospitalemergencyroom. RequestanAppointmentatMayoClinic   Thereisaproblemwith informationsubmittedforthisrequest.Review/updatethe informationhighlightedbelowandresubmittheform. FromMayoClinictoyourinbox Signupforfree,andstayuptodateonresearchadvancements,healthtipsandcurrenthealthtopics,likeCOVID-19,plusexpertiseonmanaginghealth. Email ErrorEmailfieldisrequired ErrorIncludeavalidemailaddress LearnmoreaboutMayoClinic’suseofdata. Toprovideyouwiththemostrelevantandhelpfulinformation,andunderstandwhich informationisbeneficial,wemaycombineyouremailandwebsiteusageinformationwith otherinformationwehaveaboutyou.IfyouareaMayoClinicpatient,thiscould includeprotectedhealthinformation.Ifwecombinethisinformationwithyourprotected healthinformation,wewilltreatallofthatinformationasprotectedhealth informationandwillonlyuseordisclosethatinformationassetforthinournoticeof privacypractices.Youmayopt-outofemailcommunicationsatanytimebyclickingon theunsubscribelinkinthee-mail. Subscribe! Thankyouforsubscribing OurHousecalle-newsletterwillkeepyouup-to-dateonthelatesthealthinformation. Sorrysomethingwentwrongwithyoursubscription Please,tryagaininacoupleofminutes Retry CausesIt'snotknownwhatcausesschizophrenia,butresearchersbelievethatacombinationofgenetics,brainchemistryandenvironmentcontributestodevelopmentofthedisorder. Problemswithcertainnaturallyoccurringbrainchemicals,includingneurotransmitterscalleddopamineandglutamate,maycontributetoschizophrenia.Neuroimagingstudiesshowdifferencesinthebrainstructureandcentralnervoussystemofpeoplewithschizophrenia.Whileresearchersaren'tcertainaboutthesignificanceofthesechanges,theyindicatethatschizophreniaisabraindisease. RiskfactorsAlthoughtheprecisecauseofschizophreniaisn'tknown,certainfactorsseemtoincreasetheriskofdevelopingortriggeringschizophrenia,including: Havingafamilyhistoryofschizophrenia Somepregnancyandbirthcomplications,suchasmalnutritionorexposuretotoxinsorvirusesthatmayimpactbraindevelopment Takingmind-altering(psychoactiveorpsychotropic)drugsduringteenyearsandyoungadulthood ComplicationsLeftuntreated,schizophreniacanresultinsevereproblemsthataffecteveryareaoflife.Complicationsthatschizophreniamaycauseorbeassociatedwithinclude: Suicide,suicideattemptsandthoughtsofsuicide Anxietydisordersandobsessive-compulsivedisorder(OCD) Depression Abuseofalcoholorotherdrugs,includingnicotine Inabilitytoworkorattendschool Financialproblemsandhomelessness Socialisolation Healthandmedicalproblems Beingvictimized Aggressivebehavior,althoughit'suncommon PreventionThere'snosurewaytopreventschizophrenia,butstickingwiththetreatmentplancanhelppreventrelapsesorworseningofsymptoms.Inaddition,researchershopethatlearningmoreaboutriskfactorsforschizophreniamayleadtoearlierdiagnosisandtreatment. ByMayoClinicStaff RequestanAppointmentatMayoClinic Diagnosis&treatment Jan.07,2020 Print Shareon:FacebookTwitter Showreferences Schizophrenia.In:DiagnosticandStatisticalManualofMentalDisordersDSM-5.5thed.AmericanPsychiatricAssociation;2013.https://dsm.psychiatryonline.org.AccessedSept.5,2019. AskMayoExpert.Schizophrenia(adult).MayoClinic;2018. ValtonV,etal.Comprehensivereview:Computationalmodelingofschizophrenia.NeuroscienceandBiobehavioralReviews.2017;doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.08.022. FisherDJ,etal.Theneurophysiologyofschizophrenia:Currentupdateandfuturedirections.InternationalJournalofPsychophysiology.2019;doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2019.08.005. Schizophrenia.NationalInstituteofMentalHealth.https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/index.shtml.AccessedSept.5,2019. Schizophrenia.NationalAllianceonMentalIllness.https://www.nami.org/learn-more/mental-health-conditions/schizophrenia.AccessedSept.5,2019. Whatisschizophrenia?AmericanPsychiatricAssociation.https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/schizophrenia/what-is-schizophrenia.AccessedSept.5,2019. Schizophrenia.MerckManualProfessionalVersion.https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/psychiatric-disorders/schizophrenia-and-related-disorders/schizophrenia.AccessedSept.5,2019. Howtocopewhenalovedonehasaseriousmentalillness.AmericanPsychologicalAssociation.https://www.apa.org/helpcenter/serious-mental-illness.AccessedSept.5,2019. Supportingafriendorfamilymemberwithmentalhealthproblems.MentalHealth.gov.https://www.mentalhealth.gov/talk/friends-family-members.AccessedSept.5,2019. Forpeoplewithmentalhealthproblems.MentalHealth.gov.https://www.mentalhealth.gov/talk/people-mental-health-problems.AccessedSept.5,2019. RobertsLW,ed.Schizophreniaspectrumandotherpsychoticdisorders.In:TheAmericanPsychiatricPublishingTextbookofPsychiatry.7thed.AmericanPsychiatricPublishing;2019. SchakKM(expertopinion).MayoClinic.Dec.11,2019. Leung,JG(expertopinion).MayoClinic.Dec.10,2019. Related AssociatedProcedures CTscan Familytherapy MRI Products&Services Book:MayoClinicFamilyHealthBook,5thEdition Newsletter:MayoClinicHealthLetter—DigitalEdition ShowmoreproductsandservicesfromMayoClinic SchizophreniaSymptoms&causesDiagnosis&treatmentDoctors&departments Advertisement MayoClinicdoesnotendorsecompaniesorproducts.Advertisingrevenuesupportsournot-for-profitmission. Advertising&Sponsorship Policy Opportunities AdChoices MayoClinicPress Checkoutthesebest-sellersandspecialoffersonbooksandnewslettersfromMayoClinicPress. 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