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Main > Specialty Areas > Psychiatry >
Schizophrenia Symptoms
Any type of schizophrenia results in a severe aberration of the personality and character traits. A person becomes emotionally cold, "strange," starts "acting weird" and often contrary to the common sense. His or her interests might radically change. Oftentimes, such a person may develop weird philosophical or religious theories, attempt to join a sect or even become a devout adherent of one of the common religions. In all cases, however, these activities will be virtually fanatical in intensity. Oftentimes, these interests or fascinations will make a person ignore such mundane activities as personal hygiene, grocery shopping, house-cleaning and sometimes, even eating and drinking. Likewise, sometimes a schizophrenic may totally lose all interest to life, become passive and unresponsive.
General symptoms of schizophrenia include:
pseudo-hallucinations (a person may be under the impression that someone "puts thoughts into his head");
paranoid delusions (a conviction that there are conspiracies directed against the sufferer);
auditory (or, rarely, visual) hallucinations;
symptoms of catatonia (stupor)
disorganized thought patterns;
disorganized or exalted behavior
And there are many others. The symptoms are usually evaluated in conjunction with one another. No single symptom is usually a sole basis for diagnosis.
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