Schizophrenia is a psychological disorder characterized by distorted perceptions, thoughts, and emotions, including unusual behavior and withdrawal from society. It is divided into positive and negative symptoms, with paranoia being a common symptom. There are four main forms of schizophrenia, with paranoid schizophrenia being characterized by delusions of persecution, grandeur, or control. Patients may also experience hallucinations and thought disorders.
Schizophrenia is a form of psychosis that is distinguished by particular behavioral and physical characteristics. It involves distorted perceptions, thoughts and emotions and includes unusual behavior and withdrawal from society. Paranoia, one of many different symptoms of schizophrenia, is a mental disorder in which an individual will experience such intense anxiety and often irrational fears that they may slip into various states of delusion. An individual suffering from both schizophrenia and paranoia will often have a severe false belief that others are plotting against them.
Made up of a group of psychological disorders, schizophrenia is divided into two categories of symptoms: positive and negative. Positive symptoms are noted by their presence and negative symptoms are distinguished by the absence of normal behavior. Symptoms classified as positive include hallucinations, delusions, and thought process disturbances, while negative symptoms include a lack of emotional response, speech, initiative, and withdrawal from society. Excessive neural activity is evident in individuals suffering from schizophrenia and paranoia; however, the negative symptoms appear to be the result of brain damage.
There are four main forms of schizophrenia, including undifferentiated, catatonic, disorganized, and paranoid. Patients suffering from undifferentiated schizophrenia experience hallucinations, delusions and disorganized behavior. This type of schizophrenia is distinguishable from patients with catatonic schizophrenia who exhibit motor disturbances such as holding unusual postural positions for extended periods of time. Disorganized schizophrenia is mainly characterized by thought disturbances and inappropriate emotional displays, such as laughing at inappropriate times. Patients with this type also have a tendency to slur words when speaking.
Paranoid schizophrenia is characterized by thought disturbances that include delusions of persecutory, grandeur, or control. Patients suffering from schizophrenia and paranoia are considered to be the most intelligent of the psychotic patients due to their ability to create delusions involving a vast amount of detail. Insignificant events in daily life are perceived as part of a grand scheme against them in patients suffering from schizophrenia and paranoia.
A thought disorder is classified by an irrational, disorganized way of thinking and is a hallmark symptom of schizophrenia. A patient with schizophrenia and paranoia may also experience delusions of persecution in which they believe that other people are conspiring to harm them, or they may experience delusions of grandeur believing they have godlike powers. Another symptom is a delusion of control, in which a patient believes they are being controlled by others through means, such as a radar.
A patient with schizophrenia and paranoia can also suffer from hallucinations. Hallucinations involve perceiving stimuli that are not actually present. The most typical type of hallucination is auditory, in which the patient hears voices; however, hallucinations can involve any of the senses.
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