Positive Symptoms Of Schizophrenia Flashcards, test questions and answers

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What is Positive Symptoms Of Schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is a complex mental disorder that can cause a wide range of symptoms. Positive symptoms of schizophrenia refer to the presence of unusual thoughts, behaviors, and emotions that are not typically seen in healthy individuals. These positive symptoms often impair an individual’s ability to function normally in everyday life and can be distressing for both the individual and their loved ones. The most common positive symptoms of schizophrenia include hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking or speech, and grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior. Hallucinations involve perceiving things that aren’t actually present. This may include hearing voices, seeing objects or people that are not there, feeling sensations on the skin like bugs crawling on it when nothing is actually there, etc. Delusions are false beliefs that an individual holds despite evidence to the contrary. Examples include believing one is being spied on by government agents or believing one has special powers or abilities no one else has. Disorganized thinking involves speaking in a rapid manner that does not flow logically from one topic to another; some people call this word salad because it sounds like someone has randomly thrown words together without any meaning. Grossly disorganized behavior refers to behaviors such as dressing inappropriately for weather conditions (e.g., wearing shorts in the winter) or having difficulty completing basic hygiene tasks (e.g., brushing teeth). Catatonic behavior includes lack of movement for periods of time as well as echopraxia (involuntarily imitating others) and waxy flexibility (remaining rigidly positioned after being moved into different positions). It is important to note that while these positive symptoms can be distressing they are treatable with various medications and psychosocial therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). With proper treatment individuals living with schizophrenia can lead meaningful lives despite their diagnosis.