Early Symptoms
Symptoms of this disorder commonly appear in the teenage years and early 20s. At these ages, the earliest symptoms may get overlooked because they mirror certain “typical” adolescent behaviors.
Early symptoms can include:
Isolating oneself from friends and family
Changing friends or social groups
A change in focus and concentration
Sleeping problems
Irritability and agitation
Difficulties with schoolwork, or low academic performance
Anxiety
Vague suspiciousness
Odd ideas
Feeling different from others
When it comes to more advanced symptoms, these tend to fall into three distinct categories: positive symptoms, negative symptoms, and cognitive symptoms.
The terms “positive” and “negative” have different connotations here: “Positive” symptoms mean added thoughts or actions to one’s typical experience. “Negative” symptoms are the absence of typical behaviors.
Schizophrenia Causes
The exact cause of schizophrenia is unknown. Medical researchers believe several factors can contribute, including:
biological
genetic
environmental
Research suggests that imaging tests completed on people with schizophrenia may show abnormalities in certain brain structures.
Schizophrenia Complications
Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that should not be ignored or left untreated. The condition increases the risk of serious complications, such as:
Self-injury or Suicide
Alcohol or Drug misuse
Family problems
Schizophrenia can also make it difficult to work or attend school. If you can’t work or support yourself financially, there’s a higher risk of a lower quality of life.
Help is Out There
If you or someone you know is in crisis and considering suicide or self-harm, please seek support:
Call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. Caring counselors are available to listen and provide free and confidential support 24/7.
Text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 to connect with a volunteer crisis counselor for free and confidential support 24/7.
Not in the United States? Find a helpline in your country with Befrienders Worldwide.
Call 911 or your local emergency services number if you feel safe to do so.
If you’re calling on behalf of someone else, stay with them until help arrives. You may remove weapons or substances that can cause harm if you can do so safely.
If you’re not in the same household, stay on the phone with them until help arrives.
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a chronic mental health condition affecting less than 1% of the global population, with males typically showing symptoms in their late teens or early 20s and females in their late 20s or early 30s.
Common symptoms include
Hallucinations
Delusions
Paranoia
Reduction in speaking
Social isolation
Difficulty completing normal everyday activities.
While there’s no cure for schizophrenia, treatments include medications, psychosocial intervention, and vocational rehabilitation to help manage symptoms. People with schizophrenia experience distortions of reality, often in the form of delusions or hallucinations. Although exact estimates are difficult to obtain, researchers estimate that schizophrenia affects less than 1% of the global population.
Misconceptions about this disorder are common. For example, some people think schizophrenia creates a “split personality.” In fact, schizophrenia and split personality — properly termed dissociative identity disorder — are two different disorders.
Schizophrenia can occur in people of all ages. According to the American Psychiatric Association, men often develop symptoms in their late teens or early 20s. Women tend to show signs in their late 20s and early 30s. A 2022 report states that young men with cannabis use disorder are at the highest risk of developing schizophrenia.
Positive Symptoms
Positive symptoms of Schizophrenia aren’t typical in individuals without Schizophrenia or other types of severe mental illness. These behaviors include:
Hallucinations: Hallucinations are experiences that appear real but are created by your mind. They include seeing things, hearing voices, or smelling things that others around you don’t experience.
Delusions: A Delusion occurs when you believe something despite evidence or facts to the contrary.
Paranoia: Paranoia is when someone is unusually distrustful of others or firmly believes they are being followed or persecuted.
Negative Symptoms
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia interrupt a person’s typical emotions, behaviors, and abilities. These symptoms include:
Reduction in speaking
Odd emotional responses to situations
A lack of emotion or expressions
Loss of interest or excitement for life
Social isolation
Trouble experiencing pleasure
Difficulty beginning or following through with plans
Difficulty completing normal everyday activities
Risk Factors
Even though it’s still not known what causes schizophrenia, researchers believe genetics may play a role. People with a family history of schizophrenia have a higher risk of developing this disorder.
Other risk factors for schizophrenia may include:
Having exposure to toxins, a virus, or malnutrition before birth or during infancy
Using mind-altering drugs
Living in a highly stressful situation
Taking mind-altering drugs in adolescence or young adulthood
Schizophrenia Diagnosis and Tests
There isn’t a single test to diagnose schizophrenia. A complete psychiatric exam can help healthcare professionals make a diagnosis. A psychiatrist or mental health professional can do this.
At your appointment, expect to answer questions about your:
Medical history
Mental health
Family medical history
Your healthcare professional may conduct the following:
Sometimes, there can be other reasons for your symptoms, even though they may be similar to those of schizophrenia. These reasons may include:
Substance use
Certain medications
Other mental health conditions
Your healthcare team may diagnose schizophrenia if you’ve had at least two symptoms for a 1-month period. These symptoms must include:
Hallucinations
Delusions
Disorganized speech