Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that interferes with a person’s ability to think clearly, manage emotions, make decisions and relate to others. It is a complex, long-term medical illness, affecting about 1% of Americans. Although schizophrenia can occur at any age, the average age of onset tends to be in the late teens to the early twenties for men, and the late twenties to early thirties for women. It is uncommon for schizophrenia to be diagnosed in a person younger than 12 or older than 40.

Symptoms

Just like with any mental illness, people with schizophrenia experience symptoms differently.

Symptoms include:

• Hallucinations, which can include a person hearing voices, seeing things, or smelling things others can’t perceive.

• Delusions, which are false beliefs that don’t change even when the person who holds them is presented with new ideas or facts.

• Disorganized thinking, such as struggling to remember things, organize thoughts or complete tasks.

• Anosognosia, which means they are unaware that they have an illness.

• Negative symptoms, such as being emotionally flat or speaking in a dull, disconnected way.