Information about Schizophrenia | Aragon Mental Health, Spokane, WA

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a severe psychological disorder that affects every area of a person’s life by leaving them unable to tell the difference between what is and isn’t real. A person with schizophrenia may show unusual behaviors, disordered thoughts, unusual or strange speech patterns, delusions, and reduced emotional expression.

Schizophrenia develops between age 16 to 30. In fact, it’s very rare for schizophrenia to develop past 30 years old. Some individuals may have a prodromal period (a time when they have experienced symptoms in the past) then the full symptoms appear.

Symptoms of schizophrenia involve:

Hallucinations

When a person hallucinates, they see and hear things that don’t exist, yet seem absolutely real to them. Most hallucinations involve hearing voices that aren’t there.

Delusions

Delusions are false beliefs that a person may deeply believe, but their beliefs are not grounded in reality.

Disorganized thinking and speech

Confused thinking, confusing, hard to follow speech, along with difficulty organizing thoughts or speech logically.

Negative symptoms

Poor personal hygiene, decrease in eye contact, few facial expressions, loss of interest in formerly pleasurable activities.

For a person to be diagnosed as schizophrenic, they must have symptoms in each of the above categories.

Early warning signs of schizophrenia include:

Poor personal hygiene.
Withdrawal from others.
Depression.
Extreme suspiciousness.
Decreased range of emotions.
Poor concentration.
Unusual or irrational statements.
Peculiar use of words.

Some of these symptoms are found in other psychological disorders, so it’s important that a diagnosis must be made by a professional mental healthcare provider.

If you are experiencing these symptoms, seek help from an experienced psychiatric nurse practitioner who can help you understand what you’re feeling, why you’re feeling it and provide you options to move forward.

Damaris Aragon, ARNP, BC provides a full spectrum of mental health care to people in Spokane, Washington and surrounding areas. She focuses on providing personalized care that adheres to current evidence-based standards. Reach out to Damaris through her contact page or calling 509-342-6592.

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