Psychology Study Material: Major Categories of Disorders in DSM-IV-TR: Schizophrenia

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Major Categories of Disorders in DSM-IV-TR

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a category of mental disorders marked by severe distortion of reality.

Illustration: Schizophrenia
  • There is a deep division between the real world and the schizophrenic՚s world.
  • What makes schizophrenia different from other disorders?
  • Significant decline from a previous level of functioning.
  • Disturbances of thought and language

Symptoms in Schizophrenia

  • Delusions,
  • Hallucinations,
  • Emotional disturbances, Withdrawal Delusions
  • Unshakable, firm, and deeply believed in beliefs are held by the schizophrenic.

Delusions can be about one՚s being grand, or being persecuted by others, or others planning against him, or one՚s thoughts being relayed to others who are out of physical reach.

Hallucinations and Perceptual Disorders

  • The schizophrenic has sensory experiences that ordinary people do not have.
  • They may hear voices, see people or objects, and/or smell things that others find to be non-existent.
  • The hallucinations mean reality to the schizophrenic.
  • Hallucinations are usually based on the delusions.
  • The sense of own body is also affected in schizophrenia.

Emotional Disturbances

  • Overall, the schizophrenics show a flat, blank, and bland emotional response.
  • Also, their emotional responses are inappropriate.

Withdrawal

  • Schizophrenics live in an isolated world of their own.
  • Schizophrenics withdraw from others.
  • They avoid socializing.
  • They are not interested in others.
  • In extreme cases they are oblivious of the presence of others.

Types of Schizophrenia

Disorganized or Hebephrenic Type

Marked by inappropriate emotion: inappropriate giggling, laughter, silliness, incoherent speech, infantile behaviour, and strange and at times obscene behaviour.

Paranoid Schizophrenia

  • The patient experiences delusions and hallucinations of his own greatness.
  • Behaviour is unpredictable, and erratic.
  • Sense of judgment is lost.

Catatonic Schizophrenia

  • Catatonic schizophrenia is marked by disturbances in the motor activity and muscular control.
  • Major disturbances occur in movement.
  • At times all motion stops, and the patient just freezes in one position.
  • This frozen posture may last for hours and even days.
  • In some phases the patient exhibits wild, free floating, and even violent movement.

Undifferentiated Schizophrenia

  • This variety of schizophrenia involves a combination of the major symptoms found in other varieties.
  • This diagnosis is used when patients do not fit into any one of the major categories of schizophrenia.

Residual Schizophrenia

Residual schizophrenia consists of minor signs of schizophrenia after a major, more serious, episode.