It is known that people that have schizophrenia do not have perceptions of reality like a normal person, they live in a distorted world. They experience hallucinations and illusions, that is why they feel frightened, anxious, and confused. It is known that these persons can behave very differently at various times. Sometimes they may seem preoccupied of something, and distant, in other situations they may be rigid, not moving for hours, and sometimes they can appear vigilant and alert.
Disturbances of perception that are often seen in people suffering from schizophrenia are hallucinations and illusions. Hallucinations appear without connection to an appropriate source. There can appear auditory, visual, tactile, gustatory , and olfactory hallucinations, but the most frequent type of hallucination that appears is hearing voices, that the normal people do not hear. These voices can warn of impending dangers, carry on a conversation, give orders, or describe the patient's activities.
Illusions appear because of a sensory stimulus that is incorrectly interpreted by the person.
Delusions, are false personal beliefs, the ill person imagines some things that are not real. For example, believes it is being persecuted, cheated, harassed, poisoned, or conspired against. These patients can also believe that someone close to them is the focus of this persecution. Sometimes, there can also appear delusions of grandeur, in which a person believes is someone famous. We must also mention that sometimes the delusions experienced by people with schizophrenia are bizarre and very strange.
Schizophrenic patients are not able to concentrate on thoughts very much, can be easily distracted, are unable to focus attention. They are unable to connect thoughts into logical sequences; thoughts are becoming disorganized and fragmented. Because of this so-called thought disorder, conversation may be very difficult, and so, social isolation appears.
In people with schizophrenia, also appears a severe reduction in emotional expressiveness. These persons may avoid contact with others, when forced to interact they will have nothing to say, the interest and enjoyment of life will decrease drastically.
In severe cases, a patient can stay all day doing nothing, neglecting even basic hygiene.
It is known that sometimes, even normal persons may have problems to think straight, or can become anxious, frightened, and confused, and unable to pull their thoughts together, but this doesn't mean they are schizophrenic. There are people with schizophrenia that do not always act abnormally, and, even more, some of the persons with this disease can act like normal people and be completely responsible even when they experience hallucinations or delusions.
