Despite the fact that people have been talking more about mental health in recent years, schizophrenia is still not a well understood condition. Usually symptoms will begin in the teenage years, and can be difficult to identity during that time. People can have episodes of severe symptoms followed by periods of no symptoms, which is known as acute schizophrenia. Symptoms of this condition include:
- Hallucinations. Most commonly, people hear voices. Someone could also see, smell, taste, or feel things that are not there. To the person experiencing them, though, they are very real.
- Delusions. A person could believe something to be true and real, even though the thought is not based in reality. Delusions can affect the way a person behaves, and that can develop in order to explain a hallucination.
- Confused thoughts. People with schizophrenia can have trouble keeping track of their own thoughts and may find it difficult to concentrate.
- Changes in thoughts and behavior. People can become unpredictable and disorganized. Some even may believe their thoughts are being controlled by someone else.
- Withdrawal. People with this condition can lose interest in socialization, and they can experience changes in sleeping patterns.
Dr. Ileana Berman has had a 30+ year career in Cognitive Science, and her work has largely focused on connections between Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Schizophrenia.