Schizophrenia is a commonly misunderstood mental health condition that affects about 24 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. General symptoms of schizophrenia include hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech thinking, and behavior, and inability to function as typical. Did you know that there are actually different subtypes of schizophrenia that can be used to describe different experiences?
Dr. Ileana Berman is a Cognitive Science Researcher with over 30+ years of experience. Her work focuses on drawing connections between OCD and schizophrenia. Today she shares the different sub-types of schizophrenia:
- Paranoid Schizophrenia. This is what most people think when they hear about schizophrenia, and it is the most common type. People may be able to function normally but suffer from delusions and hallucinations.
- Disorganized Schizophrenia. This type is associated with an impairment to typical patterns of speech and behavior and difficulty with daily functioning.
- Catatonic Schizophrenia. This type is rare and is associated with either excessive movement or decreased movement. Response to stimuli is affected and people may be mute or will mimic sounds and behaviors.
- Undifferentiated Schizophrenia. People with this type have symptoms of multiple types.