Glossary / Lexicon

Schizophrenia refers to a psychotic mental disorder of unknown etiology characterized by disturbances in thinking, mood, and behavior. The thinking disturbance is manifested by a distortion of reality, sometimes with delusions and hallucinations, accompanied by a fragmentation of associations that results in characteristic disturbances of speech; the mood disturbance includes ambivalence and inappropriate or constricted affective responses; the behavior disturbance may be manifested by apathetic withdrawal or bizarre activity. Types of schizophrenia include disorganized, catatonic, paranoid, undifferentiated, and residual. Although the symptoms vary from person to person, most people find it adversely affects their day to day lives at some stage. People with schizophrenia find it difficult to work as well as they did before because their thoughts are jumbled and unclear, so they have trouble concentrating. They may become so preoccupied with their thoughts and feelings that they fail to take care of themselves, not even eating or sleeping. Common symptoms include hearing voices (often referred to as auditory hallucinations) and unusual beliefs or delusions. The condition is predominantly treated with antipsychotic medication but psychological therapies have also proved effective in managing the symptoms.

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Other /More definition:
schizophrenia refers to a form of psychotic disorder that involves characteristic disturbances in thinking (delusions), perception (hallucinations), speech, emotions, and behavior.

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Other /More definition:
schizophrenia refers to devastating psychotic disorder that may involve characteristic disturbances in thinking (delusions), perception (hallucinations), speech, emotions, and behavior.