Skip to main content

Types of Symptoms

In group today we discussed the symptoms of schizophrenia. There are three types of symptoms:
  1. Positive Symptoms
  2. Negative Symptoms
  3. Cognitive Symptoms

Positive symptoms include: hallucinations and delusions. I experienced a lot of positive symptoms like hearing voices, seeing things, and paranoia. The voices told me that I was a dishonor to my family and that I wouldn't succeed if I were to move out on my own. An example of a positive symptom that I encountered was thoughts of the neighbor spying on me, and giving information to my family. However, I foolishly confronted the neighbor and discovered that my accusations were false. On another occassion I thought that my roommate was going into my room and going through my belongings. I believed this to the extent of putting a lock on my door to put an end to the worrying. One day while walking home I thought I saw a strange man following me, and meant to kidnap me. I rushed into a nearby grocery store and waited until the man disappeared. As I exited the store I saw the same man and then zoomed into a McDonalds restaurant. I told a bus driver in the restaurant that I was being followed and asked if he would drive me home. He was on his break. He directed me to a nearby bus stop. I walked to the bus stop and caught the bus home.

Negative symptoms include: lack of motivation, not speaking to other people, and not taking care of personal hygiene. While in jail I did not talk to anyone, and if I did it was one word. The nurses placed special people in my room to try to get me to confide in them, however it did not work. Another experience with negative symptoms was not showering. I thought that the soap had bad chemicals in it and would irritate or burn my skin.

Finally, cognitive symptoms refer to difficulties learning and concentrating. In college I had a problem with doing my homework. I could not concentrate on readings and doing assignments took forever to complete. To accomplish a task I would take breaks and naps, and then return to my exercises. In jail I experienced jumbled thoughts or no thoughts at all. It was strange. My whole experience was strange wasn't it?

Comments

Shatoyia said…
Great website! My husband's mom has Schizophrenia and it breaks my heart to see what she goes through on a daily basis. She is in her early 50's and has been living with her mother for most of her life. My husband is very upset because the rest of his family doesn't believe that she can overcome this illness. My husband and I are the only ones who encourage her and tell her that she can overcome Schizophrenia. We are now researching the encouraging stories of others who have overcome Schizophrenia such as yourself. Thank you for sharing your story:)
September 19, 2008 at 5:42 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Buddhism, My Mental Health & My Happiness by Jennifer L. Myers

Jennifer L. Myers is author of the blog, Never Give Up: Buddhism, Family, & Schizophrenia . Jennifer earned her masters in Urban and Environmental Policy from Tufts University and her undergraduate from UC Santa Cruz. She has experience working with the U.S. Peace corps in the Dominic Republic, environmental non-profits, and teaching. Currently, she is working on her memoir, Never Give Up: Buddhism, Family, & Schizophrenia. The following is her experience... Buddhism, My Mental Health & Happiness by Jennifer L. Myers When I was first diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2002 I had already been practicing Buddhism with the SGI (Soka Gakkai International) for 14 years. Still, I didn't have a very strong practice at the time. I attended local discussion meetings regularly, but I didn't spend much time chanting on a daily basis. It wasn't until the symptoms of schizophrenia - the voices whispering in my head, the screaming and yelling I heard outside my apartm...
5 comments
Read more

Lack of Trust: A Byproduct of My Mental Illness

In this entry, I'll share my experiences with Schizophrenia in regards to feeling lack of trust in others, paranoia, and isolation.... I remember my many episodes with Schizophrenia where I felt uneasy because of lack of trust in others. In the past, isolation was a giant bullying me around. Sometimes my mind would take me to a place of fear, hurt, and an unsettling spirit, which started with what seemed like a strange look, or a different feeling around an individual, when in reality it was another symptom of my undiagnosed illness- paranoia. My paranoia was rampant and dictated my life prior to experiencing a crisis, which led me to jail and into forced treatment and to receive an official diagnosis of Schizophrenia in 2007. In other words, my illness created enemies in my mind. For instance, I once believed my favorite kin was against me and I felt like she wanted me to fail, and I eventually thought she was conspiring to harm me. However, she never said anything to imply these ...
14 comments
Read more

Fear to Openness about Medication

I am concerned that I may be slipping into depression that may get worse if untreated. Prior to the birth of my child I never had a bout with depression, but as my body changed so did my hormones and my susceptibility to depression. A few months ago I was diagnosed with postpartum depression and at the time I knew I needed extra support from my my treatment team. I knew I needed to focus on my mental health because my anxiety level was up and down, it was difficult to concentrate, and I felt extremely overwhelmed and afraid my mental illness would rear its ugly head and try to destroy my recovery accomplishments. I spoke my therapist who contacted my doctor and let them know I was coming in the next morning as a walk-in, which I did and we tweaked my medication. Now, its hard to focus and to carry out minor assignments, sometimes I feel anxious for no reason, I am extremely tired and sleep more than usual, and I feel like I am on a downward spiral. Yet, I have reason to be. I have ...
12 comments
Read more