Home » Mind & Soul » Bipolar Disorder » Schizophrenia - Conclusion

Schizophrenia - Conclusion

© Colleen Sullivan

HOW DOES SCHIZOPHRENIA FEEL?

1. Reality can not be deciphered as real or not. A person crossing a busy street hears a voice telling him to jump in front of a truck. He has no idea whether the voice is in his head, someone nearby or someone shouting from a passing car. How does he react?

2. Fear and vulnerablitily are inevitable as the schizophrenic becomes unable to trust his own eyes and ears.

3. As the suffering increases, they feel tense, cannot sleep or concentrate and withdraw into themselves. School and work performance diminishes, and personal appearance and relationships deterorate. Behavior becomes more bizarre, and unusual perceptions or beliefs appear.

4. Schizophrenics with active symptoms such as hallucinations spend their time and energies trying to ward off the demon within, resulting in greater and greater inability to carry out normal tasks of day to day life. The lines between reality and unreality blur. Odd movements such as rocking or repetitive gesturing may appear. Characteristic is the schizophrenic's lack of insight into how his appearance or behavior may affect others.

Auditory hallucinations can be insistent and terrifying to the schizophrenic. Since they can not distingush real from unreal, they may respond to demands to jump off a bridge, or slice their wrists.

Other hallucinations include sensory (tingling,burning, sense of bugs crawling under the skin), feelings that internal organs are rolling, or a feeling of extreme sensitivity to taste or smells.

5. Delusions affect as many as three-quarters of schizophrenics, and may take any of the following courses. Thought insertion (the thought that someone or something - the devil - is putting thoughts in their head), thought broadcasting (the belief that others can read their thoughts), thought withdrawal (belief that thoughts are being forcibly withdrawn by an external force) and thought control (belief that impulses or actions are being controlled by an extraneous force). Others are convinced their internal organs are changing, they have a rare gift (ESP), they are reincarations of Christ or Napoleon, they are rapists or prostitutes or sinners, or even the devil, destined to burn in hell forever.

6. Thinking and talking are disrupted. Following their errant thought processes, schizophrenics may jump quickly from one subject to another totally unrelated one, sometimes reaching the point where speech becomes incomprehensible. Some talk incessantly and convey little information, others are withdrawn.

7. Many schizophrenics yearn for a sense of belonging. They lack the normal sense of self leading to individuality, uniqueness and self direction. This need may lead to becoming involved with a religious cult or following a charismatic leader.

The copyright of the article Schizophrenia - Conclusion in Bipolar Disorder is owned by . Permission to republish Schizophrenia - Conclusion in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.