Schizophrenia

What it is

Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder known by its delusions and by the voices that go with them. It is described as a disorder characterized by hallucinations, delusions, disordered thoughts, behavioral disturbances, and negative symptoms. The rule given for the delusions is short: bizarre delusions together with thought withdrawal or thought control always favor schizophrenia, while non-bizarre delusions alone, with good functioning, point to delusional disorder instead. Hallucinations and delusions are the hallmark of psychosis, and the two are defined against each other. A hallucination is a false sensory perception not based on a real stimulus, such as seeing people who are not there and thinking they are out to get one. A delusion is a false interpretation of external reality, such as seeing the post office person who really is standing in front of one and thinking he is an agent of the CIA who is out to get one. Delusions can be paranoid, grandiose, meaning that one possesses special powers, religious, where God is talking to the patient, or ideas of reference, where every event in the world somehow involves the patient.