Types of Schizophrenia

by: David Chandler

Catatonic type schizophrenia

Patients with this subtype of Schizophrenia may exhibit extremes of behavior including catatonia. Some may allow their posture to be rearranged, holding the new position (catalepsy or waxy flexibility). Others may imitate sounds (echolalia) or movements (echopraxia) of others. At times, some patients may explode into an excited, activated state marked by purposeless ad repetitive movements. The catatonic type is rare today, and probably reflected an advanced stage of schizophrenia before the advent of modern treatment methods.

Disorganized type schizophrenia

A form of schizophrenia that is characterized by a disorganized behavior and disorganized speech. Their affect may be flat or inappropriate. This type involves a disturbance in behavior, communication, and thought. Usually these patients show a variety of eccentric characteristics such as unusual clothing or peculiar gestures.

Paranoid type schizophrenia

Delusions and auditory hallucinations predominate in patients with this subtype of schizophrenia while their affective and cognitive functioning remains relatively intact. This type of patient often has highly elaborate delusions of persecution or personal grandeur. However, the patient may appear rather normal until he or she becomes entangled in typical argumentativeness and suspiciousness.

Residual type schizophrenia

A form of schizophrenia that is characterized by a previous diagnosis of schizophrenia, but no longer having any of the prominent psychotic symptoms. There are some remaining symptoms of the disorder however, such as eccentric behavior, emotional blunting, illogical thinking, or social withdrawal.

In the residual type of schizophrenia, the patient has had at least one episode of schizophrenia. If delusions or hallucinations are present, they are not prominent, and are not accompanied by strong affect.

Undifferentiated type schizophrenia

This subtype of schizophrenia applies to patients who fail to meet the criteria for the other subtypes but clearly suffer from this mental disorder. The patient suffers from pronounced psychotic symptoms, which may not fit in any other specific category or more than one.

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Types of Schizophrenia

By Elizabeth Morgan

Schizophrenia is a disease of the brain but it causes many mental problems. The root cause of this disease is not known but bad genes seem to be a hot favorite. It affects both the sexes. Though there are some cases of children being affected, it is normally a disease manifesting during the teenage years.

The symptoms of schizophrenia vary with the type of schizophrenia that a person suffers from. The most common form is paranoid schizophrenia. The patient imagines himself a victim of all sorts of conspiracies. Everyone is out to get him. To bolster this view, hallucinations and delusions are quite common. He hears voices inside him. With this persecution complex it becomes extremely difficult to maintain interpersonal relationships with family and friends.

Disorganized schizophrenia affects the person’s abilities to think logically. A normal thought process recognizes the relevance of a particular thought at that moment, focuses on it and moves to the next in sequence. In disorganized schizophrenia the thoughts crowd the brain together and nothing gets sorted out. Catatonic schizophrenia causes a person to be emotionally flat. A normal emotional response of a particular situation will be missing in this person. He becomes dull, withdrawn and apathetic. There may be a psychomotor problem also involved in catatonic schizophrenia. Residual schizophrenia is a condition in which a person may have been treated and rid of most of the symptoms of schizophrenia, but lacks a positive attitude to get on with life. He needs help to kick-start his thought process towards the positive side, away from the zero that he is wallowing in. Schizoaffective disorder sufferers have the symptoms of schizophrenia and some more. These persons develop mood disorders like depression and mania. Undifferentiated schizophrenia is all that cannot be pigeonholed as a particular type. It may have some symptoms of different types of schizophrenia.

Treating schizophrenia only treats the symptoms of it. There is no cure. But symptoms can be very effectively treated with anti-psychotic, anti-depressive and anti-convulsive drugs. Electro-convulsive therapy, as a last resort, is very effective.

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