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Frequently Asked Questions About Schizophrenia

  • What is schizophrenia?
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  • What are the symptoms of schizophrenia?
  • Answer:

    Symptoms of schizophrenia are divided into the following categories:


    1. Delusions -- This includes false, fixed ideas about other people, commonly thinking that someone is spying on them, cheating them, or out to harm them, even when evidence is to the contrary. A delusion can also be a false belief about oneself -- such as believing you are a famous person.

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  • Do all people with schizophrenia act the same?
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    No. There are five types of schizophrenia, some overlapping, but each affecting behavior in a different way. Moreover, there are varying degrees within each category.

    The five types are:

    Paranoid schizophrenia -- This results in feelings of persecution that sometimes alternate with grandiosity.

    Disorganized schizophrenia -- This causes primarily incoherent speech or thought, but may not involve delusions.

    Catatonic schizophrenia -- In this instance there is total withdrawal from reality causing a person to not speak, assume bizarre body positions, and appear to be in almost a trance-like state.

    Residual schizophrenia -- While classic signs of schizophrenia may no longer be a problem, such as delusions, patients still have very little or no motivation or drive and little interest in life.

    Schizoaffective disorder -- This is a combined diagnosis that involves the classic symptoms of schizophrenia along with those of a mood disorder such as bipolar disorder (sometimes called manic depression) or major depression.

  • How is schizophrenia diagnosed?
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  • What are the risk factors for schizophrenia?
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  • What causes schizophrenia?
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    No one knows what causes schizophrenia for certain, but researchers believe it is a combination of genetics, which increase the risk, and environmental influences, which trigger the genetic predisposition. There is also evidence that changes in body chemistry during puberty may also play a role. More recently, researchers have linked schizophrenia to brain developmental problems that occur in a fetus when a woman contracts certain viruses during pregnancy -- most notably influenza, toxoplasmosis, and rubella. Research also implicates genital or reproductive infections present in the mother's body at the time of conception with increasing the baby's future risk of developing schizophrenia. Brain injuries occurring after birth and poor parenting skills are not responsible for a child developing schizophrenia.

  • How is schizophrenia treated?
  • Answer:

    The mainstay treatment for schizophrenia is antipsychotic drugs, medications that work to alter brain chemistry in a particular way. Older antipsychotic drugs, including Thorazine, Haldol, and Prolixin, worked well but were fraught with side effects including persistent muscle spasms, tremors, and muscle rigidity. In the 1990s a new class of drugs known as "atypical antipsychotics" was developed. The first, Clozaril, remains extremely effective even in those patients who do not respond to other medications. However, it can also cause a problem known as "agranulocytosis," a serious loss of white blood cells, requiring weekly or biweekly blood tests. Drugs developed after Clozaril include Abilify, Geodon, Invega, Risperdal, Saphris, Seroquel, and Zyprexa. These newer drugs can cause weight gain and may increase the risk of diabetes.


  • Are people with schizophrenia dangerous to themselves or others?
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  • Answer:

    Because the teen years are a time of change, with many mood swings and behaviors that seem abnormal, it can be difficult to pinpoint very early signs of schizophrenia. Moreover, symptoms of schizophrenia can wax and wane in the beginning, sometimes developing slowly over a period of months or years, making it even more difficult to spot.


    1. Emotional reactions that are continually out of context, including irrational, angry, or fearful outbursts
    2. Inability to sleep or difficulty concentrating in the absence of specific problems
    3. Extreme preoccupation with religion, a cult, or the occult
    5. Deterioration of academic work, usually accompanied by an oblivious attitude
    6. Displaying indifference in otherwise emotionally charged social situations
    8. Speaking or writing in a way that does not make sense to parents, teachers, or peers

WebMD Medical Reference

Reviewed by Joseph Goldberg, MD on July 23, 2012

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