Schizophrenia is commonly described as a combination of two sets of symptoms

Positive symptoms - These include:

• Thought disruption - This is where a person seems unable to follow a logical sequence of thought ie someone may not make a lot of sense to those around them.
• Auditory hallucinations - An example of this is where a person hears voices that others around them do not hear. These voices can be friendly, comforting, funny or sometimes frightening and critical. However, voice hearing is not uncommon and does not necessarily mean that a person has schizophrenia. For people who are diagnosed with schizophrenia, they commonly experience negative voices and find it increasingly difficult to cope with them.
• Delusions or other hallucinations - These can be described as a set of beliefs or experiences that are not shared by others. For example, a person may believe that they can hear what others are thinking in their minds, or believe that someone is putting thoughts into their head.

Negative symptoms - These are less easy to define, but they are often described as those parts that are somehow missing from the person now. These symptoms are generally harder to treat than the positive symptoms. They typically include:

• Lack of motivation
• Being unable to concentrate
• Wanting to isolate and avoid other people
• Feeling a need to be protected

It is not clear whether all of these are actual symptoms of schizophrenia or whether they are a response to the way that the stigma of mental illness can affect people.

The diagnosis of schizophrenia is quite common. About one in a hundred people are diagnosed with schizophrenia at some point in their lives. It is usually diagnosed as a young adult and appears to be equally common in men and women.

It may be more common to receive this diagnosis if someone in your family already has been diagnosed with it. It has been estimated that around a third of people who receive this diagnosis only have one episode. Another third may experience further occasional episodes and the last third will experience schizophrenia as an ongoing difficulty.

The popular myth about schizophrenia is that it a 'split personality', where a person can change and be out of control and dangerous. This is not true and is largely down to the sensational media coverage that often surrounds this diagnosis. Research has shown that people who are experiencing drug or alcohol problems are twice as likely to commit a violent crime, as someone diagnosed with schizophrenia. It can be frightening to hear voices, but this does not necessarily mean that the person is going to act on them. It is more common for a person to hear voices urging them to harm themselves, rather than anyone else.

To gain more information about Schizophrenia, please follow the link to the National Mind Information leaflet called Understanding Schizophrenia