About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staffSchizophrenia symptoms also can be attributed to other mental illnesses, and no one symptom can pinpoint a diagnosis of schizophrenia. In men, schizophrenia symptoms typically start in the teens or 20s. In women, schizophrenia symptoms typically begin in the 20s or early 30s. It's uncommon for children to be diagnosed with schizophrenia and rare for those older than 45.
Signs and symptoms of schizophrenia generally are divided into three categories — positive, negative and cognitive.
Positive symptoms
In schizophrenia, positive symptoms reflect an excess or distortion of normal functions. These active, abnormal symptoms may include:
- Delusions. These beliefs are not based in reality and usually involve misinterpretation of perception or experience. They are the most common of schizophrenic symptoms.
- Hallucinations. These usually involve seeing or hearing things that don't exist, although hallucinations can be in any of the senses. Hearing voices is the most common hallucination among people with schizophrenia.
- Thought disorder. Difficulty speaking and organizing thoughts may result in stopping speech midsentence or putting together meaningless words, sometimes known as word salad.
- Disorganized behavior. This may show in a number of ways, ranging from childlike silliness to unpredictable agitation.
Negative symptoms
Negative symptoms refer to a diminishment or absence of characteristics of normal function. They may appear with or without positive symptoms. They include:
- Loss of interest in everyday activities
- Appearing to lack emotion
- Reduced ability to plan or carry out activities
- Neglect of personal hygiene
- Social withdrawal
- Loss of motivation
Cognitive symptoms
Cognitive symptoms involve problems with thought processes. These symptoms may be the most disabling in schizophrenia because they interfere with the ability to perform routine daily tasks. A person with schizophrenia may be born with these symptoms. They include:
- Problems with making sense of information
- Difficulty paying attention
- Memory problems
Symptoms in teenagers
Schizophrenia symptoms in teenagers are similar to those in adults, but the condition may be more difficult to recognize in this age group. This may be in part because some of the early symptoms in teenagers are common during teen years, such as:
- Withdrawal from friends and family
- A drop in performance at school
- Trouble sleeping
- Irritability
Compared with schizophrenia symptoms in adults, teens may be:
- Less likely to have delusions
- More likely to have visual hallucinations
When to see a doctor
People with schizophrenia often lack awareness that their difficulties stem from a mental illness that requires medical attention. So it often falls to family or friends to get them help.
Helping someone who may have schizophrenia
If you think someone you know may have symptoms of schizophrenia, talk to him or her about your concerns. Although you can't force someone to seek professional help, you can offer encouragement and support and help your loved one find a qualified doctor or mental health provider.
If your loved one poses a danger to self or others or can't provide his or her own food, clothing or shelter, you may need to call the police or other emergency responders for help. In some cases, emergency hospitalization may be needed. Laws on involuntary commitment for mental health treatment vary by state. You can contact community mental health agencies or police departments in your area for details.
Suicidal thoughts
Suicidal thoughts and behavior are common among people with schizophrenia. If you suspect or know that your loved one is considering suicide, seek immediate help. Contact a doctor, mental health provider or other health care professional.
- Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. In: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR. 4th ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Association; 2000. http://www.psychiatryonline.com. Accessed Nov. 26, 2011.
- Minzenberg MJ, et al. Schizophrenia. In: Hales RE, et al. The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Psychiatry. 5th ed. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2008. http://www.psychiatryonline.com/resourceToc.aspx?resourceID=5. Accessed Nov. 26, 2011.
- Schizophrenia. National Institute of Mental Health. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/schizophrenia/complete-index.shtml. Accessed Nov. 26, 2011.
- Fischer BA, et al. Schizophrenia: Clinical manifestations, course, assessment, and diagnosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 26, 2011.
- Jibson MD. Schizophrenia: Epidemiology and pathogenesis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 26, 2011.
- Stroup TS, et al. Pharmacotherapy for schizophrenia: Acute and maintenance phase treatment. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 26, 2011.
- Aripiprazole. U.S. National Library of Medicine. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000221/. Accessed Nov. 26, 2011.
- Risperidone. U.S. National Library of Medicine. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000944/. Accessed Nov. 26, 2011.
- Hall-Flavin DK (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Nov. 30, 2011.
- Wall CA (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Dec. 20, 2011.
Find Mayo Clinic on