5E-1 Schizophrenia: Common Symptoms & Statistics

Every case is different, however people with schizophrenia have some common traits:

• Delusions are firmly held beliefs that have no basis in reality. For example, someone may think the government is spying on them but have no evidence to support that belief.
• Hallucinations are sights and sounds that one person thinks are real, but they are not. For example, a person might see someone screaming on a street corner who isn’t there.
• Poor verbal communication which may result in someone speaking in disorganized ways. For example, they may jump from topic to topic and only use certain words.
• Erratic behavior may affect a person’s ability to hold a job and interact with other people. An example of erratic behavior is screaming at the voices in their head.
• Negative symptoms which means that the person doesn’t react to things like a healthy person does. For example, someone with schizophrenia may be emotionless or not react appropriately when they receive very good or very bad news.

About 2.4 million Americans have schizophrenia:

• Men and women are diagnosed with equal frequency.
• Men usually start showing schizophrenia symptoms in their late teens or early 20s.
• Women usually show symptoms in their early 20s or early 30s.