The severity of affective disorders in endogenous diseases can be different and manifest itself differently in different cases, and depend on the severity of productive or negative symptoms. In some cases with cognitive impairment.
Symptoms of affective disorders in schizophrenia
Depression in schizophrenia is quite common. As a rule, it may precede, accompany or proceed after a period of exacerbation. Some authors consider depression in schizophrenia as a separate disease. Others consider this affective disorder as a manifestation of schizophrenia. And as a result, the approach to treating depression in schizophrenia can be different.
Affective disorders in schizophrenia, as mentioned earlier, can result in different ways:
– atymia (lack of emotions, “emotional dullness”),
– parathymia ,
– ambivalence of feelings (simultaneous occurrence of two opposite emotions).
Depression in schizophrenia is manifested by a bad, low mood. Depression. Low mood and depression are synonymous within emotional disorders in schizophrenia. Bad mood with depression can also be of varying severity. From slight irritability to dysphoria.
Mood swings depending on the severity of the psychosis can quickly change from sadness and melancholy to unmotivated joy, laughter and euphoria. Sometimes, on the contrary, the patient is in one unchanging mood for a long time.
In affective disorders in schizophrenia, ambivalent emotions can be pronounced in the acuteness of psychosis. Ambivalent emotions are manifested in the form of simultaneous crying and laughter, fear and bliss, washing feels love and hate at the same time.
The initial symptoms of schizophrenia are characterized by a superficial moody mood that does not correspond to the events taking place. Bad mood and depression, anxiety, melancholy, apathy, irritability are symptoms of the onset of schizophrenia.
Often, in this condition of the patient, it is difficult for the doctor to establish contact with him.
With subsequent development, depression in schizophrenia changes its character. Emotional reactions are smoothed out, become less diverse, more scarce in content. The emotional life of the patient flattens out, becomes less saturated one-sided. Contact with others and loved ones decreases, sometimes disappears altogether. Habitual connections and range of interests are changing. Patients become more isolated in their own world, experiences, ideas. Communication with others is almost reduced to zero.
The emotions of a schizophrenic patient during an exacerbation make it difficult to express their feelings and desires properly. A person may look somewhat inhibited, indifferent, insensitive to what is happening around him. Anxiety in schizophrenia is an integral component of depression in schizophrenia.
The most common affective disorder in schizophrenia is depression. Depression in schizophrenia occurs in almost 30-40% of cases of acute psychosis. With a predominance of fear, confusion, anxiety , rage, sometimes uncontrollable joy.
Hallucinations play an important role in the emotional background in schizophrenia. Much of the affect observed in the acute period of schizophrenia is most often associated with the presence of voices accusing and reproaching the patient.
Together with affective disorders in schizophrenia, so-called depressive delusions can be observed. Delusions of self-abasement, self-accusation, sinfulness, hypochondriacal, dysmorphomaniac .
Patients, as a rule, are suspicious, unsure of themselves, and avoid unnecessary contacts. At advanced stages, patients refuse to eat and stop serving themselves.
A diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder can only be made when the symptoms of affective disorder and the symptoms of schizophrenia occur at the same time and are of comparable intensity. In affective disorder in schizophrenia, the leading symptomatology, in contrast to schizoaffective disorder, is the symptomatology of schizophrenia.
Differential diagnosis of depression in schizophrenia should be carried out with organic diseases of the brain, alcoholism, intoxication caused by drug use.