Page 9 - Vision Manual

related to what originally being said. This speech might reflect disorganized qualities of thought and difficulty managing flow of information in general.
“Grossly Disorganized or Catatonic Behavior” refers to two different extremes of behavior. Both are relatively rare. Disorganized Behavior is behavior that appears random or purposeless to others and might include repetitive actions. An example might be seen in an individual who spends days moving things from one room to another, and then back again. Catatonic behavior refers to when a person stops almost all movement and is immobile for long periods of time. They often have no memory of this period of time, and require assistance in doing basic tasks such as drinking water.
“Negative Symptoms” are the lack of energy, motivation, pleasure and expressiveness. Negative symptoms are very similar to symptoms of depression, but often are not accompanied by the thoughts and feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, guilt or sadness that are commonly associated with depression. Negative symptoms lead to people having problems with initiating and following through with plans, showing emotions that they might otherwise be experiencing through facial expressions or voice tone, showing interest in things they used to like, or otherwise struggle with basic motivation.
In order to be diagnosed with schizophrenia, an individual must also show decreased level of functioning in one or more major areas such as work, relationships, or self- care that is markedly lower than the level achieved before the mental illness began. This means that things that were easily done or had already been accomplished become progressively more difficult. For example, an individual with schizophrenia might recognize that “it was once easy to get up at 8:00am and get dressed, but now I can’t do that by noon most days” or “I used to be able to do all of my homework for math in an hour, but now I can’t even do the simplest problems”. This symptom is one that need only have been a problem at one point during the course of schizophrenia, as it is often treatable.
Take a moment to complete the worksheet on the next page, and consider your own experiences with these symptoms.
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