Arguably one of the most severe mental health disorders, schizophrenia alters how a person understands reality and the world around them. It can throw an individual into significant distress. Yet, medical and mental health professionals now have more treatments and options for those dealing with the disease than ever before. When someone has schizophrenia, it can be challenging for them to have a normal lifestyle. Learning more about the negative and positive symptoms of schizophrenia can help individuals diagnose their condition. In addition, getting a diagnosis allows clients to receive the right mental health treatment. At Santé Center for Healing, our mental health dual diagnosis treatment center provides comprehensive treatment for schizophrenia.

How Schizophrenia Works

Often, people do not realize they have schizophrenia until a doctor diagnoses them with the condition. Schizophrenia is a mental health disorder that changes how someone thinks, feels, and acts. Since each person is unique, schizophrenia may affect each person differently. No one has all of the negative and positive symptoms of schizophrenia at any given moment in time. In most cases, different symptoms will come and go.

In general, the symptoms start when someone is between the ages of 16 and 30. Women tend to develop symptoms later than men do. Before the official symptoms begin, the person goes through a prodromal phase. When the disease reaches its peak, the individual cannot tell which perceptions and ideas are actually real or not. Later on, the disease symptoms will start to decline as the individual ages. This is what leads to schizophrenia treatment in Texas at Santé Center for Healing. Our dual diagnosis treatment center treats schizophrenia as well as several other mental health issues, such as:

What Are the Positive Symptoms of Schizophrenia?

With schizophrenia, there are positive and negative symptoms. Positive symptoms involve exaggerated perceptions, ideas, and actions. Negative symptoms involve the absence of symptoms. Meanwhile, positive symptoms involve the presence of symptoms.

Positive symptoms can include things like hallucinations and delusions. The individual may hear voices in their head or see visual patterns that are not actually there. They may also hallucinate about the things they feel, smell or taste.

Sometimes, the individual will develop persecutory delusions. They believe that someone is stalking, framing, or hunting them. In a referential delusion, the individual thinks that some public type of communication, like a news article, has a special message for them. The individual may delude about a celebrity who is in love with them or a somatic delusion about a health problem. They could have grandiose delusions of being a celebrity or politician. Some people also have religious delusions.

Other positive symptoms of schizophrenia include things like trouble concentrating, disorganized speech, and confused thoughts. Some people also have movement disorders. They may repeat the same movement over and over again. In other cases, they may appear jumpy or catatonic.

Learning How to Have a Happier Lifestyle at Sante Center for Healing

While living with the positive symptoms of schizophrenia is not easy, it is possible. Through schizophrenia treatment at our serene Texas facility, clients can discover the medications and therapies they need to have a healthier lifestyle. At Santè Center for Healing, clients can take advantage of therapies like:

No one’s mental health is the same, so their treatment should be unique as well. At Santé Center for Healing, clients get a customized program that matches their physical, mental, and emotional needs. With our compassionate, trauma-informed care, you can learn how to recover from substance abuse and mental disorders. Learn more about how we can help with the positive symptoms of schizophrenia by calling us today at 866.238.3154.