How to Tell If Someone Is Schizophrenic?

Schizophrenia is a severe and disabling mental condition that affects approximately 2 million Americans each year. People with schizophrenia often experience terrifying symptoms, such as hearing voices or believing that other people are plotting against them. These thoughts cause schizophrenic people to become disorganized mentally and physically. Treatment may relieve many symptoms, but most schizophrenics continue to suffer some symptoms throughout their lives.

Instructions

How to Tell if Someone is Schizophrenic

• 1

  Look for the suspected schizophrenic to exhibit two or more of the symptoms associated with schizophrenia (described in the following steps) for a significant duration in one month.

• 2

  Listen for stories he shares that exhibit delusional behavior. He may tell you that people are conspiring against or "out to get" him. Take note when he tells you he is receiving personal messages through the radio, television or in reading material. Look for somatic delusions. He may tell you he has an illness or foreign object inside his body. Watch for delusions of grandeur. He may tell you he has special powers or abilities to decode secret messages that no one else can.

• 3

  Watch for signs of hallucinations. Take notice when she shares with you that she sees, hears or feels things or people that do not exist. Ask her who the person is, where they live and how they know them to assess whether the person she is talking about is real or not. Ask her what type of voices she hears or who is speaking to her and ask if you can talk to the voice.

• 4

  Look to see if the person engages in a monologue with himself or talks as if he is responding to someone, such as an imagined person or voice. Ask the person who he was talking to or why he was talking to himself to determine if he is experiencing disorganized speech.

• 5

  Listen for monotone conversations and a flat voice when he describes something usually requiring emotion or excitement.

• 6

  Beware of feelings of indifference. She may tell you she no longer has the same appreciation for engaging in activities that she once enjoyed or socializing with people she once liked to see. Ask the person why she is no longer interested and ask what type of things she would like to do.