Symptoms of Paranoid Schizophrenia

Paranoid schizophrenia is one of several types of schizophrenia. It is a chronic mental illness in which a person loses touch with reality. With paranoid schizophrenia, the ability for a person to think and function in daily life is much better than with other types of schizophrenia. Also, a person may not have as many problems with memory, concentration or dulled emotions. However, paranoid schizophrenia is a serious, lifelong condition that can lead to many complications, including suicidal behavior.

Common theme among sufferers

There are a number of symptoms that go along with having paranoid schizophrenia. They change from person to person, however most sufferers of the disease have the same or similar symptoms. The classic symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia are having delusions and hearing things that are not real.

Specific symptoms

The first symptom is auditory hallucinations. This is when a person hears something that is not there or the sound is distorted. The next symptom of paranoid schizophrenia is delusions of grandeur. With this symptom the afflicted person may think they are very important or famous or connected to someone who is.

Other symptoms

Other symptoms that are similar to this one include delusions of persecution and delusions of reference. Some other common symptoms that occur in a person with paranoid schizophrenia include disorganized speech, social withdrawal and suicidal thoughts.

All of the symptoms associated with paranoid schizophrenia are either positive or negative. Positive symptoms are aspects that are added to a person's character, such as hallucinations or delusions, that they did not experience prior to developing the disease. Negative symptoms are when a characteristic decreases, for example when a very motivated person suddenly is extremely lazy. These symptoms are usually much less noticeable than the positive ones.