Often overlooked, these 7 things can be early symptoms of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that makes sufferers have difficulty distinguishing what is real and what is not, difficulty thinking clearly, managing emotions, relating to other people, so it is very difficult to live a normal life. Although it is a chronic mental disorder, schizophrenia can be managed well if it is treated as soon as possible in the first place. For that, let's recognize the early symptoms of schizophrenia.

Various early symptoms of schizophrenia

In some people, schizophrenia appears suddenly without any special signs. But generally, the disease appears slowly and is characterized by certain symptoms long before the first severe episode. The following are various early symptoms of schizophrenia that need to be watched out for:

1. Depression and withdrawal from the environment

The most common symptom of early schizophrenia is feeling depressed and therefore withdrawing from the environment. Not only activities outside the home such as school and office, but someone will also avoid social interactions with family and friends.

They will spend their time isolating themselves. He also began to lose the hobbies, interests, and ambitions that he previously had. In addition, people with depression are also depressed, lose their appetite, and have trouble sleeping. In fact, he began to show indifference to the environment around him or to various important situations.

2. No longer maintaining personal hygiene

People with schizophrenia will gradually stop doing daily activities to clean themselves such as showering, brushing their teeth, and changing clothes.

This attitude arises because they begin to ignore, ignore themselves, and also because they isolate themselves from the social environment. In some cases, the person affected by schizophrenia is no longer aware that their hygiene and appearance are very bad.

3. Flat or empty expression

Usually, the most visible physical sign when a person experiences the symptoms of early schizophrenia is a blank facial expression. It is characterized by a blank gaze and a flat expression.

Usually, a person is also unable to express sad or happy emotions. If you can, usually the crying and laughter are made unnaturally. In addition, some people also experience acute sensory reactions such as being sensitive to light and sounds that are too loud.

4. Hallucinations

Quoted from the Medical Daily, more than 70 percent of schizophrenia patients experience hallucinations in the form of sounds. As a result of these hallucinations, people with schizophrenia will have disturbed thoughts, lose concentration, and have bad memories.

In addition, these sounds sometimes appear as if you are doing certain things to hurt yourself or others. These voices can come from people who are not actually speaking or even from sources of unknown origin. This usually occurs in 70 percent of schizophrenia cases.

5. Delusions

Apart from having hallucinations, people with schizophrenia also usually experience delusions. Delusions are mental disorders in which a person cannot differentiate between reality and imagination.

So he will believe in the imagination and behave like what is being thought. For example, you may believe that you are a famous actor who is at the peak of popularity.

6. Sleep disturbances

Sleep disturbance is one of the early symptoms of schizophrenia. Usually this sleep disorder can be in the form of excessive sleep or vice versa, namely insomnia. This condition can vary from person to person. However, sleep disorders that are accompanied by various other early symptoms of schizophrenia need to be watched out.

7. Difficulty organizing thoughts

People with early symptoms of schizophrenia also usually have difficulty organizing their thoughts. They may not be able to follow and understand what other people are talking to or watching. Likewise when speaking, he will make various strange and unreasonable statements.

If you see these symptoms in someone close to you, then immediately consult a doctor or mental health professional for further diagnosis.