Auditory Hallucinations: The Symptoms Of Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia “What was that? I should kill everyone and escape? Sorry. The voices… I’m kidding! That’s not what they really said.” Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad. For people with schizophrenia, this doesn’t seem like a crazy idea to hear voices in their heads. Auditory hallucinations are one of many symptoms of schizophrenia. This mental disorder has been present throughout history, it has many varying symptoms, and scientists have been working on new treatments to help patients deal with them. Schizophrenia dates back thousands of years. According to Teen Health and Wellness, “Schizophrenia affects men and women from every race, culture, and religion in just about every corner of the world. It also appears that schizophrenia may have been

Some symptoms include: hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech, “Flat affect”, and problems with “working memory.” The most common form of hallucinations are auditory hallucinations. “When a person hallucinates, he or she hears, sees, or feels something that is not really there… auditory hallucinations; they hear voices or noises that are not real… that insult them or tell them what to do… might hear several voices arguing with each other or might hear their own thoughts being spoken out loud. (Teen Health and Wellness)” Delusions are false beliefs that a person holds on to, despite being presented with strong contradictory evidence. People with delusions often believe that a person or a group of people is watching them or wants to hurt them. In about one-third of people with schizophrenia, these delusions take the form of paranoia…” Disorganized speech is another common symptom of schizophrenia. Teen Health and Wellness says, people with schizophrenia “leap from one idea to another even though the two ideas are not connected in any logical way. As a result, their speech is often very disorganized and hard for other people to understand.” The “flat affect” is where a person lacks emotion in their face or the tone of their voice. They may seem very monotone, or unexcited about something very exciting. A cognitive symptom, or a symptom that affects the brain, is “problems with ‘working

“Schizophrenia is a treatable disease. This does not mean that schizophrenia is curable, however. To say that schizophrenia is treatable means that its symptoms can be controlled with the help of medication, therapy, and the support of friends and family. In many cases, the symptoms can be minimized and accommodated to a healthy, normal, and productive life. (Teen Health and Wellness)” More recent discoveries when it comes to treatment are antipsychotic drugs. They were first found to help with schizophrenia symptoms in the 1950s. Scientist are constantly looking for new treatments for schizophrenia and other disorders like it. One way they do this is through clinical trials. The National Institute of Mental Health gives information on clinical trials and how you can join a study for new treatments. “Clinical trials are research studies that look at new ways to prevent, detect, or treat diseases and conditions, including schizophrenia. During clinical trials, treatments might be new drugs or new drugs or new combinations of drugs, new surgical procedure or devices, or new ways to use existing treatments. The goal of clinical trials is to determine if a new test or treatment works and is safe. Although individual participants may benefit from being part of a clinical trial, participants should be aware that the primary purpose of a clinical