Schizophrenia is a group of disorders that has several forms of manifestation. Among them, simple schizophrenia stands out .    

It was described by psychiatrists for a long time, but it was first identified in 1903 by R. de Fürsag.     

Symptoms of Simple Schizophrenia

The simple form of schizophrenia is characterized by the gradual development of symptoms. They unfold for at least a year, during which there is a change in those personality traits that a person possessed on the eve of the disease:   

• the interests, drives of the patient change, he becomes inactive, lethargic and apathetic;  
• behavior loses its purpose, social contacts are narrowed, a person acquires autistic features;
• negative symptoms intensify: speech, facial expressions become poorer, a person’s passivity increases, activity decreases;
• productivity falls at work and at home.   

Often, patients with a simple form of schizophrenia quit working, remaining indifferent to the problems of the people around them, including relatives. Apathy and lack of will grow, conflicts or anger may appear, alcohol abuse, committing offenses, sleep may be disturbed, causeless anxiety may appear, mood changes suddenly and unpredictably.      

Symptoms of simple schizophrenia increase as it develops, gradually increasing. This type of schizophrenia almost never proceeds acutely (with pronounced hallucinations and delusions), it flows sluggishly, almost never becoming malignant.       

Differential diagnosis

Differentiating simple schizophrenia from personality and accentuation disorders can be difficult , since the symptoms may be similar.  

Here it is necessary to especially carefully consider the presence of negative symptoms (they are characteristic of schizophrenia, but they are not present in personality disorders and character accentuations).     

Schizophrenia is a controversial disease in modern society. On the one hand, foundations to help the mentally ill and other organizations seek to make the attitude towards her tolerant. But these attempts, alas, steadily continue to bump into a wall of myths about this disorder. Often the relatives of the patient, his colleagues, and he himself are captured by such myths . The diagnosis of “schizophrenia” in the minds of ordinary people puts an end to the fate of a person, although this is absolutely not the case.                

That is why the correct diagnosis and verification is very important.

You also need to understand that often this form of the disorder makes itself felt in childhood. Some researchers note that before the illness, patients suffering from simple schizophrenia are characterized by features of schizoid accentuation of character, and they are also manifested in some of their close relatives.        

It is the knowledge of the signs of the disease that helps to seek timely help and prevent possible serious consequences. This disease makes its debut more often in children and adolescents , mostly in boys. Low sociability, even isolation, unnecessary invention, exotic collecting, philosophizing on topics divorced from reality can be manifested in behavior .