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Schizophrenia symptoms in children 15 years old. Symptoms and signs of schizophrenia in adolescents

Schizophrenia in young children is a severe mental disorder that has a devastating effect on the child’s thinking, cognitive and emotional state. The usual functions of the child’s consciousness are replaced by hallucinations, delusions and paranoia. With schizophrenia, a teenager’s personality splits, and his relationship with the outside world and society changes.

The mind of a child with schizophrenia distorts actions that occur in the real world and mixes them with imaginary events. As a result, the teenager ceases to distinguish between reality and the imaginary world, which leads to complete confusion in the mind. Such children begin to experience problems communicating with loved ones and friends. They become quiet, withdrawn and intimidated, and their connection with society is lost. Unfortunately, it is impossible to cure teenage schizophrenia; you can only suppress its symptoms with medications and psychotherapy.

Schizophrenia occurs much less frequently in children and adolescents than in adults

Before you find out what the symptoms and signs of schizophrenia are in adolescents, you should consider the causes of its occurrence. The main factor leading to schizophrenia is a violation of the genetic code. There are “damages” in the DNA of children suffering from the disease that are absent in their healthy peers. Not so long ago, the disease was not associated with genetics and heredity, but today doctors say that children whose relatives (not necessarily close ones) were sick with this disease have a greater predisposition to schizophrenia.

In addition, the causes of the disease lie in disorders of the brain cells. In the case when DNA elements are unable to connect with the acetyl group, insufficiency of acetyl-histone bonds develops, which leads to this diagnosis. No less interesting is the version that claims that the causes of the pathology lie in the incorrect balance in the body of such hormones and elements as: serotonin, dopamine, vasopressin, norepinephrine and cholecystokinin. As a result of this imbalance, disturbances appear in the metabolic processes of protein and carbohydrate compounds.

Among the indirect causes leading to the appearance of the disease are:

late pregnancy and old age of the child’s father;
use of strong psychotropic and narcotic drugs by the child;
transferred viral diseases during intrauterine development;
intrauterine exposure to strong toxins;
insufficient nutrition of the mother during pregnancy;
chronic fetal hypoxia and disruption of the nutritional function of the placenta;
severe stress and anxiety.

In childhood, manifestations of schizophrenia are not as pronounced as in adults

An interesting fact is that sometimes people suffering from schizophrenia give birth to children with a very high level of intelligence, which is several times higher than the level of development of children born from healthy parents. The reasons for this phenomenon are still unknown.

Symptoms of the disease

Symptoms and signs of schizophrenia in children are very different from the course of the disease in adults. They depend directly on the age of the child.

Symptoms in children under 4 years of age

In the youngest patients, schizophrenia manifests itself as follows:

the child walks aimlessly in a circle;
the baby becomes impulsive and nervous;
there may be chaotic running or movement around the room without a visible goal or direction;
there is a monotonous expression of emotions and feelings;
causeless crying is replaced by fits of laughter.

Symptoms in children 7 years old

When the child reaches the age of 6-7 years, the symptoms become more pronounced. Among them:

disturbance of thought processes;
filling the mind with fantasies and imaginary actions;
the emergence of unreasonable fears, panic and anxiety;
the emergence of obsessions, boredom and apathy to what is happening;
mood swings.

Symptoms in teenagers

The first signs of schizophrenia in a teenager also have their own characteristic differences; the older the age, the more complex the course of the disease. A 13-year-old teenager may experience hallucinations, delusional ideas, some of the children become completely uncontrollable and pose a danger to people around them. Many parents, not wanting to look for the reason for such changes, attribute what is happening to a transition period.

The main symptoms of schizophrenia in children are various fears, motor disinhibition, pathological fantasizing.

The following symptoms should raise alarm:

The teenager exhibits clown behavior, fools around a lot, and gets overly emotional.
It is difficult to carry on a conversation, words are confused, thoughts become inconsistent.
In the imagination of a teenager, aggression towards others can be seen, this can be seen in drawings, games, etc.
Shows excessive narcissism and selfishness.
Over time, the child becomes detached, loses interest in communicating with loved ones, and cruelty appears.
Often a teenager has a meaningless conversation with himself.
Sitting in one position for a long time, or, conversely, showing hyperactivity.
A child may begin to take an active interest in books on science fiction themes, study the processes of the universe, and read encyclopedias and reference books.
The teenager’s games are of the same type and cyclical; he plays out the same situation several times.

The manifestation of childhood schizophrenia can cause a low level of intelligence. The teenager stops communicating with peers, becomes withdrawn, and often withdraws into himself. It constantly seems to him that he is disliked, discriminated against and despised. Subsequently, the child’s consciousness ceases to perceive the whole picture of the world; he becomes fixated on individual fragments. Ultimately, all this becomes the cause of personality disintegration.

Signs of childhood schizophrenia

In addition to the symptoms of schizophrenia described above, there are general signs of the disease. The manifestation of these alarm bells should alert loved ones:

conflicting views;
difficulties in communicating with loved ones and peers;
complexes, may consider himself inferior;
incoherent thinking;
speech difficulties (may speak too quickly or, conversely, slowly);
loss of interest in life;
intellectual defects;
fear, paranoia and causeless panic;
lack of bright emotions;
quick transition from tears to laughter;
absent-mindedness and aimless pastime;
excessive narcissism.

Schizophrenia at this age can be disguised as ordinary fatigue and emotional exhaustion. Therefore, only a highly qualified specialist should diagnose the disease.

Children with schizophrenia need adequate treatment from a psychiatrist

Types of adolescent schizophrenia

Typical forms of mental disorder for adolescents are:

Paranoid type. This form of schizophrenia is rare in children. This diagnosis is usually made to adolescents aged 11-13 years. Among the symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia, the most striking are: hallucinations, persecution mania, panic, paranoia and delusional thoughts. The patient constantly experiences fear and can see danger in everything. Often such children become aggressive towards their relatives. This condition is accompanied by a refusal to eat, which often leads to anorexia.

Catatonic type. This type of schizophrenia is characterized by pronounced movement disorders: excessive mobility, hyperactivity, constantly repeated actions, freezing in one position for a long time. The teenager disconnects from the real world, becomes withdrawn and detached, stops contacting close people and does not respond to attempts to talk with him.

Hebephrenic type. This form most often occurs in adolescence. Characterized by clown behavior, foolishness, unmotivated gaiety, the child behaves ridiculously, often grimaces. The patient suffers from insomnia, migraines and delusional ideas. In some cases, the teenager hallucinates.

Simple type. It occurs in children of preschool age, much less often in adolescence. The child becomes apathetic, angry, withdrawn, and loses all interest in studies and the world around him. The child’s intelligence level drops and paranoia may begin to develop. Being forced to go to an educational institution can cause outbursts of rage and aggression, and attempts to leave home. Often such children commit antisocial actions.

Grafted type. Occurs in adolescents after serious traumatic brain injuries resulting in mental retardation. It develops mainly in children who previously showed capriciousness, stubbornness, irritability, and were immersed in their own world. In addition, this schizophrenia is sometimes vaccinated after a serious illness or intoxication.

Regardless of what form of mental disorder the child suffers, the result is irreversible mental defects.

The task of parents is not only to consult a doctor on time, but also to provide their son or daughter with maximum support, understanding, and love.

Diagnostic measures

Schizophrenia in children can be diagnosed based on visible signs. To date, there is no clinical technique that would allow us to identify pathology with a 100% guarantee. To determine the disease, doctors use psychological methods and laboratory tests. The set of diagnostic measures includes the following procedures:

Magnetic resonance imaging. Using the procedure, it is possible to identify characteristic changes in brain structures that occur during a mental disorder, and also to exclude the presence of tumors.
Electroencephalography. An examination that allows you to see the functional activity of the brain.
Dopplerography of blood vessels. The study is carried out to assess the condition of blood vessels and blood supply in order to exclude possible pathologies.
Neurotest. Neuro-immunological study of blood serum, which allows you to quickly assess the state of the nervous system and determine the nature of the pathological process.
Laboratory blood tests. They are carried out to detect traces of drugs in the body, as well as to detect the Epstein-Barr virus.

In the process of diagnosing mental disorders, the method of studying patients' drawings is used. Of course, it is difficult to detect schizophrenia from pictures alone, but creative work can reflect possible symptoms of the pathology. The drawings of a teenager diagnosed with schizophrenia are characterized by symbolism, stereotyping, a break in the “associative series”, agglutination and unclear forms. Another common sign of the disease is incorrect color combinations. For example: the sun is black and the trees are blue.

Treatment of the disease

Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder that cannot be treated on its own. Treatment of the disease in adolescents has some distinctive features, this is due to the fact that pathological changes in the synthesis of brain neurons are congenital or hereditary. If you strictly follow the doctor’s advice and recommendations and adhere to the prescribed treatment regimen, you can achieve stable remission. If you identify at least a few alarming symptoms, you should visit a doctor as soon as possible and, if the diagnosis is confirmed, begin treatment.

The onset of schizophrenia in adolescence is complicated by hormonal maturation

To successfully treat adolescent mental disorders, drug therapy is used in combination with psychotherapy. As a rule, the doctor prescribes the following medications:

neuroleptics;
nootropics;
sedatives.

In the most severe cases, doctors resort to electric shock treatment. This method can only be used on teenagers and older people. Electric shock is used to quickly lift a patient out of a state of severe depression. The technique itself involves exposing the brain to short discharges of electric current. Before the procedure, the patient is given medications to relax the muscles and put to sleep. Such therapy can also save the patient from severe depression if there are suicidal tendencies.

In recent years, a method of self-expression has been gaining popularity, in which a teenager can engage in dancing, drawing and other types of creativity. In the case when the treatment bears fruit and the schizophrenic has a stable remission, he can calmly study in an educational institution where there is a simplified program for such children. During periods of exacerbation of the disease, education continues at home. In particularly difficult situations, children with schizophrenia are hospitalized.

Signs of schizophrenia in a teenager appear in the same way as in an adult, but there are a number of differences. They depend on the type of mental illness.

It is in adolescence that the process of active cognition of the world around us begins, and if a failure occurs, then social adaptation does not occur.

The prevalence of this pathology is 1-2 cases out of the total number of cases of mental imbalance.

The reasons for the development of the disease are not fully understood, but it is believed that a hereditary predisposition is highly likely.

The manifestation of the pathological process often occurs after mental or physical trauma, severe illness, drug or alcohol use.

How does adolescent schizophrenia manifest?

Symptoms of schizophrenia in adolescents in the early stages appear against the backdrop of a hormonal surge, and may look like excessive tearfulness, lack of vitality, failure to talk and actively participate in anything.

With malignant schizophrenia, there is a rapid increase in negative emotional background, deterioration of intelligence, autism, and a pronounced weakening of strength, closedness and asociality.

What types of diseases occur?

If you look in more detail, there are several types of the disease, each of which has its own characteristics of the course and rate of progression, so, in adolescents, schizophrenia occurs:

Continuously flowing. It begins in childhood, but after the onset of puberty it acquires a constant course and pronounced signs of mental abnormality.
Paranoid. Sometimes hallucinatory-delusional. It occurs in the form of changes in mood and the development of delusional ideas.
Recurrent.
Acute puberty.

Continuously flowing

The first manifestations of such a disease can occur in early childhood. But during the transition to adolescence, it becomes more severe, so it should be considered in more detail.

The first disorders appear by the age of three. The baby becomes stubborn and often gets irritated over trifles. He does not show attention to others, becomes indifferent to family and friends.

Until the clinical picture becomes more pronounced, which happens by the age of five, adults tend to attribute all changes to character traits.

At the age of five, it becomes impossible not to notice the increase in mental disorders. Hallucinations, sudden drops and rises in mood, catatonia, and negativism join the overall picture of increasing disturbances. Sometimes the baby's behavior looks like foolishness or mannerisms.

Upon entering adolescence, the child becomes constantly unbalanced, and developmental delays become visible to the naked eye.

During the off-season period, continuously ongoing schizophrenia experiences moments of particularly pronounced exacerbation. At these moments, unmotivated fears, aggression, delirium and clouding of consciousness are especially pronounced.

Paranoid

Occurs most often after the age of 12 in a teenager. In many ways, the condition resembles the previous disease, but its main difference is the sudden change in mood.

The patient’s mental immaturity is manifested in fantasy stories about himself and loved ones, which gradually acquire new, often contradictory, details.

As they grow older, the delirium becomes more complete and thoughtful. It is characterized by themes of persecution, greatness, etc.

The hallucinatory-delusional form develops extremely rarely. This type of paranoid disorder is severe and is characterized by cyclicity.

Recurrent

This variety is more typical for girls. It begins in the form of a sharp psychotic attack with a complete loss of one’s own personality.

This type of schizophrenia is characterized by a sharp onset and a sharp decline.

Often develops after severe infectious or inflammatory processes, psycho-emotional stress, depression or physical trauma.

Acute pubertal schizophrenia

The course of this disease occurs in waves. The attacks do not differ in severity, followed by a decline that lasts as long as the exacerbation, from two weeks to several months.

In the absence of treatment or exposure to adverse factors, the duration of the pathological condition increases.

You should consult a psychiatrist about how to treat this disease. Drug treatment consists of monotherapy with antipsychotics.

Help to normalize family relationships and improve social adaptation is provided by a psychotherapy specialist.

Schizophrenia in children and adolescents: signs and treatment

The mechanism of development of schizophrenia is associated with hereditary predisposition, metabolic disorders in the brain and is not dependent on external influences. The difficulty in recognizing a disease that arose in childhood and adolescence lies in its similarity with the manifestations of the so-called teenage crisis, since the disease often debuts in adolescents.

Specific symptoms of schizophrenia are disturbances in thinking and perception, delusional deformation of thinking, and the presence of hallucinatory syndrome.

The appearance of the following features in his everyday behavior can help to suspect the presence of a disease in a teenager:

isolation;
detachment;
unusual silence;
isolation from others;
difficulties in communicating with peers;
sudden mood swings.

Particular vigilance is required in cases with the persistent presence of these first symptoms of the disease in the presence of a burdened family history.

Similar signs characterize adolescence in healthy children. The pathological situation is characterized by the sudden appearance and stable existence of this set of symptoms in combination with specific signs of the disease. The manifestation of schizophrenia will be indicated by a combination of these symptoms with hallucinations, delusional or delusional ideas, the appearance of bizarre foolish behavior, antics, speech and thinking disorders.

The manifestation of pathology can be varied: hallucinations can be auditory, visual, gustatory, olfactory, tactile. The most common variant is auditory, visual is somewhat less common, and other varieties appear in rare cases.

Auditory hallucinations involve the perception of non-existent voices or other sounds. Typical options include the sound of dripping water and the creaking of a door. The sounds are intrusive and irritate the patient. The voices heard by the patient may be talking to each other, or it may be one voice communicating with the patient.

The nature of the hallucination is subjectively determined by the patient as threatening. Voices can have an orderly, authoritative character, which is fraught with a certain danger: this situation can lead to suicide or the commission of illegal acts.

Delusion is manifested by the presence of conclusions that do not correspond to reality, the formation of non-existent ideas (systemic delusion), and often has the following manifestations:

The patient exalts himself above others

Manifests itself in the form of a syndrome of mental automatism, the patient believes that some external forces are influencing him (his thoughts, actions)

The patient is sure that he is being watched with the intention of causing harm (for example, a neighbor is a special agent, or an alien mafia spy, or a killer specially sent to him)

Delirium of physical impairment

The teenager attributes to himself non-existent deformities: an overly large nose, shortening of one leg, excess weight, and so on.

Various manifestations are possible: incoherent speech, speech in the form of fragments of phrases

This manifestation is characterized by the appearance of silly, absurd behavior in a teenager: the patient may laugh loudly, dress ridiculously or untidy, pronounce incoherent public monologues, considering them funny and witty, grimace, and be capricious. The behavior of teenagers 12–15 years old suddenly begins to resemble the behavior of a small child.

This condition is characterized by a change from foolishness to a depressive state. Changes in the emotional background from unbridled joy to hysteria or aggression are often observed.

Heboid syndrome is a symptom complex characteristic of childhood and adolescent schizophrenia. In most cases, the harbingers of this condition can be discerned even in childhood: the behavior of such a child shows features of an increased interest in violence and cruelty. He watches films about disasters and murders with interest, and can be aggressive towards animals.

Vulnerability and touchiness combined with indifference and rudeness towards loved ones are also characteristic of heboid syndrome. In adolescence, negativism directed towards younger and weaker family members becomes pronounced.

During puberty, heboid syndrome in schizophrenia in adolescents is expressed in a craving for philosophizing, a passion for abstract problems of the future, and a search for the meaning of life. Such teenagers are cynical towards their peers, highly extol their “great” knowledge and thoughts, and place themselves above others.

With this disorder, there is a high risk of immoral behavior in a teenager, which can manifest itself as sexual disinhibition, often taking perverted forms. A teenager is easily addicted to drugs and alcohol, has a tendency to wander, spend the night in basements and attics. Alcohol and drug intoxication contribute to the commission of illegal acts of varying severity.

This condition is an indication for hospitalization of a teenager in a hospital setting for the purpose of isolating him and maintaining constant monitoring until the syndrome is relieved.

Heboid syndrome in the structure of schizophrenia is difficult to treat (compared to heboid syndrome in psychosis or as an independent pathology). But the right approach and systematic antipsychotic therapy can achieve high-quality, convincing remission. Taking antipsychotic drugs must be systematic, otherwise relapse is inevitable, which significantly worsens the prognosis of the disease.

Diagnosis of a latent form of schizophrenia is complicated by “erased”, weak severity of symptoms.

Sometimes a tendency to eccentric, unusual behavior or the sudden appearance of fears or instant mood swings, mild forms of emotional disorders, allows one to suspect pathology.

Therapy for adolescent forms of schizophrenia is divided into four successive stages:

The goal is to influence the manifestation of acute psychosis.

It is carried out in a hospital setting with the help of antipsychotics. Outpatient treatment is carried out extremely rarely in cases with blurred, erased symptoms, in the absence of a history of episodes of aggression.

The result of correctly carried out relief therapy is the elimination of symptoms of schizophrenia

From 1 to 3 months

The goal is to eliminate residual effects characteristic of schizophrenia.

Treatment can be carried out both at home and in a hospital - this is determined by the condition of the teenager. Therapy is carried out using the same drug, which has proven effective as a relief therapy. The difference is that the patient at this stage receives a lower dose.

This period is characterized by the development of depression, which is relieved with the help of antidepressants.

From 3 to 9 months

Taking the drug at this stage continues in a small dose. Sometimes it is possible to replace it with a medicine that effectively prevents relapse

From 6 to 12 months

The main task of this stage is to prevent a new exacerbation of schizophrenia.

The teenager is capable and should study, attend a group, but continues to systematically take medications prescribed by a specialist in minimal doses and regularly visit a psychotherapist to monitor the condition.

Anti-relapse therapy continues for years, often for life

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Schizophrenia in adolescents: causes, diagnosis, treatment

IsraClinic consultants will be happy to answer any questions on this topic.

Schizophrenia in adolescents, causes

Signs of schizophrenia in teenagers

Types of schizophrenia in adolescents

Schizophrenia in adolescents, diagnosis

Paranoia is a state of constant anxiety, suspicion, pathological jealousy, crazy ideas and hallucinations. The first signs of the disease are manifested by minor oddities in behavior, changes in character - the patient shows aggression towards others, spoils relationships with loved ones, begins to get carried away by unusual ideas and isolates himself from the whole world. Relatives of the patient turn to specialists when the symptoms become acute and the patient can harm himself and others.

The problem of children's fears is quite common; almost all parents face it. Fears can be real and groundless - a child can be influenced by environmental factors (family violence, difficult relationships with peers) and neurotic disorders (fears are free-form, arise without a real threat or preconditions). Experts note that if a child is afraid of something, it is important to consult a psychologist; ignoring the problem can subsequently lead to deviations.

Patients with borderline personality disorder quite often show a tendency towards deviant behavior and the use of alcoholic beverages and drugs. They are also prone to self-harm and may threaten suicide. It is necessary to understand that such a disorder cannot be cured in one session with a doctor - constant monitoring by a psychiatrist and the use of psychocorrective medications are necessary. Also, considerable importance should be given to psychotherapy. A psychiatrist selects pharmacological medications and prescribes psychotherapy depending on the current clinical picture.

Panic attacks can hardly be called a specific disease; it is rather a state of consciousness during which a person feels intense fear, anxiety and excitement. There are many methods to combat panic; home methods are also quite effective. In particular, it is recommended to take a contrast shower, meditate, exercise, get massages and practice proper breathing techniques. Healing herbal infusions, such as those made from chamomile, also have a good effect. It is advisable to exclude harmful foods and alcohol from the diet.

IsraClinic specialists will be happy to promptly answer your questions related to diagnosis and treatment in Israel. Fill out the application form, we will contact you as soon as possible.

Contacts

Psychiatric outpatient clinic “IsraClinic” is located at:

Rishon LeZion (suburb of Tel Aviv),

st. Moshe Levi 11, business center "UMI"

Schizophrenia in adolescence, how to identify and eliminate symptoms?

Adolescence is one of the most emotionally difficult periods of life. A teenager is no longer a child, but not yet an adult; character and self are being formed. Unfortunately, this period is very dangerous in terms of mental development; an unfavorable atmosphere and addiction to bad habits can lead to the development of mental illness. One of these pathologies is schizophrenia; its causes, as a rule, are not related to external factors, but lie in the functioning of the brain and genetic predisposition. The first symptoms of such a serious illness may not be recognized due to their manifestations reminiscent of a teenage crisis.

How to distinguish schizophrenia from an adolescent crisis?

In Russia, about one and a half million people have been diagnosed with schizophrenia; in total, about 1% of people in the world suffer from this disease. The average age at which the disease debuts varies. Some forms, of course, appear at a much earlier age or, conversely, later, but still the total mass is the teenage period.

What is schizophrenia? This is a pathology characterized by mental disorders, disorders of thinking and perception of the world with impoverishment of emotions and volitional qualities. But how can we distinguish age-related changes in adolescents from the first symptoms of schizophrenia, since they can be similar? For these purposes, it is important to carefully look at the teenager’s behavior. Often the first manifestations begin with:

isolation;
detachment;
silence;
isolation;
difficulties in communicating with peers;
mood swings.

As a rule, such symptoms are also characteristic of a transitional crisis, but if they are supplemented by such manifestations as hallucinations, delusions, bizarre, foolish behavior, speech and thinking disorders, this is a serious reason to consult a doctor.

Hallucinations

All symptoms of schizophrenia are usually divided into productive and negative. In the first case, this is the emergence of new qualities in the psyche that were not previously present, for example, fears, hallucinations, delusional thoughts and beliefs. Negative symptoms are the disappearance of certain qualities that are inherent in a healthy person (volitional qualities, thinking abilities, motor functions).

One of the main productive symptoms is hallucinations. They can be auditory, visual, gustatory, olfactory and tactile. Most often in schizophrenia, auditory hallucinations are observed, slightly less often visual and very rarely tactile, gustatory and olfactory.

Auditory hallucinations are expressed in the appearance of non-existent voices. A sick teenager may hear various sounds, such as water dripping or a door creaking. Such sounds will be intrusive and simply drive you crazy. Even more often, the patient seems to hear voices; there may be several of them, and they will talk among themselves, or one of them will say something to the teenager; different options are possible. The main problem that hallucinations pose is threats; often the voices have a commanding nature that dominates the teenager, which can lead to suicide or the commission of illegal actions.

Hallucinations give rise to the next symptom - delusion. It manifests itself in the form of the emergence of various awkward ideas, conclusions, uncoherent speech, and fragments of phrases. There are many types of delirium, the most common types of delirium observed are:

grandeur, when the patient exalts himself above others;
influence, in this case the teenager believes that some higher forces are influencing him and his thoughts, reading them;
persecution, the patient is sure that they are watching him and want to harm him, for example, a neighbor from the eighth floor is a special agent or an alien and must kill him;
physical disability. Painfully attributes non-existent deformities to himself, for example, a huge nose, one leg shorter than the other, etc.

Unusual behavior

Often in teenagers, the disease is accompanied by stupid behavior, they laugh loudly, dress untidy and stupidly, for example, shorts with a fur coat. They pronounce an incoherent monologue, thinking that he is funny and they themselves laugh at him, all this causes the opposite emotions in those around him in the form of fear, surprise and a desire to isolate themselves from the strange teenager.

Often, foolishness gives way to a depressive state, and there are mood swings from laughter to hysteria or aggression.

Heboid syndrome

In adolescents, low-progressive, paranoid or malignant schizophrenia is most common. These forms are characterized by heboid syndrome. Precursors of this condition usually appear in childhood. You can notice them by the child’s behavior; such children develop an increased interest in cruelty and violence. They love to watch films about disasters and murders, they can show aggression towards animals, torture cats and dogs, dismember frogs or tear off the legs of insects. Also, the heboid form has such manifestations as touchiness and vulnerability, which is combined with indifference and rudeness towards loved ones.

Negativism is pronounced precisely in adolescence; adolescents are especially cruel to weaker family members, for example, younger sisters or brothers. Also during puberty, the heboid form is expressed in the teenager’s search for the meaning of life, philosophizing and passion for abstract problems of the future and the world. Such children are cynical in relation to their peers, putting themselves above others, extolling their, as it seems to them, great knowledge and thoughts in one area or another.

With heboid syndrome, there is a high risk of immoral behavior in a teenager; sexual disinhibition is often observed, often in a perverted form. All this is accompanied by an addiction to drugs or alcohol, patients withdraw into themselves and begin to wander, they can spend the night in basements or attics. Under the influence of alcohol or drugs, they are capable of committing theft or even a more serious offense. In this condition, the teenager must be isolated in a hospital setting and constantly monitored until he has reduced heboid syndrome.

Heboid syndrome against the background of schizophrenia is more difficult to treat than with psychosis or as an independent pathology. But with the right therapeutic approach, it is possible to achieve high-quality remission, while taking medications must be systematic, otherwise a relapse is inevitable.

Therapy

Treatment is formally divided into four stages:

relief therapy;
stabilizing therapy;
adaptation stage;
prevention.

Each of them has its own purpose and period of influence. Thus, relief therapy or the stage of influencing the manifestations of acute psychosis is carried out mainly in inpatient treatment, outpatient treatment is extremely rare if the symptoms are blurred and the teenager does not have a history of aggression. This stage lasts on average from a month to three, depending on the complexity of the situation. The main goal of the stage is to relieve the symptoms of schizophrenia as much as possible.

Treatment is carried out with antipsychotic drugs, often of a new generation. Since the history most often shows aggression, cruelty and signs of sadism, antipsychotics with a pronounced sedative effect are prescribed. Among them are:

If productive symptoms in the form of delusions and hallucinations predominate, typical antipsychotics from a strong group (mazeptil or piportil) are prescribed. Such medications effectively stop foolishness and mood swings; they are called behavior correctors.

Psychotherapists have come to the unequivocal conclusion that it is better to choose one drug with the right dose than to take several medications at the same time. It is also contraindicated to take both atypical and typical antipsychotics at the same time. For better results and the least amount of side effects, the dose is increased gradually over the course of days from the start of use.

At the second stage of stabilization, the main goal of treatment is to remove residual manifestations of pathology. This stage lasts from three to nine months and can take place either at home or in a hospital, depending on the condition of the teenager. Therapy continues with the same drug that was effective in the previous period only with a lower dose; its cancellation is strictly prohibited. There are frequent cases of depression during this period; antidepressants are prescribed to relieve them.

During the adaptation period, the duration of treatment ranges from six months to 12 months, taking the drug continues in a small dose. At the adaptation stage, the medication can be changed; atypical antipsychotics such as risperidone, olanzapine are good at preventing the emergence of new psychosis. They also successfully cope with negative symptoms, restoring the patient’s volitional and emotional sphere.

The prevention stage lasts for years, or rather for life. The main task of this period is to prevent a recurrence of a mental episode. As a rule, at this stage, a teenager can study, attend a group, but still continues to take medications in a minimal dose and visit a psychotherapist to monitor his condition.

Schizophrenia in adolescence is difficult to understand and a real tragedy for the family where it was diagnosed. But with an understanding of the situation and the joint work of parents and the attending physician, it is quite possible to achieve stable remission for a long time. Cases have been repeatedly recorded where a mental episode was diagnosed only once in a life, and the person behaved quite normally throughout the subsequent period, only with systematic monitoring by a psychiatrist.

Causes, symptoms and signs of schizophrenia in adolescents

Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness that has a chronic course. It most often develops at a young age: after 20 years in boys and after 26 years in girls.

But there are often cases when this disease occurs in both children and adolescents. Symptoms and signs of schizophrenia in adolescents are closely related to the characteristics and degree of neglect of the disease, the personal characteristics of the patient and his age.

How does a schizophrenogenic mother behave? Find out about this from our article.

General information

Adolescence is fertile ground for the development of various types of mental disorders, since during this period the child is especially vulnerable due to the hormonal changes that occur in his body.

This is a natural stage of growing up, during which a child rethinks his life, looks for new guidelines, strives to emotionally separate from his parents or guardians, and tries to establish himself as an almost adult person whose opinion needs to be listened to.

It is during adolescence that the likelihood of developing schizophrenia increases significantly compared to earlier age periods.

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder in which pathological changes are observed in thought processes, in the emotional sphere, and in perception.

The disease has many varieties and features of manifestation. According to various sources, from 0.5% to 1% of people in the world suffer from schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is often accompanied by other mental disorders (various types of anxiety disorders, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder), which aggravate the course of the disease and complicate the diagnostic process.

Schizophrenics are also 40% more likely to suffer from alcoholism, and most of them have difficulty finding work due to prejudices about their illness. Therefore, many of them, even being in stable remission, cannot integrate into society and often try to commit suicide.

However, it is important to understand: the majority of schizophrenics are not at all dangerous to society, and even patients with severe forms of the disease are more dangerous to themselves, and not to the people around them.

The earlier schizophrenia develops, the more it can affect the child’s future life.

Causes

Research to establish the causes of schizophrenia is still underway, and it is impossible to say for sure what specific preconditions influence its occurrence, but long-term observation of patients and the study of their DNA have made it possible to identify several reasons:

Genetic features. About 40% of schizophrenics have relatives with a history of this or other mental disorders. If a close relative of a child has schizophrenia, the chance that it will be passed on to him is 10%.
Unfavorable social and living conditions and the specifics of upbringing. Children growing up in families of alcoholics and drug addicts are more likely to have serious mental health problems. The atmosphere in the family is also of great importance. The most dangerous in terms of the likelihood of developing schizophrenia in children are families where parents are toxic to one degree or another.

If parents beat, humiliate, insult or ignore their children, use them in criminal activities, try to control them excessively, and demand unconditional obedience from them, then such a family is definitely toxic.

Also at risk are teenagers who:

They live in large cities. Urban residents suffer from schizophrenia and other mental illnesses much more often than rural residents. Perhaps this is due to the overly intense, stressful rhythm of life in cities.
They belong to the male gender. On average, men develop schizophrenia earlier than women, so most teenagers with this disease are boys.

But at the same time, schizophrenia can develop with equal probability in a person of either sex, and if you take a random group of people over 35 years old, among them there will be approximately the same number of schizophrenics of both sexes.

However, even a coincidence on several points does not guarantee that the child will develop schizophrenia.

About the causes of schizophrenia in children and adolescents in this video:

Forms and stages

The following forms of schizophrenia are distinguished:

Paranoid. In this form of the disease, hallucinations and delusions predominate, and other symptoms are mild or absent. Patients are irritable, often show aggression, and are distrustful. It is quite rare in adolescents, as it usually manifests itself at a later age.
Catatonic. The clinical picture is based on psychomotor abnormalities: alternating stupor and agitation. A rare type of schizophrenia.
Hebephrenic. The behavior of patients is dominated by foolishness and deliberately childish behavior. Despite the fact that this form is not common, it is quite common in adolescence.
Undifferentiated. This diagnosis is made in cases where the patient has several key symptomatic features that correspond to different forms of schizophrenia, or in cases where the symptoms are not clear enough.
Residual. A form characterized by the presence of symptoms of a schizophrenic defect: a desire for isolation, disturbances in thinking, emotional coldness. May occur after successful treatment of acute psychosis.
Simple. Often observed in adolescence. Patients are apathetic, weak-willed, show emotional coldness, detachment, shy, infantile, and unproductive in their studies.

In some cases, the symptoms of simple schizophrenia are ignored for a long time: the patient’s relatives believe that he is just lazy, or attribute this to the characteristics of adolescence.

According to the characteristics of the course, schizophrenia is divided into:

First stage. At this stage, the first symptoms of schizophrenia appear, and the person’s character gradually changes. He begins to see the world differently: in alarming or overly beautiful colors. During this period, he may feel as if the truth has been revealed to him. If the first stage passed quickly and was bright in the patient, this is a favorable symptom.
Second stage. The patient adapts to changes in his life, and his illusory worlds coexist in parallel with the real world. A teenager may begin to see duality in everything around him, for example he may perceive his friend as an angel or an alien and as an ordinary person whom he knows well, at the same time.
Third stage. At this stage, degradation occurs. There are significant pathological changes in emotional and cognitive intelligence, the patient's thoughts become more stereotypical.

The third stage of schizophrenia is the most unfavorable in terms of prognosis. At the same time, the transition to it may not happen very soon or may not happen at all.

It all depends on the treatment, attitude towards the patient, form of the disease, personal characteristics and much more.

How does schizophrenia in children and adolescents differ from autism? Find out from the video:

First signs

How does schizophrenia manifest in adolescents? The most commonly observed symptoms are:

Marked changes in personality. A well-meaning teenager may suddenly become aggressive, irritable, and lose interest in school and everything that was dear to him.
Breaking communication with friends. And for a healthy teenager this is completely normal, but radical changes may indicate the presence of mental disorders (and this is not always schizophrenia). A previously sociable child may become withdrawn, lose all friends and not want to make new ones, appearing distant.
Lack of initiative, apathy. A previously hard-working teenager may begin to lie on the couch for hours.
Change of interests. New hobbies may appear, sometimes unusual, atypical, starting with interest (sometimes excessive, fanatical) in horoscopes, anti-scientific theories and ending with interest in books on philosophy, love of collecting and collecting.
Changes in mood. Either depressed or elated mood persists for a long time. The child may also experience sudden mood swings, sometimes for no reason.

Adolescent schizophrenia is not characterized by the appearance of hallucinations and delusions. Usually they appear later, as the disease develops, or do not appear at all: it all depends on the form of schizophrenia.

It is important to understand that some of these signs can be observed in both a healthy teenager and a teenager with other mental disorders (bipolar disorder, depression).

Symptoms

Main symptoms of the disease:

rave;
disruption of speech and thinking;
auditory hallucinations;
love of empty, stereotypical philosophizing and philosophizing;
emotional coldness, indifference to the problems of people, even loved ones;
stiffness in movements;
a frozen, emotionless face, like a mask;
negative changes in behavior;
deterioration in performance;
rudeness, irritability, aggressiveness;
suspicion;
sudden mood changes;
abundance of neologisms in speech;
the desire to isolate oneself from people;
lack of will.

Teenagers with schizophrenia are prone to using drugs and alcoholic beverages. They stop taking care of themselves, refuse to eat, or, conversely, eat greedily and a lot.

The desire to isolate oneself from people can become extremely pronounced: a teenager locks himself in a room and does not leave it for days, categorically refusing to leave the apartment. If a teenager lives independently, he does not leave his place of residence or only leaves when absolutely necessary.

Auditory hallucinations predominate in schizophrenia (the patient hears voices that can accuse him, order, humiliate, praise), but visual, tactile, and olfactory hallucinations may appear.

There are no pronounced differences between schizophrenia in girls and boys, except that in girls in most cases it develops later and the prognosis is more favorable.

Malignant continuous schizophrenia often develops in boys, and the first signs of the disease are often observed in early adolescence (before 16 years).

Diagnostics

Basic methods for diagnosing schizophrenia:

Conversation. The psychiatrist talks with the teenager, asks him about his hobbies, his attitude towards the people around him, and about the situation at school. He also communicates with the teenager’s close relatives, sometimes with his friends, teachers, and based on this he draws up an approximate picture of the disease.
Monitoring the patient. During the conversation, the specialist notices characteristics of behavior, movements, facial expressions, and thinking characteristic of schizophrenia.
Carrying out special tests. They are used to test a teenager's cognitive abilities.

In parallel, the patient undergoes a number of other examinations to exclude somatic pathologies that may cause symptoms similar to schizophrenia (epilepsy, HIV, autoimmune diseases, metabolic disorders, hormonal imbalances, traumatic brain injuries, syphilis).

It is important for a psychiatrist to differentiate schizophrenia from other mental disorders: bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder, borderline syndrome, major depressive disorder.

Treatment options

The main methods of treating schizophrenia:

Drug therapy. Medications are selected individually for each patient, and this list may change during the course of treatment. Typically, schizophrenia is treated using the following groups of medications: atypical antipsychotics (Azenapine, Clozapine), benzondiazepines (Nitrazepam, Diazepam), mood stabilizers (lithium drugs, Carbamazepine, Topiramate).
Psychotherapy. Allows you to mitigate some of the symptoms, improve the emotional and volitional spheres, and reduce stress levels. The psychotherapist will also help the teenager get used to the idea that he is sick.
Social rehabilitation. There are special institutions that will help a teenager adapt to society. If the disease manifests itself moderately and responds well to drug treatment, the teenager returns to his usual educational institutions. The opportunity to be among people has a beneficial effect on the patient’s emotional state, improves the prognosis, and prevents autism.

It is important to treat a teenager with schizophrenia with care, kindness, and understanding, so that he feels safe.

Forecast

The prognosis for schizophrenia depends on many factors: the form and course of the disease, the personality characteristics of the teenager, his interest in the real world, the effectiveness of drug therapy, and the presence or absence of support from close friends and relatives. Boys have a less favorable prognosis than girls.

Parents and friends of a teenager with schizophrenia should abandon stereotypes about this disease, so as not to aggravate his condition, and try to treat him as kindly as possible.

It is useful to consult with the patient’s attending physician: he will tell you how best to interact with him. The warm and caring attitude of loved ones plays a significant role in the treatment process and significantly improves the prognosis.

About the symptoms and treatment of schizophrenia in children and adolescents in this video.

Unfortunately, this period is very dangerous in terms of mental development; an unfavorable atmosphere and addiction to bad habits can lead to the development of mental illness. One of these pathologies is schizophrenia; its causes, as a rule, are not related to external factors, but lie in the functioning of the brain and genetic predisposition. The first symptoms of such a serious illness may not be recognized due to their manifestations reminiscent of a teenage crisis.

How to distinguish schizophrenia from an adolescent crisis?

isolation;
detachment;
silence;
isolation;
difficulties in communicating with peers;
mood swings.

Hallucinations

Hallucinations give rise to the next symptom - delusion. It manifests itself in the form of the emergence of various awkward ideas, conclusions, uncoherent speech, and fragments of phrases. There are many types of delirium, the most common types of delirium observed are:

grandeur, when the patient exalts himself above others;
influence, in this case the teenager believes that some higher forces are influencing him and his thoughts, reading them;
persecution, the patient is sure that they are watching him and want to harm him, for example, a neighbor from the eighth floor is a special agent or an alien and must kill him;
physical disability. Painfully attributes non-existent deformities to himself, for example, a huge nose, one leg shorter than the other, etc.

Unusual behavior

Often, foolishness gives way to a depressive state, and there are mood swings from laughter to hysteria or aggression.

Heboid syndrome

Therapy

Treatment is formally divided into four stages:

relief therapy;
stabilizing therapy;
adaptation stage;
prevention.

Symptoms of schizophrenia in teenagers

Schizophrenia is a term used to describe a severe form of mental disorder. It affects people from all countries and cultures, and age and gender do not matter. About one in a hundred people will develop schizophrenia at any time in their lives, and it may first appear during adolescence. At this time, the teenager begins to actively explore the world and becomes involved in the social process. And if for some reason society does not accept or rejects him, then he may develop a mental disorder.

The main danger of schizophrenia in adolescents

Schizophrenia in adolescents is dangerous because its symptoms often resemble an adolescent crisis; the slow descent into it can take several years before others suspect the disease. At first, a teenager may be tormented by suicidal thoughts and distorted perceptions of sensations, followed by a gradual withdrawal from the world and from himself. This happens almost unnoticed by relatives, who think that a decrease in the liveliness of character and frequent thoughtfulness are signs of the child growing up. The former love for parents and kindness disappears, causeless laughter is replaced by the same tears, a desire for loneliness, gloominess and isolation appear. All this is attributed to adolescence and does not particularly alarm loved ones.

Who is at risk

Adolescents with communication difficulties, prone to hypochondria and loneliness are prone to schizophrenia. This type of personality is called schizoid, or schizotopic, and it often includes gifted, sensitive people (poets, musicians), they usually keep a diary and like to delve into themselves. All this is accompanied by increased reflection, a tendency to reason and the emergence of a special interest that is extremely valuable to him (metaphysical intoxication).

Metaphysical intoxication means monotonous abstract intellectual activity, during which a teenager seeks answers to eternal questions: what is the meaning of life, theories of the restructuring of society, the development of the Universe. All this is extremely important for him, has a bright emotional coloring and cannot be criticized. The main thing is that all this remains speculation, and no attempts are made to test all the plans in practice. After adolescence, these phenomena gradually disappear, but in schizophrenia, intoxication is more persistent and is distinguished by pretentiousness and obvious absurdity. The patient reads and writes something all day long, but cannot talk coherently about his activities. Often increased interest is shown in telepathy, magic, contacts with extraterrestrial civilizations, all this can make a person completely unadapted to life.

Causes of schizophrenia in adolescents

The impetus for the development of schizophrenia in adolescence can be a hereditary predisposition, although researchers cannot come to a consensus on what exactly this predisposition is, either in genes or in signaling heredity. But the fact remains that the incidence of the disease is higher in those individuals whose relatives suffered from schizophrenia at one time or another in their lives.

Mental and physical stress play a significant role in the occurrence of schizophrenia. There are cases where the disease was triggered by a viral infection and even overheating in the sun. The factor of upbringing in the family is also important - insufficient attention and lack of love, coldness and indifference of parents have a huge effect on the developing psyche of the child, and can also cause such diseases as schizophrenia in children and adolescents.

Manifestations of negative and positive symptoms

The most frightening symptoms of schizophrenia are negative, that is, a pronounced loss of properties inherent in a healthy personality. Integrity in thinking, emotional sphere and volitional acts disappears. A sick teenager develops anxiety and fear of the world around him; he wants to avoid any contact, which usually ends in autism. Complete apathy sets in, there is a lack of interest in life and in oneself, which is manifested by reasoning (impaired thinking with empty verbosity without moving towards the goal). Hobbies are forgotten, and in their place new, absolutely ridiculous and wild ones are invented, for example, counting the letter “a” in a thick book. The patient does not see prospects in the life world and abandons his studies, cannot suppress impulsive primitive drives and reactions, which is manifested by sexual promiscuity, alcoholism, drug addiction, and the person begins to resemble a mechanism running idle.

The first warning signs of schizophrenia in a teenager may be: a change of friends, a decrease in academic performance, sleep problems, irritability and other features of the so-called “unfavorable” age. It becomes increasingly difficult for him to express his thoughts and reason rationally, and this causes great fear in the child. He can even seek help himself, but the inability to describe everything that is happening to him leads to an incorrect diagnosis. Usually a diagnosis of depression or neurosis is made, and in the meantime the disease progresses, and only with the appearance of positive symptoms is the final diagnosis made - schizophrenia. Productive (positive) symptoms of schizophrenia include:

Types of schizophrenia in adolescents

There are three types of schizophrenia:

recurrent (or periodic);
fur-like;
malignant.

Recurrent schizophrenia is characterized by acute, emotionally charged delusions and hallucinatory visions, and the more emotional the patient behaves, the higher the likelihood of recovery. This type of schizophrenia accounts for only 15% of all types of schizophrenia in adolescents, and girls are more susceptible to it than boys. The clinical picture of the disease is characterized by atypical depressive or manic manifestations; a combination of these conditions is observed during repeated phases.

The first outbreak is usually depressive, although it can also be manic. As a rule, depression is accompanied by fear, anxiety, headaches and paranoid delusions. Each outbreak usually begins acutely, over a period of several days, and in manic manifestations, sometimes even within a few hours. Before the attacks, patients experienced mood swings for several weeks. The duration of the phases varies and can vary from a couple of days to a month. This form of schizophrenia does not lead to major personal changes, and in 30% of cases, after several attacks and timely assistance, complete recovery occurs.

Coat-like (paroxysmal-continuous) schizophrenia is the most common of all types of schizophrenia. In the initial period, negative personality changes characteristic of the disease arise and gradually develop. The main symptoms are obsessions, depersonalization, overvalued ideas or paranoia. Each attack of the disease is invariably accompanied by a worsening of the personality defect, which also slowly increases during periods of calm. Attacks occur frequently, and due to the instability of remissions, the patient must be prescribed maintenance therapy. Gradually progressing, this type of schizophrenia can develop into malignant schizophrenia. But often after the end of adolescence, psychopathic symptoms and affective disorders may disappear. Patients adapt to society, acquire a profession and start a family, although infantility still remains.

Malignant schizophrenia is characterized by the absence of remissions and the severity of final conditions, but in recent years it has become diagnosed in adolescents significantly less frequently than before, and accounts for 28% of all continuous forms. Malignant schizophrenia is divided into three types based on symptoms: hebephrenia, paranoid and simple forms (with a feeling of emptiness and melancholy).

Paranoid schizophrenia manifests itself in adolescents between the ages of 10 and 12 years. The main signs of this type of schizophrenia are delusions, fears, fragmentary ideas and persecutory delusions. A teenager may tell fictitious stories about himself and his loved ones. As a rule, these stories are characterized by incoherence and naivety; the child is often confused and inconsistent in his stories, each time inventing new details. It is sometimes difficult for a specialist to distinguish them from ordinary children's fantasies.

The simple form is most often observed in children, less often in adolescents. The main signs of the disease are isolation, apathy, loss of usual interests and decreased mental abilities. Obedient teenagers change dramatically: they become rude, show aggression and even hatred towards family and friends, while the teenager may experience vagrancy, emotional indifference and antisocial behavior, and neglect of hygiene rules. Interest in productive activities is lost, the teenager begins to think about the meaning of life and death, immerses himself in the study of philosophy and other theoretical sciences for which he has no preparation; these actions are symptoms of metaphysical intoxication. The course of the disease may vary. In most cases, the disease progresses and leads to apathetic dementia and mental automatism.

Symptoms and signs of schizophrenia in adolescents

Schizophrenia occurs much less frequently in children and adolescents than in adults

Causes of schizophrenia in adolescents

Before you find out what the symptoms and signs of schizophrenia are in adolescents, you should consider the causes of its occurrence. The main factor leading to schizophrenia is a violation of the genetic code. There are “damages” in the DNA of children suffering from the disease that are absent in their healthy peers. Not so long ago, the disease was not associated with genetics and heredity, but today doctors say that children whose relatives (not necessarily close ones) were sick with this disease have a greater predisposition to schizophrenia.

Among the indirect causes leading to the appearance of the disease are:

late pregnancy and old age of the child’s father;
use of strong psychotropic and narcotic drugs by the child;
transferred viral diseases during intrauterine development;
intrauterine exposure to strong toxins;
insufficient nutrition of the mother during pregnancy;
chronic fetal hypoxia and disruption of the nutritional function of the placenta;
severe stress and anxiety.

In childhood, manifestations of schizophrenia are not as pronounced as in adults

Symptoms of the disease

Symptoms and signs of schizophrenia in children are very different from the course of the disease in adults. They depend directly on the age of the child.

Symptoms in children under 4 years of age

In the youngest patients, schizophrenia manifests itself as follows:

the child walks aimlessly in a circle;
the baby becomes impulsive and nervous;
there may be chaotic running or movement around the room without a visible goal or direction;
there is a monotonous expression of emotions and feelings;
causeless crying is replaced by fits of laughter.

Symptoms in children 7 years old

When the child reaches the age of 6-7 years, the symptoms become more pronounced. Among them:

disturbance of thought processes;
filling the mind with fantasies and imaginary actions;
the emergence of unreasonable fears, panic and anxiety;
the emergence of obsessions, boredom and apathy to what is happening;
mood swings.

Symptoms in teenagers

The main symptoms of schizophrenia in children are various fears, motor disinhibition, pathological fantasizing.

The following symptoms should raise alarm:

The teenager exhibits clown behavior, fools around a lot, and gets overly emotional.
It is difficult to carry on a conversation, words are confused, thoughts become inconsistent.
In the imagination of a teenager, aggression towards others can be seen, this can be seen in drawings, games, etc.
Shows excessive narcissism and selfishness.
Over time, the child becomes detached, loses interest in communicating with loved ones, and cruelty appears.
Often a teenager has a meaningless conversation with himself.
Sitting in one position for a long time, or, conversely, showing hyperactivity.
A child may begin to take an active interest in books on science fiction themes, study the processes of the universe, and read encyclopedias and reference books.
The teenager’s games are of the same type and cyclical; he plays out the same situation several times.

The manifestation of childhood schizophrenia can cause a low level of intelligence. The teenager stops communicating with peers, becomes withdrawn, and often withdraws into himself. It constantly seems to him that he is disliked, discriminated against and despised. Subsequently, the child’s consciousness ceases to perceive the whole picture of the world; he becomes fixated on individual fragments. Ultimately, all this becomes the cause of personality disintegration.

Signs of childhood schizophrenia

In addition to the symptoms of schizophrenia described above, there are general signs of the disease. The manifestation of these alarm bells should alert loved ones:

conflicting views;
difficulties in communicating with loved ones and peers;
complexes, may consider himself inferior;
incoherent thinking;
speech difficulties (may speak too quickly or, conversely, slowly);
loss of interest in life;
intellectual defects;
fear, paranoia and causeless panic;
lack of bright emotions;
quick transition from tears to laughter;
absent-mindedness and aimless pastime;
excessive narcissism.

Schizophrenia at this age can be disguised as ordinary fatigue and emotional exhaustion. Therefore, only a highly qualified specialist should diagnose the disease.

Children with schizophrenia need adequate treatment from a psychiatrist

Types of adolescent schizophrenia

Typical forms of mental disorder for adolescents are:

Paranoid type. This form of schizophrenia is rare in children. This diagnosis is usually made to adolescents aged 11-13 years. Among the symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia, the most striking are: hallucinations, persecution mania, panic, paranoia and delusional thoughts. The patient constantly experiences fear and can see danger in everything. Often such children become aggressive towards their relatives. This condition is accompanied by a refusal to eat, which often leads to anorexia.

Catatonic type. This type of schizophrenia is characterized by pronounced movement disorders: excessive mobility, hyperactivity, constantly repeated actions, freezing in one position for a long time. The teenager disconnects from the real world, becomes withdrawn and detached, stops contacting close people and does not respond to attempts to talk with him.

Hebephrenic type. This form most often occurs in adolescence. Characterized by clown behavior, foolishness, unmotivated gaiety, the child behaves ridiculously, often grimaces. The patient suffers from insomnia, migraines and delusional ideas. In some cases, the teenager hallucinates.

Simple type. It occurs in children of preschool age, much less often in adolescence. The child becomes apathetic, angry, withdrawn, and loses all interest in studies and the world around him. The child’s intelligence level drops and paranoia may begin to develop. Being forced to go to an educational institution can cause outbursts of rage and aggression, and attempts to leave home. Often such children commit antisocial actions.

Grafted type. Occurs in adolescents after serious traumatic brain injuries resulting in mental retardation. It develops mainly in children who previously showed capriciousness, stubbornness, irritability, and were immersed in their own world. In addition, this schizophrenia is sometimes vaccinated after a serious illness or intoxication.

Regardless of what form of mental disorder the child suffers, the result is irreversible mental defects.

The task of parents is not only to consult a doctor on time, but also to provide their son or daughter with maximum support, understanding, and love.

Diagnostic measures

Magnetic resonance imaging. Using the procedure, it is possible to identify characteristic changes in brain structures that occur during a mental disorder, and also to exclude the presence of tumors.
Electroencephalography. An examination that allows you to see the functional activity of the brain.
Dopplerography of blood vessels. The study is carried out to assess the condition of blood vessels and blood supply in order to exclude possible pathologies.
Neurotest. Neuro-immunological study of blood serum, which allows you to quickly assess the state of the nervous system and determine the nature of the pathological process.
Laboratory blood tests. They are carried out to detect traces of drugs in the body, as well as to detect the Epstein-Barr virus.

Treatment of the disease

Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder that cannot be treated on its own. Treatment of the disease in adolescents has some distinctive features, this is due to the fact that pathological changes in the synthesis of brain neurons are congenital or hereditary. If you strictly follow the doctor’s advice and recommendations and adhere to the prescribed treatment regimen, you can achieve stable remission. If you identify at least a few alarming symptoms, you should visit a doctor as soon as possible and, if the diagnosis is confirmed, begin treatment.

The onset of schizophrenia in adolescence is complicated by hormonal maturation

To successfully treat adolescent mental disorders, drug therapy is used in combination with psychotherapy. As a rule, the doctor prescribes the following medications:

The main signs of schizophrenia in a teenager

A teenager at his age begins a difficult period when his gradual transition to adulthood begins. Many diseases that were not manifested in childhood make themselves known at this time.

Signs of schizophrenia in a teenager appear in the same way as in an adult, but there are a number of differences. They depend on the type of mental illness.

It is in adolescence that the process of active cognition of the world around us begins, and if a failure occurs, then social adaptation does not occur.

The prevalence of this pathology is 1-2 cases out of the total number of cases of mental imbalance.

The reasons for the development of the disease are not fully understood, but it is believed that a hereditary predisposition is highly likely.

The manifestation of the pathological process often occurs after mental or physical trauma, severe illness, drug or alcohol use.

How does adolescent schizophrenia manifest?

With malignant schizophrenia, there is a rapid increase in negative emotional background, deterioration of intelligence, autism, and a pronounced weakening of strength, closedness and asociality.

What types of diseases occur?

If you look in more detail, there are several types of the disease, each of which has its own characteristics of the course and rate of progression, so, in adolescents, schizophrenia occurs:

Continuously flowing. It begins in childhood, but after the onset of puberty it acquires a constant course and pronounced signs of mental abnormality.
Paranoid. Sometimes hallucinatory-delusional. It occurs in the form of changes in mood and the development of delusional ideas.
Recurrent.
Acute puberty.

Continuously flowing

The first manifestations of such a disease can occur in early childhood. But during the transition to adolescence, it becomes more severe, so it should be considered in more detail.

The first disorders appear by the age of three. The baby becomes stubborn and often gets irritated over trifles. He does not show attention to others, becomes indifferent to family and friends.

Until the clinical picture becomes more pronounced, which happens by the age of five, adults tend to attribute all changes to character traits.

Upon entering adolescence, the child becomes constantly unbalanced, and developmental delays become visible to the naked eye.

Paranoid

Occurs most often after the age of 12 in a teenager. In many ways, the condition resembles the previous disease, but its main difference is the sudden change in mood.

The patient’s mental immaturity is manifested in fantasy stories about himself and loved ones, which gradually acquire new, often contradictory, details.

As they grow older, the delirium becomes more complete and thoughtful. It is characterized by themes of persecution, greatness, etc.

The hallucinatory-delusional form develops extremely rarely. This type of paranoid disorder is severe and is characterized by cyclicity.

Recurrent

This variety is more typical for girls. It begins in the form of a sharp psychotic attack with a complete loss of one’s own personality.

This type of schizophrenia is characterized by a sharp onset and a sharp decline.

Often develops after severe infectious or inflammatory processes, psycho-emotional stress, depression or physical trauma.

Acute pubertal schizophrenia

The course of this disease occurs in waves. The attacks do not differ in severity, followed by a decline that lasts as long as the exacerbation, from two weeks to several months.

In the absence of treatment or exposure to adverse factors, the duration of the pathological condition increases.

You should consult a psychiatrist about how to treat this disease. Drug treatment consists of monotherapy with antipsychotics.

Help to normalize family relationships and improve social adaptation is provided by a psychotherapy specialist.

1.5 million Russians suffer from this disease. It often appears between the ages of 15 and 25, its first symptoms resemble signs of a teenage crisis... Experts answer questions that concern parents.

Six months after her 17th birthday, Yulia refused to leave her room: it began to seem to her that others were reading her thoughts and plotting against her. To all questions she answered through gritted teeth that everything was fine. The parents thought that their daughter was suffering from a breakup with her boyfriend, and hoped that this would explain the strangeness in her behavior. Only when Yulia began to hear voices in an empty room (she suspected that there was a mysterious transmitter installed somewhere that was sending them), in a moment of enlightenment, she told herself that this was not normal...

“When we think of madness, we most often think of a person with a schizophrenic disorder,” says psychologist Philip Zimbardo. “Schizophrenia is a mental disorder in which consciousness is fragmented, thinking and perception are distorted, and emotions are dulled.”

The disease is usually triggered by severe stress, another serious illness or family atmosphere

The disease can begin gradually, and its first signs can easily be confused with a crisis of adolescence. Moreover, medical tests (MRI, blood tests) do not reveal schizophrenia. It can take more or less serious forms. Some will sink deeper into illness and spend most of their lives in the hospital. For others, the symptoms will weaken so much that they will be able to lead an independent life and work. To successfully combat a disease, it is important to understand it as best as possible. We asked experts to answer the questions that worry parents the most.

What are the main symptoms?

Schizophrenia often first appears between 15 and 25 years of age. Withdrawal, inability to act, difficulties in communication, mood swings - some symptoms of schizophrenia really resemble manifestations of a teenage crisis. But there is no reason to be seriously concerned as long as there are no hallucinations, delusions or speech disturbances.

To hallucinate is to perceive (see, hear or feel) something that does not exist but appears to be real. “Hallucination occurs due to the fact that a person perceives some of his unpleasant thoughts or feelings as something that does not belong to him, separate from him, and they take the form of disturbing visions or voices,” explains clinical psychologist Tatyana Voskresenskaya. For example, a person with severe feelings of guilt may hallucinate a gang of tormentors (symbolizing punishment) who want to kidnap him.

Common teenage quirks? But if they continue for many months in a row, illness can be assumed

Delusions are false ideas that persist despite facts indicating the opposite (for example, Yulia explained her “voices” by the existence of a “transmitter”). And, paradoxically, this is also an attempt at self-healing.

“Through the power of imagination, a teenager creates for himself a picture of the world that is more understandable and less painful than the real one,” says psychiatrist and psychotherapist Sergei Medvedev. – This is a way to cope with a situation that is intolerable for him. And although this method is not very good and deprives him of the opportunity to adapt to the environment, at this moment he simply has no other.”

Psychiatrist Igor Makarov in “Lectures on Child Psychiatry” talks about a teenager who was visited at night by “dinosaurs and hippos, with red horns and red teeth. “They have brutal voices... wild... And they tell me to quarrel with someone, to fight with my mother...” Delirium helps the patient “to connect his anxiety with some object, find an explanation for it and thereby calm it down at least a little,” – Tatiana Voskresenskaya clarifies.

Finally, speech disturbances are observed during acute conditions. The coherence of statements is lost. “A schizophrenic communicates with imaginary characters about an imaginary situation and is not able to clearly tell what is happening to him,” says Tatyana Voskresenskaya. Patients also invent new words, giving them a meaning that is understandable to them alone. However, patients have moments of relative peace when they can more easily enter into dialogue.

Where does schizophrenia come from?

We have to admit: no one knows the exact causes of the disease. Moving forward three hypotheses.

The first is genetic. “The risk of being schizophrenic increases if a close relative has the disorder,” says schizophrenia researcher Irving Gottesman. But it's not just a matter of heredity. The illness is usually triggered by severe stress, another serious illness or the atmosphere in the family - a sick relative, communicating with the child, can convey to him his fears and behavioral characteristics.

The second is biological. From a biological point of view, adolescence is a period when brain structures are rebuilt. Some neural connections arise, others disappear. “It is possible that some adolescents have 'accidents' that impair their ability to cope with stressful situations and strong feelings,” explain psychiatrists Raquel Gur and Godfrey Pearlson. “But they can simply accompany the disease, and its cause is something else.”

The third hypothesis is psychoanalytic. According to her, “those who unconsciously perceive themselves as part of the mother’s body are prone to illness,” explains psychoanalyst Virginie Meggle. – Such a person is unable to cope with situations that symbolically represent separation from parents: a school exam, divorce, sexual fantasies, the loss of a loved one. They traumatize him and can trigger the onset of the disease.”

Personal experience

“I have to remember that my son and his illness are not the same thing.”

Alexander, father of 23-year-old Nikolai:“I don’t cope well with my son’s illness. What he endures is unbearable, and what he exposes his family to is also unbearable. Schizophrenia distorts relationships: I need to somehow separate my child from his illness. But he doesn’t make this distinction: “It’s normal that I don’t clean my apartment: I’m sick. It’s normal that I call you eight times a week or that I never answer the messages you leave: I’m sick.” To withstand this, we must remember that we wanted this child, that he is not reduced only to his illness, that this is a son, brother, grandson...

To hold on, I collected information about the disease and treatment. But ultimately I don't know much. This is a situation that I will never get used to and that cannot be changed. I have a child. He lives. He contacts us endlessly. He knows no rest and gives us no respite. I tried to put some kind of barrier between him, the disease and myself, which would somehow protect both the family and himself: for example, before sending a response to his message, I think about it for a long time, try to evaluate what he tells me , depending on the state in which, in my opinion, he is.

We can never get into the head of another, especially someone who suffers from mental illness. I am not in his place and have given up trying to take his place. Sometimes it seems to me that he understands me better than I understand him. It's horrible. I have no confidence in anything. The only thing I know is that love is the best medicine. I try to keep it and love my son.”

Should drugs be blamed?

Nearly one in five 18-24 year olds report that someone they know uses drugs. But the number of patients with schizophrenia, according to the World Health Organization, remains stable and the same in all countries (approximately 1% of the population, which corresponds to almost one and a half million people in Russia). Many of them have never used drugs. However, drugs, including smoking marijuana, can accelerate the progression of the disease and influence the frequency and severity of relapses, which is recognized by most psychiatrists.

“Even soft drugs lower the barrier between consciousness and the unconscious, and frightening impulses break out from there. In some cases, this provokes the disease,” emphasizes Tatyana Voskresenskaya.

Does illness make a person dangerous?

“The danger of patients with schizophrenia is greatly exaggerated,” Sergei Medvedev is sure. “If they find themselves in criminal situations, it is often as a victim.” A schizophrenic is much more dangerous to himself than to others. A tendency towards violence may appear in him mainly under the influence of painful hallucinations - for example, when he begins to think that in front of him is not his father, but a demon. In moments of acute crisis, a schizophrenic is not aware of the severity of his condition. Sometimes temporary hospitalization is necessary to protect a person from himself and to avoid suicide attempts.

Who should I contact?

“It makes sense to choose an experienced specialist, someone you will trust,” recommends Sergei Medvedev. – This is not necessarily a psychiatrist; you can contact a psychologist, social worker or general practitioner. And the specialist will help you decide where to refer the patient for consultation and treatment.”

According to the Psychiatric Care Act, parents have the right to bring a child under 15 years of age to a psychiatrist. “At the same time, they can come to begin with even without him,” continues Sergei Medvedev, “their presence is more significant than the presence of a child. Because they are the ones who have to make decisions and influence the situation.” After this, the patient’s consent is required to contact a psychiatrist. “But it’s always not about changing a person, but about helping him,” emphasizes Sergei Medvedev.

About 25% of those diagnosed with schizophrenia eventually stabilize

Does treatment help?

Treatment methods for schizophrenia are constantly being improved. They combine medications and psychotherapy, which allows the teenager to understand why he was unable to build an inner space for himself. She also helps him find support - this could be literary creativity, drawing, photography, caring for animals, music... “It is very important to see the special gift of each patient,” emphasizes Virginie Meggle. – Yes, indeed, no one knows how to cure schizophrenia, but it can be managed. Try to understand your child."

Schizophrenics are able to learn to be aware of their illness, even if they cannot completely control it. And about 25% of those diagnosed with schizophrenia eventually stabilize. Sergei Medvedev adds that “modern means of rehabilitation and psychotherapy make it possible to achieve such a remission (weakening of symptoms) that, having seen a schizophrenic during this period, a psychiatrist unfamiliar with his history would not have given him such a diagnosis.”

Where to go for help?

“New Path” is a website for relatives of mentally ill people. Here you can find telephone numbers and addresses of organizations providing psychiatric and social assistance, a list of useful books and telephone numbers, and medical advice.

“Schizophrenia and Me” is a forum for communication between those suffering from mental disorders, their loved ones, and doctors.

www.psychologies.ru

Adolescent schizophrenia: causes, signs and treatments

The first signs of schizophrenia in a teenager can easily be confused with age-related changes and their accompanying unstable emotional state. For example, a boy or girl may act distant and withdrawn or, conversely, grimace and fool around. Parents make allowances for the difficult period of development and do not take odd behavior seriously.

With rare exceptions, teenagers are typically characterized by a desire to communicate with peers, to assert themselves in society, and to try new things. But apathy (indifference), lack of initiative and lack of motivation for any activity can be a sign of a serious illness.

In turn, the hidden genetic pathology of the nervous system manifests itself precisely in adolescence. The true causes can be determined by timely and accurate diagnosis. If the presence of the disease is confirmed, you need to consult a psychiatrist for treatment.

What can trigger the manifestation of the disease?

Researchers call the causes of schizophrenia in adolescents multifactorial. Not only age-related changes can provoke the symptoms of this mental illness. Along with the genetic factor, causes may include severe emotional shock, alcohol or drug use (in predisposed people, even once in a small amount), head injuries or infectious diseases.

How does schizophrenia manifest during adolescence?

Doctors consider 14–15 years old to be the most dangerous age when signs of mental illness become obvious. For diagnosis, one clear sign or two unclear ones are enough. There is something to worry about if a boy or girl notices the following symptoms:

delusional ideas and statements - a teenager may talk about being persecuted, imagine that he has great talents, or strive to cure a non-existent illness;

inappropriate behavior (anger, unusual fears);

an overly excited state or, conversely, stupor with immobility, numbness;

slurred speech;

visual or auditory hallucinations (“visions”, “voices”);

emotional coldness, indifference and decreased will and motivation (unwillingness to do anything), which progresses.

The disease takes a long time to be diagnosed. Behavior and condition are monitored for six months, recording manifestations of schizophrenia in a teenager and symptoms. Treatment is prescribed based on diagnostic results.

Among the methods for diagnosing schizophrenia, there are clinical ones - consultation with a psychiatrist, pathopsychological examination - and laboratory/instrumental ones - Neurotest, Neurophysiological test system.

The doctor can evaluate the effectiveness of the nervous system using Neurotest. For the study, a small amount of blood is taken, in which several indicators are measured. If their level is high, this indicates an acute schizophrenic process in the nervous system and confirms the diagnosis.

The neurophysiological test system, in the course of several studies at once, affects the teenager’s sense organs with stimuli of varying intensity. If the reactions differ from the reactions of healthy people, this also speaks in favor of the diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Pathopsychological examination involves testing the patient by a clinical psychologist who will test thinking, memory, attention, emotional state and will. A teenager with schizophrenia will experience disturbances. For example, when asked to explain the meaning of an abstract sentence (proverb, saying), the patient will think that he is speaking correctly and consistently, although in fact this will not be the case.

If organic pathology of the brain is suspected, the presence of traumatic brain injuries, episodes of loss of consciousness, or a history of convulsive seizures, consultation with a neurologist and an EEG are also indicated.

Return to normal life

Schizophrenia should be treated by an experienced specialist who has experience in psychotherapy. Individual psychotherapy with a teenager who has been diagnosed with this mental illness is paramount. Family psychotherapy is also important, since relatives must support the teenager during the difficult period of treatment and the formation of remission.

Group therapy helps with social rehabilitation, regaining communication skills, combating autism, and isolation from the outside world. It is believed that even the patient’s silent presence in group therapy is already serious progress that leads to recovery.

To fully control symptoms and avoid unwanted side effects, drug therapy should be prescribed by a doctor. Regular visits to the treating psychiatrist guarantees long-term and stable remission.

During the treatment process, the doctor prescribes medications to provide medical support to a patient with symptoms of mental illness. Depending on the symptoms, these may be neuroleptics, antidepressants, nootropics, tranquilizers. Comprehensive and timely treatment from competent psychotherapists helps return a person to normal life.

Schizophrenia in adolescents

Schizophrenia can affect a person of any age, including adolescence. About 30% of patients first develop symptoms of this disease between the ages of 10 and 20 years.

That is, in adolescence the risk of developing schizophrenia is 4 times higher than in young and adulthood.

The first signs of schizophrenia in a teenager

Adolescent schizophrenia is a process associated with the formation in a teenager of a pathological mental and emotional state in the perception of the surrounding reality. At the beginning of the development of schizophrenia in adolescents, signs of psychopathy come to the fore: disobedience, aggressiveness, refusal to attend school, sexual deviations.

The main sign of schizophrenia in adolescence is the intensification of negative emotions almost instantly, the occurrence of disturbances in thinking, severe autism, and a decrease in general activity. Adolescent and adult schizophrenia differ significantly. In this age category, the onset of schizophrenia rarely manifests itself in the form of hallucinations and delusions.

Types of schizophrenia in adolescence:

paranoid - manifests itself as delusion in the form of incorrect interpretation of events and one’s own experiences, dysmorphomania is common (discovery of a defect in appearance that actually does not exist);
simple - can begin with a difficult character and outbursts of aggression, followed by a sharp decrease in activity and poverty of interests;
residual – against the background of the absence of acute manifestations of schizophrenia, lethargy, low social activity, and indifference to one’s appearance remain;
hebephrenic – manifested by elements of child behavior: grimacing, mannerisms, extreme manifestations of autism;
catatonic – currently quite rare; there is stupor or unproductive motor activity, negativism, freezing in unusual positions.

According to the type of course, schizophrenia is divided into continuous and paroxysmal.

Prevention

Adolescents at risk for schizophrenia should be explained the importance of not taking drugs and alcoholic beverages. Adolescents need to be constantly supported in the development of social skills, prevent the onset of social isolation, formulate the development of relationships with people in a positive way, teach hygiene skills and self-care.

In addition, it is necessary to carry out special psychotherapeutic work, the purpose of which is to talk about the need to lead a healthy lifestyle, take care of your appearance, work to correct the pathological behavior of a teenager and teach formal contacts with others. In the parental family of a sick teenager, it is important to maintain a stable, calm relationship, without physical and moral violence, excessive dependence and uncontrolled behavior.

It is important to teach a teenager:

control your behavior and emotions;
do the work yourself;
build relationships with others;
engage in creativity and sports

Symptoms of adolescent schizophrenia

There are entire symptom complexes that cannot be considered separately from each other; all of them, to one degree or another, are applicable to a number of other diseases. They can only be considered in relation to schizophrenia in aggregate.

Changes in the emotional sphere (a teenager with schizophrenia experiences great difficulty in expressing emotions, or reacts inadequately to everyday life situations).
The appearance of delusions, hallucinations are possible (the sick teenager hears voices that do not exist in reality and sees imaginary objects).
Behavioral disorders in adolescents are expressed in uncontrollability, lack of purposefulness, passivity, indifference to school, running away from home, early alcoholism and primitive interests.

These symptoms do not always appear simultaneously; moreover, they vary and depend on the stage of the disease.

Differential diagnosis

Schizophrenia requires careful diagnosis, because usually this diagnosis accompanies a person throughout his life. Manifestations characteristic of this disease, as a rule, accompany other conditions of a teenager where there are mental disorders. Only a psychiatrist has the right to understand all the manifestations of the disease and make a primary diagnosis - schizophrenia of a certain type. How, among other things, to prescribe therapy and monitor the treatment process.

The main thing in diagnosing schizophrenia is a scrupulous history taking, psychological testing for the adolescent’s personality traits and long-term observation by a group of doctors in a psychiatric hospital. The doctor attaches great importance to data on the use of medications and narcotic drugs, information about the effects of toxic substances, and the possibility of transmitting the disease by inheritance. In addition, to exclude brain pathology, the state of the adolescent’s nervous system is taken into account.

Case history: Patient V., 18 years old

During adolescence, one can note intolerable, annoying, conflict behavior towards parents and friends. He ran away from home, lived in the basement, drank alcohol and drugs. Smokes. There were cases of theft. I finished 9th grade with difficulty. He entered a vocational school, but did not complete the first year, as he was detained for hooliganism.

Returning home, I decided to go to work. Got a job as a loader in a store. There he liked a girl to whom he began to show strange attention. When he saw a girl, he began to speak very loudly, used obscene language, spat in her direction, compromised her in other ways. In response to her indignation, he scattered the products around the store and broke the display case.

In addition, he began to look unkempt, stopped washing himself, and talked a lot and meaninglessly.

Once he invited a policeman to accompany him on a trip to a restaurant as security. Having received a refusal from him, he initiated a fight. I left my job. He settled in a landfill, was happy and waited there for his beloved. During this period he committed several thefts. As a result, he was detained while trying to take a bag of candy from a child. During hospitalization, he laughed and behaved foolishly, grimaced, and thematic slippage was noted during conversation.

There are 4 types of prognosis for schizophrenia:

In general, the prognosis of the disease.
Forecast of the social plan, training opportunities and further employment.
Prediction of treatment effectiveness.
Prognosis in terms of the possibility of homicidal or suicide.

About fifty factors have been identified that help determine the prognosis of the disease. Some of them:

The male gender is an unfavorable factor, the female gender is more favorable.

Concomitant organic pathology of the brain worsens the prognosis of schizophrenia.

A history of heredity for the disease is unfavorable.

The presence of schizoid character accentuation also has a bad effect on the prognosis.

A good sign will be the acute onset of the disease, a bad sign will be an unclear, erased onset of the disease.

It’s bad if the hallucinatory component predominates, but it’s good if the affective component predominates.

A good sign is the response to the first therapy.

Long-term and frequent exacerbations also worsen the prognosis.

According to statistics, about 20% of sick teenagers attempt suicide, of which almost 12% die.

A probable prognosis for the development of the disease in your particular case can be obtained during a consultation in our clinic.

Treatment of schizophrenia in adolescents in the clinic

Perhaps the most serious problem that acutely faces the parents of a teenager with schizophrenia is the search for a qualified specialist. Namely, a psychiatrist who can restore the health of a teenager in the shortest possible time and for a long time.

This problem can be easily solved by professionals in their field, doctors of various profiles at the specialized psychotherapeutic center “Transfiguration Clinic”.

The center has the following capabilities:

outpatient department;

inpatient department;

day hospital departments;

doctor-assistance services at home;

Find out prices for services here. You can make an appointment anonymously, indicating only your name and city, without presenting supporting documents.

If you have any questions related to your health or the health of your loved ones, please call the numbers listed on the website.

preobrazhenie.ru

Note to mom: the main manifestations of schizophrenia in children and adolescents

Schizophrenia occurs much less frequently in children and adolescents than in adults. Incomprehensible fears, fantasies, delusional ideas and even advanced development of certain mental functions - all this can be observed in mental disorders in children.

The manifestations of schizophrenia in children and adolescents differ from those in adults. The influence of the disease is imposed on the processes of mental development, while the mental development of the child is slowed down and distorted.

The most dangerous thing about schizophrenia is not delusions or hallucinations, but the fact that the disease radically changes the child or teenager, his attitude to the world, and leaves an indelible mark on his personality.

Main features

In childhood, the manifestations of schizophrenia are not as pronounced as in adults. Symptoms of mental illness are more erased and incomplete.

In both children and adults, all symptoms of schizophrenia can be divided into productive and negative.

Productive symptoms are those pathological processes and phenomena that appear as the disease develops (overvalued and delusional ideas, hallucinations, pathological fantasies).

Negative symptoms are mental qualities that a person loses as the disease progresses (the expression of emotions decreases, interest in almost everything decreases).

Negative symptoms

Negative symptoms of childhood and adolescent schizophrenia are decreased activity, emotional impoverishment combined with immersion in one’s own world. Gradually, the disease leaves an indelible mark on all mental processes, and a schizophrenic defect is formed.

If schizophrenia began early, then over time the children become like mentally retarded people, although they were not initially so. Speech becomes incomprehensible, thinking deteriorates, and intelligence is significantly reduced. Such children may forget how to walk and begin to crawl on all fours. Thus, when the disease begins in childhood, the schizophrenic defect has much in common with the manifestations of oligophrenia (congenital mental retardation).

Productive disorders

The main symptoms of schizophrenia in children are various fears, motor disinhibition, and pathological fantasy.

In adolescents, schizophrenia is manifested by delusional ideas of physical disabilities, anorexia, and philosophical intoxication. Delusional ideas of physical disabilities are when one’s own external features (the shape of the eyes, the shape of the nose, lips, etc.) seem incredibly ugly to a person (big, small), although in fact they are not. Often such teenagers feel that they are incredibly fat (although their weight is normal), so they begin to refuse food and deliberately reduce their weight - this is anorexia.

Signs of schizophrenia in a teenager

Among cases of schizophrenia, only about 2% occur in childhood and adolescence. Signs of schizophrenia in teenagers, and especially in children, more often appear in an erased form; productive symptoms themselves (delusions and hallucinations) rarely appear; anxiety, irritability and self-doubt are more often noticeable.

Very often, already in childhood and adolescence, a child with schizophrenia attracts attention with excessive constraint, a low level of sociability, and difficulty in contact with peers. Often, due to his differences, he can become an outcast in the classroom, in the yard, or be the subject of bullying and aggression from peers.

Apathy, lethargy, decreased appetite and slowness- these are some more possible signs of schizophrenia in a teenager. Most often, loved ones mistakenly take these signs for laziness, reluctance to show diligence in studying or helping around the house, and therefore during this period, relatives very rarely seek the help of a psychiatrist.

Even in childhood, a child may show signs aggression in relation to peers or animals, in adolescence - an acute fear of death, combined with suicidal tendencies. Relatives may note in the behavior of a teenager suffering from schizophrenia, indifference, low emotionality, and a cold attitude towards others; There may be sexual disinhibition and fantasies of a sadistic nature.

Dysmorphophobia(the belief that one part of the body is ugly, disproportionately sick or small) can also be one of the signs of schizophrenia in a child. Although in adolescence and normally few children are satisfied with their own appearance, with dysmorphophobia this is overvalued, pathological, and perhaps even delusional. Such symptoms appear in 80% of adolescents suffering from schizophrenia, and often (especially in girls) they can be combined with anorexia (Minutko V.L. “Schizophrenia”).

Tendency to use alcohol, drugs, and vagrancy It is also often characteristic of adolescents with schizophrenia. Unwillingness to follow generally accepted norms, an oppositional attitude towards them, destructive moments in behavior should also attract attention.

Hallucinations at this age, as well as among adults, they most often come in the form of voices calling for destruction, harm to loved ones, or - frankly frightening to the teenager himself; delirium most often has the nature of persecution.

Naturally, if these symptoms occur, it is extremely important to resolve the issue of conducting a comprehensive diagnostic examination to determine the cause of the appearance of these symptoms. Symptoms indicating schizophrenia in a child or adolescent may also be characteristic of autism, epilepsy, various types of brain tumors, diseases of the nervous system or neuroinfections.

Schizophrenia is one of the serious mental disorders. It is treatable, but timely initiation of treatment is very important. If any aspects of your child’s behavior bother you or alarm you, try to consult a doctor as soon as possible. Psychiatrists at our clinic provide anonymous diagnosis of schizophrenia in children and adolescents on an outpatient or inpatient basis. It is also possible to check/clarify a previously made diagnosis, correct treatment and social rehabilitation.