What are the Symptoms of Schizophrenia in Men?

What are the symptoms of schizophrenia in men? Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder characterized by a number of disturbing symptoms. It affects around 1% of the population and can be caused by several different things such as brain abnormalities, physical and hormonal changes, and a chemical imbalance in the brain. There is also a hereditary factor and schizophrenia is known to run in families.

What are the symptoms of schizophrenia in men?

Schizophrenia affects men and women equally, but men are more likely to develop the symptoms of schizophrenia in their early twenties and the illness is usually diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 25. Women tend to develop the illness in their late twenties and early thirties.

The symptoms of schizophrenia are the same in both men and women, but although schizophrenia affects men and women in equal numbers, men typically experience a greater severity of symptoms and are less likely to respond to schizophrenia medication. Research carried out on schizophrenics suggests that the differences between male and female patients are caused by subtle abnormalities in the brain of men with schizophrenia.

The symptoms of schizophrenia fall into three categories: positive, negative, and cognitive. Positive symptoms include delusions, hallucinations, problems organizing speech and thoughts, and disorganized behavior.

Hallucinations and delusional behavior are probably the best known and the most common of the symptoms of schizophrenia and patients with the illness will often report hearing voices in their head; or they might believe in things that do not exist in the real world. But although these symptoms are disturbing, they are actually easier to treat than the negative symptoms more commonly seen in male patients, which is why male schizophrenics are less likely to respond positively to medication.

Negative symptoms of schizophrenia in men can be present for a long time before any of the positive symptoms begin to manifest and can include a withdrawal from family and friends, an apparent lack of emotion, a gradual loss of interest in normal activities, difficulties in planning things and making decisions, and a lack of motivation. Such symptoms are much harder to treat. Consequently, male schizophrenic patients are more likely to be affected by personal issues and find it harder to integrate into normal society as a result of their illness.

The third category of schizophrenia symptoms is referred to as cognitive symptoms f schizophrenia oand these affect the normal thought processes of the patient, usually interfering with their ability to perform simple everyday tasks. For example, a man experiencing the cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia may have trouble remembering things, or be unable to pay attention. He may also find it hard to make sense of information he has been given.

Schizophrenia can also affect the mood and it is not unusual for a patient with the illness to be depressed or suffer from wild mood swings. Patients can often end up isolated as a result of the stigma attached to their illness as a result of inappropriate or bizarre behavior.