Undifferentiated Schizophrenia
4 out of the 5 main types of Schizophrenia
Undifferentiated schizophrenia is a combination of paranoid, hebephrenic, and catatonic schizophrenia symptoms. But does not fit into one of the three schizophrenia diagnoses.
Like every type of schizophrenia, the causes of undifferentiated schizophrenia are unknown. Yet, researchers believe that it may be caused by alterations in brain chemistry, the structure of the brain, age, genetics, environmental factors, substance use, and brain abnormalities.
Some symptoms of undifferentiated schizophrenia are negative symptoms, delusions, lack of motivation or desire, disorganized speech, hallucinations, movement disturbances, catatonic behavior, emotionlessness, and difficultly understanding behavior and speech. While having negative symptoms, patients lack behaviors found in non-schizophrenic patients, and they would not do daily routine tasks. For instance, someone might avoid eye contact while speaking or be unable to do proper personal hygiene. During delusions symptoms, patients might have strong-untrue beliefs. For instance, they might believe they are a famous person, or they have a pet unicorn. A person with a lack of motivation or desire will not be unactive and would not do their daily functions. When an individual has disorganized speech, patients can have a hard time maintaining a train of thought, say or make up random words, shift topics regularly, or have a setback in speaking. Some examples of disorganized speech are rhyming words randomly and repeating words over and over again. Another sign of undifferentiated schizophrenia is hallucinations, in which the patient's five senses and their ability to know what's genuine is deceived. For instance, they can touch something sticky on a clean surface and taste blood in their mouth. When a person has movement disturbances, a person's movements are involuntary or voluntary increased due to a group of their nervous system. For instance, the person can be shivering non-stop or shake their arm non-stop. Catatonic behavior, also known as stupor, is when a person is close to a state of unconsciousness. For instance, they would not be responsive or show emotion. When being emotionless, the person would not show or feel any emotions, like if you told the person their cat died, they will be numb and not care. Difficulty understanding a person's behavior and speech is when someone does not comprehend what they are saying and meaning. For instance, they can be saying made-up words or expressions.
Undifferentiated schizophrenia is incurable, some treatments patients can get are medications, psychosocial treatments, coordinated special care, cognitive behavioral therapy, and social skills training. Medications, a type of treatment for undifferentiated schizophrenia, can help a person relieve some symptoms and help a person become calmer. Some medications that treat undifferentiated schizophrenia are antipsychotics and antidepressants. Antipsychotics medications are tranquilizers and neuroleptics used to treat people with schizophrenia. Some antipsychotics medications used for undifferentiated schizophrenia are Risperdal, Abilify, Seroquel, Invega, Aripiprazole, and Geodon. Antidepressants and mood-stabilizing drugs help people with other mental healths like depression and anxiety. Some antidepressants for undifferentiated schizophrenia are Paxil, Celexa, Effexor, Pristiq, and Cymbalta. And some mood-stabilizing drugs for undifferentiated schizophrenia are Tegretol, Lithobid, and Depakote. Psychosocial treatments are different types of therapy that can help a person with their cognitive symptoms and negative symptoms. As well as help them with everyday challenges to help them join the rest of society, like going to school or getting a job. Coordinated special care is a type of treatment that aids a person during their early stage of schizophrenia with a multidisciplinary approach. For example, coordinated special care helps a patient with medication accessibility and family support. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is an effective type of ongoing therapy that assists people by challenging their brains and convey new thoughts and behaviors. For instance, cognitive-behavioral therapy can help an insecure person to a positive and confident person. Social skills training helps a person with adjusting to life again and becoming social. For instance, they help patients start a conversation or be polite.