Is Schizoaffective Disorder Worse Than Schizophrenia

Symptoms Of Schizoaffective Disorder:

Symptoms of schizoaffective disorders vary from individual to individual. They are more often characterized by the type of disorder that is either bipolar or depressive type.

To be diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder a person needs to have at least one major episode of mood disorder and two weeks of psychotic symptoms.

In addition to major symptoms which are characterized by the type of disorder, there are some other common symptoms:

• Incoherence: Impaired cognition and speech
• Hallucination: Seeing or hearing thing which is not there
• Delusions: False beliefs
• Depressive symptoms: Feelings of loneliness, emptiness or suicidal ideation
• Maniac: Period of elation with decreased need for sleep for weeks
• Impaired functioning that is academic, occupational and social
• Lack of personal care such as the unhygienic physical condition
• Unusual and bizarre behavior

What Risks Can Schizoaffective Disorder Cause

The risk of suicide is higher for the first few years after your symptoms start. You can seek treatment early and make a crisis plan. The right treatment can help control your symptoms and help to lower the risk of suicide.

You can make a crisis plan yourself or you can ask someone to help you. A crisis plan is a plan of action that you will follow to help with suicidal feelings. Usually a plan will include people, services and activities that can help you.

You can find out more about Suicidal thoughts: How to cope by clicking here.

Types Of Schizoaffective Disorder

In this type, you have both the psychotic and manic symptoms, occurring within one episode.

Schizoaffective disorder depressive type

In this type, you have both the psychotic and depressive symptoms, occurring at the same time during the episode.

Schizoaffective disorder mixed type

In this type, you have psychotic symptoms with both manic and depressive symptoms. However, The psychotic symptoms are independent and not necessarily related to the bipolar disorder symptoms.

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Community Mental Health Services

These services are important in keeping you out of hospital or in managing your gradual return back into the community after being discharged from hospital.

Specialist services may be needed including community psychiatric nursing, social services and occupational therapy as well as support in managing your domestic and financial affairs.

There are different teams that can support you in the community:

• Early Intervention Team: provides intensive support to young people who have recently been diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.
• Assertive Outreach Team: provides extensive help and support for people who have had a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder for quite some time, especially for people who find it difficult to work with other services or have not been able to take their medications regularly for various reasons.
• Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Team: can help at you at home, prevent a hospital admission and provide intensive support after a hospital admission.
• Vocational Rehabilitation: includes day centres, day hospital or community health centres. These facilities offer different creative activities such as back to work courses, education, art and cooking.

Phenomenonology Of Schizoaffective Disorder

As noted in the preceding section, the DSM-IV-TR applies a categorical approach to the diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, and then defines this condition according two the two major dimensions of neurobehavioral function it affects: thought and mood . The disturbance of thought must include two of the A schizophrenia symptoms for a significant portion of time during a 1-month period . The A symptoms include delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech and grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior. The mood disorder may include episodes that meet diagnostic criteria for a major depressive episode , manic episode, or mixed episode. The symptoms that meet criteria for a mood episode are present for a substantial portion of the total duration of the active and residual periods of the illness. As noted above, schizoaffective disorder is further divided into two subtypes based on the type of mood episodes with which the patient presents: bipolar or depressed. As an additional criterion, the DSM-IV states that during the period of illness there must be delusions or hallucinations for at least 2 weeks in the absence of prominent mood symptoms. Lastly, the symptoms meeting criteria for schizoaffective disorder may not be due to the direct physiological effects of a substance or a general medical condition.

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The Different Types Of Schizophrenia

Mental health disorders are complicated and can be hard to diagnose. Often, people have overlapping symptoms or more than one disorder at the same time. Because of these variations, mental health disorders are often classified by broad term first and then broken down into more specific disorders. One such example is with schizophrenia.

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Why Schizoaffective Is Worse Than Schizophrenia

I believe my sister has BPD and its a nightmare for everyone around her. She self-medicates so it must be a nightmare for her too. I had to cut her out of my life about 6 months or so ago. Shes incredibly destructive and chaotic. I couldnt take it anymore.

Generally speaking Schizophrenic Breaks are more intense than Schizoaffective Breaks.Both illnesses are hard to deal with, Im going to include Bipolar Disorder as well.

There are so many ways to define what makes one disorder better or worse than another , that its really pretty futile to attempt to answer that question once and for all. Not to mention the fact that individual variation within diagnostic categories is huge and that all of these variables are incredibly difficult to measure. But is right, schizoaffective is reckoned to have a better prognosis than schizophrenia.

I would like to have some mania. Would beat severe negatives everyday. But I know most people with mood disorders take drugs to prevent it but I still think it would be a nice change of scenery for at least a few days at least.

Mania is NOT a good experience. You can end up draining and I mean draining your bank account, totaling your car, divorcing your spouse, losing your job, racking up super high debts, getting venereal diseases, and losing all of your friends. Believe me, you dont want to become manic. Its fun only while youre manic. But, afterwards, the aftermath is pure hell.

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What If I Am Not Happy With My Treatment

If you arent happy with your treatment you can:

• talk to your doctor about your treatment options,
• ask for a second opinion,
• ask a relative, friend or advocate to help you speak your doctor,
• contact Patient Advice and Liaison Service , or
• make a complaint.

There is more information about these options below.

What can I say to my doctor?

You should first speak to your doctor about your treatment. Explain why you arent happy with it, giving specific reasons. You could ask what other treatments you could try.

Tell your doctor if there is a type of treatment that you would like to try. Doctors should listen to your preference. If youre not given this treatment, ask your doctor to explain why they think its not suitable for you.

Can I get a second opinion?

A second opinion means that you would like a different doctor to give their opinion about what treatment you should have. You can also ask for a second opinion if you disagree with your diagnosis.

You dont have a right to a second opinion. But your doctor should listen to your reason for wanting a second opinion.

You can find more information about Second opinions by clicking here.

What is advocacy?

Advocates help you to deal with and overcome issues that you have. They are independent from the NHS and free to use.

They can be useful if you find it difficult to get your views heard. There are 3 types of advocates that might be able to help if you are unhappy about your treatment.

How can I complain?

How Is It Diagnosed

Sometimes, it can be tricky to diagnose schizoaffective disorder, since it has symptoms of both schizophrenia and a mood disorder. There are two types of schizoaffective disorder:

• Depressive type. With this type, you only have major depressive episodes.
• Bipolar type. This type includes manic episodes, with or without depressive episodes.

Your doctor will do a physical exam to rule out any other causes for your symptoms. They will ask about any drugs or medications you may be taking. If you go to your primary care doctor, they may refer you to a mental health professional.

A psychiatrist or other mental health professional will talk with you to learn about your symptoms and what you are experiencing. They will ask about your family history and any other psychiatric history you might have. To make a diagnosis, they will use criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition .

To get a schizoaffective disorder diagnosis, you must have these symptoms:

• period when there is a major mood disorder at the same time when schizophrenia symptoms are present
• delusions or hallucinations for 2 or more weeks without a major mood episode
• symptoms meeting criteria for a major mood disorder occur for a majority of the time
• symptoms cannot be explained by drug abuse or medication use

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What Are The Symptoms Of Schizoaffective Disorder

Symptoms of schizoaffective disorder are:

What are the symptoms of schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is a mental illness which affects the way you think. Symptoms can effect how you cope with day to day life. Symptoms include.

• Hallucinations. You may hear, see, or feel things that arent there.
• Delusions. You may believe things that arent true.
• Disorganised speech. You may begin to talk quickly or slowly, and the things you say might not make sense to other people. You may switch topics without any obvious link.
• Disorganised behaviour. You might struggle to organise your life, or stick to appointments, for example.
• Catatonic behaviour. You may feel unable to move or appear to be in daze.
• Negative symptoms. These are symptoms that involve loss of ability and enjoyment in life. They can include the following things.
• Lack of motivation

You can find more information about Schizophrenia by clicking here.

What are the symptoms of mania?

You may experience the following if you have mania.

Mania is associated with bipolar disorder.

You can find more information about Bipolar disorder by clicking here.

What are the symptoms of depression?

You may feel the following if you have depressive symptoms.

• Low mood,
• Sleep too much, not being able to sleep or have disturbed sleep,
• More or less hungry than usual or have a weight change, or
• Thoughts of death or suicide or attempt suicide.

You can find more information about Depression by clicking here.

Schizophrenia Vs Schizoaffective Duration Of Psychotic Symptoms:

Individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia have chronic and persistent psychotic symptoms which can render individuals to perform everyday functions while individuals with schizoaffective disorder do not have such severe psychotic symptoms.

Their disease is mainly characterized by symptoms of mood disorder.

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Diagnosis Of Bipolar Disorder And Schizophrenia

There are no blood tests for diagnosing bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Instead, your doctor will do a physical and psychological exam. During the exam, theyll ask you about any family history of mental disorders and your symptoms.

Your doctor may want to do a complete blood test to help rule out other conditions. They may also request an MRI or CT scan. Finally, they make ask you to agree to a drug and alcohol screening.

You may need to return for several visits before your doctor can make a diagnosis. These visits will help your doctor fully understand your symptoms. They may ask you to keep a daily record of your mood and sleep patterns. This can help your doctor see if any patterns emerge, such as manic and depressive episodes.

Treatment for both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia involves therapy and medication.

For bipolar disorder, psychotherapy may include:

• learning about changes in mood and how to effectively manage them
• educating family members about the disorder so they can be supportive and help with overcoming episodes
• helping you improve your relationships with friends and coworkers
• learning to manage your days to avoid possible triggers, such as a lack of sleep or stress

Your doctor may prescribe medications to control changes in mood and related symptoms, such as:

• mood stabilizers such as lithium

Schizophrenia Vs Schizoaffective Duration Of Mood Episode:

Another MAJOR difference between schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder is the duration of mood episodes experienced by the individual.

Individuals suffering from schizoaffective disorder are likely to experience mood disorder for almost half or completely through the duration of illness in addition to psychotic symptoms.

In schizophrenia, the duration of symptoms of mood disorder is much less than the duration of experience of psychotic symptoms.

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Duration Of Symptoms And Disease

The psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia tend to be persistent, while in schizoaffective disorder, they tend to come and go.

In terms of the course of the disease, most people who are diagnosed with schizophrenia have a chronic and persistent course of illness.

On the other hand, most people diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder experience episodes of symptoms but are more likely to have symptom-free intervals than people who have schizophrenia. This is not a hard and fast rule, however in some people, the opposite is true.

Duration Of Mood Episodes

A person who has schizoaffective disorder is likely to experience severe mood symptoms accounting for more than half of the total duration of illness.

On the other hand, a person who has schizophrenia may also experience mood episodes, but the total duration of the mood symptoms is brief compared to the duration of the psychotic symptoms.

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Is Schizoaffective Disorder Worse Than Schizophrenia

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Schizoaffective disorder is a chronic mental health condition characterized primarily by symptoms of schizophrenia, such as hallucinations or delusions, and symptoms of a mood disorder, such as mania and depression.

One may also ask, what is the life expectancy of someone with schizoaffective disorder? Those most affected were women with schizoaffective disorder – problems with mood or sometimes abnormal thoughts – whose average life expectancy was reduced by 17.5 years, and men with schizophrenia whose lives were shortened by about 14.6 years.

Likewise, people ask, what is worse schizoaffective or schizophrenia?

Schizoaffective disorder is a little different. In bipolar disorder, you have mood swings that include depression and mania. If you have schizoaffective disorder, you can have these bipolar symptoms. But separate from those, you also get psychotic symptoms similar to schizophrenia for at least 2 weeks at a time.

Is someone with schizoaffective disorder dangerous?

Schizoaffective disorder is a serious mental health disorder and, without proper coping strategies, it can easily cause the seams of your family to unravel. Schizoaffective disorder is treatable, although each person’s response to treatment will be unique.

Schizophrenia Vs Schizoaffective Relationship Between Psychotic And Mood Symptoms:

In schizophrenia, psychotic symptoms are always present whether a person is experiencing mood symptoms or not.

Symptoms of mood disorder might come and go in schizophrenia but in schizoaffective disorder symptoms of mood disorder persist.

A patient might not experience any psychotic symptoms while experiencing symptoms of mood disorder.

It should be noted here though for the diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder a person must experience psychotic for specific time duration consistently which is usually one or two weeks.

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Psychotherapeutic And Psychosocial Interventions

Chronic psychotic illness is often accompanied by cognitive deficits and diminished executive functioning, which may be worsened by the effects of alcohol in those who have co-occurring AUD. Therefore, integrated and tailored care for both the psychotic disorder and AUD can improve access to care, deliver consistent messages about treatment and recovery, provide interventions that support attempts to reduce substance use, and manage behavioral health conditions.53

Group therapy using cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational enhancement therapy, or contingency management has a role in treating AUD and co-occurring schizophrenia.54,55 Considerations for this particular population include using active and ongoing motivation enhancement approaches and modifying cognitive behavioral therapy to account for cognitive, interpersonal, and motivational deficits that commonly occur among people with schizophrenia.29

S Schizoaffective Disorder Worse Than Schizophrenia

There is no way to judge that either schizoaffective disorder is better or worse than schizophrenia as both the disorders result in grave consequences.

If you look in terms of symptoms than schizoaffective is diagnosed by having a higher number of symptoms than schizophrenia but those symptoms in schizophrenia are more chronic and worse.

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Beliefs That You Are Being Controlled

You may insist that outside forces like aliens, spirits, God or the devil are controlling how you feel, think and behave. You may feel like a robot whose remote control is in someone else’s hand. You might be distressed if you feel that someone else is making you think certain things, or that you have no control on a particular behaviour of yours because an outside force controls it.

Schizophrenia Vs Schizoaffective Disorder: Overview

Schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder are related conditions, and because the names are so similar many believe the latter is a subtype of the former. Schizoaffective disorder sufferers often receive a schizophrenia diagnosis when the condition is in its early stages, which helps reinforce this conception.

But the relationship between the two disorders is not so simple. There are similarities between schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, but there are also significant differences that make it impossible to categorize one by referring to the other. In fact, despite schizophrenias notoriety, schizoaffective disorder is the more complicated condition to diagnose and treat.

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Challenges In Diagnosis And Treatment

The overlapping symptomatology of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder often presents significant diagnostic challenges for clinicians. In some cases, mood disturbances are missed altogether due to a singular focus on psychotic symptoms. In other cases, the nature of mood disturbances is misunderstood, resulting in incorrect or missed identification of a mood disorder. This may happen for a number of reasons, including a clients reluctance to disclose mood symptoms or inability to recognize such symptoms, particularly when overwhelmed by the experience of psychosis. Meanwhile, clinicians may fail to ask about mood episodes in a way that will clarify their origin. As the authors of the European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience study note, there is also evidence that clinicians choose the less severe diagnosis for psychotic patients, which is commonly understood to be schizoaffective disorder.