Schizophrenia

In my movie my character will have schizophrenia, so I have decided to do some research to get a better idea of what it really is. 

Schizophrenia is a complex mental health problem, which can manifest itself in a number of ways. Each individual will experience a range of symptoms, not everyone will have them all. Schizophrenia affects thinking, feeling and behaviour. 

Symptoms of schizophrenia

Symptoms that represent a change in behaviour, or thoughts are called ‘positive’ symptoms. These include:

• Delusions - believing something completely even though others find your ideas strange and can't work out how you've come to believe them.
• Difficulty thinking – finding it hard to concentrate, drifting from one idea to another. Other people may find it hard to understand you.
• Feeling controlled – feeling as though your thoughts are vanishing, that they‘re not your own, or that your body is being taken over and controlled by someone else.
• Hallucinations - hearing, smelling, feeling or seeing something that isn’t there. Hearing voices is the most common problem. The voices can seem utterly real. Although they may be pleasant, they are more often rude, critical, abusive or annoying
• Loss of interest, energy and emotions. You don't bother to get up or go out of the house. You don't get round to routine jobs like washing, tidying, or looking after your clothes. You feel uncomfortable with other people.
• Some people hear voices without negative symptoms. Others have delusions but few other problems. If someone has only muddled thinking and negative symptoms, the problem may not be recognised for years.