What Is Paranoid Schizophrenia?
The different types are classified based on the symptoms a person is experiencing. Since the
symptoms of schizophrenia can change over time, it is possible for a person to have more than one type during his or her lifetime.
Common Symptoms of Paranoid Schizophrenia
For people with paranoid schizophrenia, the primary symptoms are delusions or auditory hallucinations. People with paranoid schizophrenia usually do not have thought disorder, disorganized behavior, or affective flattening.
People with paranoid schizophrenia have grandiose delusions. For example, they may believe that others are deliberately:
- Cheating them
- Harassing them
- Poisoning them
- Spying on them
- Plotting against them or the people they care about.
Auditory hallucinations can include hearing "voices" that may:
- Comment on the person's behavior
- Order him or her to do things
- Warn of impending danger
- Talk to each other (usually about the affected person).
Paranoid Schizophrenia and Violence
People with paranoid
schizophrenia are not especially prone to violence and often prefer to be left alone. Studies show that if people have no record of criminal violence before they develop schizophrenia and are not substance abusers, they are unlikely to commit crimes after they become ill. Most violent crimes are not committed by people with paranoid schizophrenia, and most people with schizophrenia do not commit violent crimes. Substance abuse almost always increases violent behavior, whether or not the person has schizophrenia.
If someone with paranoid schizophrenia becomes violent, their violence is most often directed at family members and takes place at home.
