Types of Schizophrenia

There are several different schizophrenia types, with paranoid schizophrenia being the most common. The specific symptoms a person experiences, such as hallucinations, disorganized thinking, or a lack of pleasure in everyday life, differentiate the various types and allow the healthcare provider to make the proper diagnosis.

Schizophrenia Information

An Introduction to the Types of Schizophrenia

The different types of schizophrenia are based on the specific 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.

Schizophrenia types include:

Paranoid schizophrenia
Disorganized (hebephrenic) schizophrenia
Catatonic schizophrenia
Residual schizophrenia
Undifferentiated disorder.

Paranoid Schizophrenia

Paranoid schizophrenia is the most common form. With this type of 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 this condition have grandiose delusions. For example, they may believe that others are deliberately:

Cheating them
Harassing them
Poisoning them
Spying upon 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).

(Types of Schizophrenia Continued: Page 2)