Schizophrenia is a mental health condition that refers to an array of disorders that disconnect a person from reality. This may involve hallucinations and delusions. Additionally, the person experiences highly disordered thinking and behavior that disrupts daily functioning. Although treatable, schizophrenia is diagnosed in the last stages due to its subtle signs. However, watching out for these schizophrenia signs may help in seeking timely diagnosis and treatment.

Hallucinations
This is one of the most common schizophrenia signs. A person may begin to see, hear, feel, or even smell things that no one else does. The types of hallucinations include auditory, visual, gustatory, olfactory, and tactile. Auditory hallucinations are experienced as hearing voices in the head that sound like whispers and murmurs. Visual hallucination includes seeing objects, lights, or patterns or seeing people, especially deceased loved ones. Olfactory and gustatory hallucinations are smelling or tasting something nonexistent, while tactile hallucinations are experienced as a feeling of something like hands or insects moving over the body.

Pseudobulbar affect
The pseudobulbar affect (PBA) or emotional continence is a condition that causes uncontrollable and involuntary outbursts of laughing or crying. These outbursts are often frequent and are not connected to the person’s emotional state. In many situations, the laughter can turn to tears. The person’s mood will be normal between these PBA episodes. Also known as paradoxical laughter or pathological laughter, PBA can be one of the significant schizophrenia signs.

The flat affect
In most cases, people tend to express their emotions, whether upset or happy. These emotions are evident in their facial expressions and voice. However, in the case of schizophrenia, a person may experience the flat effect. This is a phenomenon wherein the person is unable to express their emotions visibly. As a result, they appear to be unresponsive or uncaring. This is an early schizophrenia sign that can sometimes go unnoticed.

Delusions
This is another significant and common sign of schizophrenia. It involves having false beliefs that have no basis in real life. A person will have a strange, mistaken, or unrealistic view. Some may suddenly experience delusions, while sometimes, it takes weeks and months to develop. In several cases, a person with schizophrenia ends up unconsciously believing in a delusional idea to explain or justify a hallucination they have been experiencing.

Disorganized speech and thinking
Disorganized thinking and speech are often symptoms of several neurological mental health disorders, including schizophrenia. It impairs a person’s ability to communicate effectively. For example, some patients may be unable to answer simple questions. Their answers are either partial or disconnected from the question. In addition, their disconnected thoughts may result in impaired speech that involves putting together incoherent words.

Disorganized motor behavior
A person with schizophrenia may start to display episodes of disorganized behavior. They may become unpredictably agitated or childlike. Also, they may resist following instructions and directions or become unresponsive. Some even exhibit inappropriate or bizarre postures or unconsciously get trapped in useless or excessive movements while doing a task.

Irregular sleep patterns
A person with schizophrenia may experience several issues related to their sleep cycle. They may have insomnia, problems with consistent sleep, and excessive sleepiness. These symptoms begin gradually in the early stages of schizophrenia.