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Writer's pictureNirmalya Saha™

Negative Symptoms.

Hallucinations delusions & disorganized speech or behavior are usually called the positive symptoms of schizophrenia. Negative symptoms cane be described as behavior deficits & include such behaviors as flattened effect, poverty of speech & lack of directedness. Though they are not found exclusively in people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, negative symptoms do appear to be more common among these patients then among other diagnostic groups. As negative symptoms come to predominate in the clinical picture, the prognosis becomes increasingly unfavorable. The following case illustrates this process & shows the profound impact.


Sam, a 42 yrs unmarried man, have lived in a hospital more or less continuously since death of his last surviving parents 5 years earlier. As a young star, his family noted that he was extremely shy & withdrawn. Although, clearly attach to them, je didn't enjoy hugging, kissing or other expression of affection. In school, he tended to be solitary, functioned at an average level. His parents considered him bright & creative because he read a great deal, had a large vocabulary & enjoyed intellectual games. He was also preoccupied with inventing things in high school as he invented a new alphabet that was supposed to be more phonetically functional than the one currently in use. Though he tried to explain it's basic principles, nobody seems to understand it.




During high school, Sam did not participate in any activities, had no friends. He entered college, but dropped out with falling grades ar the end of his final sem. He returned home to live with parents but despite repeated efforts to get him out of house & into various types of jobs, he was never able to persist & perform any job dependably. He became increasingly absorbed in a fantasy world & spent much of his time into "intergalactic communication". Be claimed to receive messages from an unknown galaxy in a special language which only he was able to understand. He was briefly hospitalized & received antipsychotic medicines which helped minimally. He was unable to follow commands, totally lost in an imaginary world & seldom all hygienic practices.


After his father's death, at the age of 36, he was rehospitalized after complaints from neighbour brought him to the attention of sociovoluntary community agencies. Antipsychotic drugs were administered but showed a little effect. After that he was placed in a chronic care facility & undergone combined treatment for a long time to function independently.


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