The simple idea
By now you can describe the pieces — hallucinations, delusions, disorganised thinking, negative symptoms. Recognising schizophrenia means seeing how they fit together and last, once other causes are ruled out.
Doctors quietly work through a checklist:
- When did it begin?
- Course — steady, or coming and going?
- Function — what happened to school, work, relationships, self‑care?
- Mood — is this happening only during a big high or low?
- Substances — any drugs involved?
- Medical — any physical clue?
- Before — has anything like this happened previously?
- Risk — any danger to self or others?
| Check | The question |
|---|---|
| When | when did it begin? |
| Course | steady, or coming & going? |
| Function | school / work / relationships / self‑care? |
| Mood | only during a big high or low? |
| Substances | any drugs involved? |
| Medical | any physical clue? |
| Before | has it happened before? |
| Risk | any danger to self or others? |
A picture for your mind ⏳
Think of a detective who never convicts on one piece of evidence. One voice isn't proof. The story over time — several symptoms, real change in life, other causes excluded — is what points to schizophrenia.
Quick check ✅
- Why can't one hallucination "prove" schizophrenia?
- Name three things a doctor checks besides the symptoms themselves.
Remember this 🌟
Where we're going next → When treatment is needed, how do the medicines actually work? Concept 13.