Schizophrenia is a thought disorder characterised by positive symptoms and negative symptoms.

Positive symptoms mean too much abnormal behaviour, like hallucinations and delusions. Psychosis! Disrupted perceptions of reality! That sort of thing.

Negative symptoms mean not enough normal behaviour, like flattened affect and alogia. Things starting with “a”! Amotivation! Avolition! Anhedonia! That sort of thing.

Like a massive tree of mental health, schizophrenia has partially related disorders and terms that branch out from it.

Behold! The many children of schizophrenia!

Here’s a simplified summary of it all.

Schizophrenia

Brief psychotic disorder is schizophrenia symptoms < 1 month.

Schizophreniform disorder is schizophrenia symptoms < 6 months.

Schizophrenia is schizophrenia symptoms > 6 months.

Mood Disorders

Schizoaffective disorder is schizophrenia symptoms with mood disorder. The psychosis is present without the mood component for > 2 weeks.

Mood disorder with psychotic features is what it says it is. Surprise!

Personality Disorders

A schizoid person avoids social interaction. Think limited emotional expression.

A schizotypal person is a weird type of person. Think oddness and magical thinking.