Schizophrenia vs. Schizoaffective Disorder

Schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder are generally mental health disorders with some similarities just a few key differences. Schizophrenia is characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and catatonic behavior. On the other hand, schizoaffective disorder includes a mixture of schizophrenia symptoms and mood disorder symptoms such as depression or mania. Distinguishing whether you have schizoaffective disorder vs. schizophrenia can help determine the very best treatment.

Whether you believe you've schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, the symptoms can be unsettling and disrupt your lifetime. Accxy's schizophrenia treatment facility in Washington will help you get the life back in line. Reach out to us today at to schedule an exam to get an effective diagnosis and individualized treatment plan.

What Is Schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is a severe mental health problem that may involve the following symptoms:

  • Catatonic behavior – This can involve a lack of response to one's surroundings or unusual behavior, such as pacing inside a pattern and repeating or echoing words.
  • Delusions – These are false beliefs, for example believing the government or aliens are spying you. Delusions are common in schizophrenia as well as other psychotic disorders.
  • Disorganized speech – You aren't schizophrenia may seem to talk gibberish or ramble on about stuff that don't make sense.
  • Hallucination – These false perceptions occur whenever a person sees or hears things that are not there. You may hear voices suggesting to do something, often things you would typically not do.

These symptoms of schizophrenia may be severe or mild but they are usually present in all kinds of this disorder. People experiencing schizophrenia may also appear apathetic or withdrawn from social situations.

What Is Schizoaffective Disorder?

Schizoaffective disorder is similar to schizophrenia however with the addition of depressive symptoms. Some common the signs of schizoaffective disorder include:

  • Delusions
  • Depression
  • Hallucinations
  • Mania

Schizoaffective disorder is often known as hidden disorder since there are most cases where people don't know they have it. Since schizoaffective disorder involves depression and mania, it can be mistaken for bipolar disorder.

Schizophrenia vs. Schizoaffective Disorder

Since these mental health conditions share similar symptoms, you may be unsure how to separate schizoaffective disorder vs. schizophrenia. People with schizoaffective disorder have symptoms of both schizophrenia along with a mood disorder, either bpd or depression. Quite simply, they experience psychotic symptoms but also extreme mood shifts.

Schizoaffective Disorder

The exact reason for schizoaffective disorder is unknown. However, it is thought to be a mix of genetics, environmental factors, and biological alterations in the mind resulting from a disruption in normal functioning. Like other affective disorders, there might be variations in the structure and performance of certain brain areas triggering the signs of schizoaffective disorder.

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is really a mental illness characterized by profound thinking, feeling, and behavior disruption. You aren't schizophrenia might have delusions and hallucinations but will not have access to mood disorder symptoms.

Getting an effective diagnosis is important to receive the best treatment for your circumstances. Strategy to schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder will involve medication and therapy, even though the medications for each may differ. Antipsychotic medications can help minimize delusions and hallucinations, which is helpful for both conditions. However, a person experiencing schizoaffective disorder could also take advantage of adding antidepressants or mood stabilizers.

Find Schizophrenia Treatment in Washington at Accxy

Schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder are often mistaken for each other or other mental health disorders. Accxy can offer a thorough assessment to determine which type of treatment you have to support your mental health. Contact Accxy today at to discuss our treatment options for schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder and schedule a consumption assessment.