Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia

They may come out at the initial stage where the prospective patient possibly thinks that he/she does not need a professional help. The reason why they call it negative symptoms is because the patient’s current health status reflects a loss of behavior or of characteristics.  Negative symptoms can have a significant impact on the social and personal lives of people with schizophrenia. These symptoms usually come out with a slow progression of worsening functions which may turn the patient to less sociable condition.

Negative symptoms include:

• Boring feeling where the patient has an expression deficit
• Unfortunate and unsuitable emotions where the patient may exaggerate a certain emotion like shouting, laughing with horrifying expressions.
• An alteration of the patient's talking where he/she talks uninterestingly.

As a summary the negative symptoms of schizophrenia are:

• affective flattening (i.e., blunted mood or emotions)
• not having emotions or improper exhibit of emotions
• alogia (poverty of speech)
• avolition (lack of motivation or drive)
• anhedonia (loss of enjoyment in activities that were previously pleasurable)

Negative symptoms may be challenging to identify because they: 

• occur on a continuum with normal behavior
• are relatively nonspecific
• can be caused by other factors, such as positive symptoms, medication side effects, and other mental disorders .

Affective Flattening

Affective flattening (blunting of mood and emotions) is particularly common in schizophrenia.  The most common manifestations of this symptom are unchanging facial expression, lack of vocal inflections, poor eye contact, and a decrease in spontaneous movements. 

Alogia

People with schizophrenia often display alogia (poverty or lack of speech) through their brief or empty replies to questions or in the course of normal conversation.There may also be a lengthy delay before they respond. It is important to note that the poverty of speech results from a decrease in thoughts, content, and fluency, rather than an unwillingness to speak.

Avolition

Patients with avolition (apathy) display a lack of motivation and an inability to initiate activities or pursue goals. They may also simply sit for long periods of time, with little interest in work or social activities. This symptom may also manifest as a lack of interest in grooming and hygiene.

Anhedonia

Anhedonia (loss of enjoyment in activities that were previously pleasurable) is common in people with schizophrenia.  Areas of a person’s life that are often affected by anhedonia include recreational interests and activities, relationships with friends and peers, intimacy/closeness, and sexual interest or activity. 

Other important symptoms and behaviors of schizophrenia can affect the person's social and personal functioning, cognitive abilities, and a number of other areas.  While some of the following symptoms and behaviors result from the positive and negative symptoms that have already been discussed, it is helpful to highlight them, as they can be important features in diagnosing a patient with schizophrenia.