Positive symptoms are a category of symptoms specific to a mental illness. In most cases, these types of symptoms are experienced by individuals with schizophrenia. People who have schizophrenia suffer from a chronic brain disorder. The disorder can cause abnormal behavior and thinking, of which people without the mental disorder do not experience. Generally, the types of positive symptoms an individual may experience can vary and some people experience just one or multiple symptoms at a time.
Hallucinations are common positive symptoms. When a person hallucinates, he or she hears, feels and sees things that do not exist. Some people also smell invisible things. Hearing voices is one of the most common types of hallucinations. The voices can become so demanding that the person may be led to carry out certain acts, led by the hallucinated voice.
Disorganized behaviors may also be positive symptoms. An individual with disorganized behavior may exhibit unpredictable agitation and act in very abnormal ways in a private or public environment. Sometimes, people with this symptom will act very childlike, even if they are adults. The level of severity of this behavioral abnormality can range from mild to severe. In some cases, the positive symptom can prohibit a person from performing normal daily activities, such as feeding, clothing or bathing him or herself.
Positive symptoms can include delusions as well. Individuals who experience delusions have false beliefs. The beliefs may be wrongfully based on the misinterpretation of reality. For instance, the person may have a false belief that something or someone is trying to control his or her mind. In addition, some people may even misinterpret who they are and be under the delusion that they are someone else.
A thought-process disorder may be an additional symptom. This positive symptom may cause a person to think in a disorganized manner. In most cases, the disorganization will severely impact the way a person talks. As a result, he or she may struggle to form coherent sentences. The person may string words together that do not make sense and may start to talk, then suddenly stop without communicating a complete thought.
Medications are normally used to treat positive symptoms. The symptoms may not entirely go away with medication, but they may lessen symptom severity. Doctors may prescribe different types of therapy and rehabilitation as well. For instance, some patients may be enrolled in individual or family therapy sessions. Individuals with lesser symptoms may enter a vocational rehabilitation program to find compatible employment.
