Catatonic schizophrenia and catatonic stupor, as its manifestation

Schizophrenia is one of the most common mental illnesses. Catatonic schizophrenia is its less frequent variation, characterized by a sharp change in the periods of apathy and arousal. And in the period of apathy there is a rigid immobility (in spite of the fact that the muscles of the limbs do not perform the motor function, they are strained, and therefore the limbs of the patient are rigid). During the period of excitation, the patient talks a lot and speaks loudly, makes random movements with his hands, can aimlessly move around, nervously look around.

Unlike many other types of schizophrenia, this is easily cured with medication.

The main companion of catatonic schizophrenia is the catatonic syndrome, which is a mental disorder, the main manifestation of which is the violation of motor function. More precisely, this disorder is not one syndrome, but the whole group. Like any other mental illness, the catatonic syndrome progresses as it develops, and the treatment is the simplest and fastest at the initial stage of the disease. That is why it is so important to be able to recognize the first symptoms of catatonia and to sound the alarm.

So, this syndrome has two stages: catatonic excitation and catatonic stupor. It is their shift that characterizes it.

Catatonic excitation can take three forms.

The first - pathetic - is characterized by mild excitement, heightened mood. Possible causeless laughter and the presence of pathos in speech. Consciousness does not cloud.

The second - impulsive - is characterized by a sharp increase in excitation. The movements are chaotic, destructive, often cruel. The speech is broken, consists of separate, often incoherent phrases. When the peak of excitement is reached, patients become silent, and their actions become self-destructive.

The third form - silent - is characterized by a complete lack of speech, the presence of aggression, chaotic and destructive actions.

Catatonic stupor also has more than one form - four of them.

The first form, also called the sub-stuporosis, is not a stupor in the usual sense of the word and therefore may not be identified by an inexperienced person. It is characterized by a slow motion, a violation of the coherence of speech, its slowdown. This form is the first stage of the disease and, as a rule, is combined with the first form of stimulation.

Catatonic stupor of the second form, also called cataleptic or Celsius disease, is characterized by the so-called "waxy flexibility". The patient freezes in a pose, often - uncomfortable. Does not react to attempts to talk to him, comes out of stupor only in silence.

The third form - the negativistic stupor - is different in that the patient resists the attempts of others to change the posture in which he has frozen. Even weak people can exert strong resistance.

The fourth form - catatonic stupor with numbness - is most pronounced. Patients often freeze in the embryo position, can not go out of the stupor for a long time.