Do people with Schizophrenia have multiple personality or a split personality?
Neither actually. Schizophrenia is delusions, hallucinations, and paranoia. It isn’t the same as dissociative identity disorder, which is the name now used to multiple personality and split personality. In that condition there are separate and distinct personalities, each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment. DIP- The diagnosis requires that at least two personalities routinely take control of the individual’s behavior with an associated memory loss that goes beyond normal forgetfulness; in addition, symptoms cannot be due to substance abuse or medical condition. Schizophrenia- 1. Characteristic symptoms: Two or more of the following, each present for much of the time during a one-month period (or less, if symptoms remitted with treatment). * Delusions * Hallucinations * Disorganized speech, which is a manifestation of formal thought disorder * Grossly disorganized behavior (e.g. dressing inappropriately, crying frequently) or catatonic behavior * Neg
No, Multiple Personality and schizophrenia are very different. It’s a very common misconception that schizophrenics have multiple personalities. Schizophrenics have persistent psychotic symptoms, which can be paranoid, delusions (like thinking they’re God), and hallucinations. They may also exhibit a “flat” demeanor, meaning they don’t seem to react emotionally as much as other people do. Mania is a symptom of Bipolar Disorder. It’s basically like being on hyper drive. People who are manic may have insomnia, racing thoughts, reckless behavior, and may even have psychotic symptoms.
They have neither – multiple personality disorder is a whole other mental disorder. Schizophrenics have an altered perception of reality – they may be paranoid, have inappropriate emotional reactions (when someone tells them something funny, they cry instead of laugh, etc), have unusual motor functions (will stay in one place and not move for hours), OR have visual or auditory delusions or hallucinations (ie, “I hear voices,” feel like the walls are closing in on them, etc). I think there might be different types of schizophrenia, too, but I’m not sure. Mania is associate with bi-polar disorder where the patient goes through cycles of severe depression and then mania. Their manic state is when they’re really happy, aggressive, or extremely motivated.
