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There are a variety of distinctive symptoms associated with schizophrenia. They can be divided into two major groups: positive symptoms and negative symptoms.

Positive symptoms represent distortions of normal emotions or mental abilities, which include thinking disorder, delusions, hallucinations, and illusions.

Thinking disorder: Thinking disorder is the lack of the ability to think logically and clearly. Sometimes nonsensical language that hinders communication with others signals the presence of the disease.

Delusions: Delusions are false and irrational personal beliefs that are not interpreted by a person's usual concepts. Delusions are common among schizophrenia patients. A patient may believe that he or she is being inveighed or conspired against by others. There exists another type of delusion known as broadcasting, in which the individual with this disease thinks that his or her thoughts can be heard by others.

Delusions of persecution: patients suffering from paranoid-type symptoms often experience delusions of persecution, or other non-exist conceptions that they are being conspired against. Delusions of grandeur: a person with schizophrenia may believe he is a person of significance. For example, one might believe that someone is controlling his behavior or a star in the night sky is sending him messages about his fate.

Hallucinations and Illusions: Hallucinations occur when a person sense things that do not exist in reality. The most common hallucination in schizophrenia is hearing voices. A schizophrenic may carry on a conversation with voices that no one else can hear, or perceive that voices are telling him what to do. Hallucinations can be heard, seen, or even felt. Illusions, on the contrary, take place when a sensory stimulus is present but is incorrectly interpreted by the brain of the patient.

Negative symptoms represent a reduction in or loss of normal emotions or mental abilities. They may appear early in the disease. Examples of negative symptoms include dulled emotions and social withdrawal.

Dulled emotions People with schizophrenia usually have a severe loss in emotional expressiveness. Schizophrenics may not be able to start or carry on a conversation. The individual may not show the signs of normal emotion.

Social withdrawal: The person may be reserved to avoid social contact. In some severe cases, a schizophrenic can spend entire day doing nothing at all, even ignoring basic hygiene. These problems with social skills are typical characteristics of schizophrenia, not personal flaws.