Overall, people who live with schizophrenia have lower IQ scores than those who don't experience the condition. There are people who live with schizophrenia who have higher IQ scores, and they appear to have somewhat different symptoms than those with lower scores.
For example, meta-analyses show an average premorbid 8-point IQ deficit (0.50 SD) among those who later develop schizophrenia (3) but a 14-21 point IQ deficit (0.90-1.40 SD) among first-episode and chronic schizophrenia patients (1, 4, 5).
Results: IQ had a monotonic relationship with schizophrenia risk across the IQ range, with a mean increase in risk of 3.8% per 1-point decrease in IQ; this association was stronger in the lower than the higher IQ range.
Many people with schizophrenia are exceptionally gifted, including Nobel Prize winning mathematician, John Nash, who recently had a movie based on his story called, “A Beautiful Mind.” My mother, who is Chris' sister, can attest to his brilliance, “ He was gifted in so many ways; he was so curious about life and had a ...
Reasoning refers to the ability to logically gather information to form conclusions and solve problems. People with schizophrenia may show impaired reasoning, with bias in the way they gather information, interpret events and develop beliefs.
Abstract. Background: Schizophrenia patients are typically found to have low IQ both pre- and post-onset, in comparison to the general population. However, a subgroup of patients displays above average IQ pre-onset.
[Article revised on 27 April 2020.] Some highly creative people have suffered from schizophrenia, including Syd Barrett, the early driving force behind the rock band Pink Floyd; John Nash, the father of game theory; and Vaslav Nijinsky, the legendary dancer and choreographer.
Eduard Einstein
The youngest child of Albert Einstein was studying medicine when he was diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 20. He spent many years in and out of a psychiatric clinic in Zurich, Switzerland.
It's a real shame, because people with schizophrenia can be exceptionally vulnerable. This means that they often get abused and taken advantage of. Sometimes this can come from people who are well-meaning, but just do not understand the condition.
Schizophrenia is frequently associated with significant distress and impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational, and other important areas of life. People with schizophrenia are 2 to 3 times more likely to die early than the general population (3).
Studies have also found that higher IQ is associated with more mental illness, including depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder.
Intellectual disability (ID), previously known as mental retardation, is a term that is used when an individual has below-average intelligence or mental ability. Lack of skill necessary for day-to-day living are also commonly associated with this type of disorder.
Schizophrenia is typically diagnosed in the late teens years to early thirties, and tends to emerge earlier in males (late adolescence – early twenties) than females (early twenties – early thirties). More subtle changes in cognition and social relationships may precede the actual diagnosis, often by years.
As the severity of the schizophrenic defect in the form of negativism, apathy, and abulia increased, changes in emotional and cognitive forms of self-awareness intensified.
Some researchers believe that problems with brain development may be partly responsible for schizophrenia. Others believe that inflammation in the brain may damage cells that are used for thinking and perception. Many other things could also play a role, including: Exposure to viruses before birth.
As a psychotic condition, schizophrenia can cause some very troubling symptoms, like hallucinations and delusions, that make daily life challenging. Without treatment it can lead to isolation, an inability to work or go to school, depression, suicide, and other complications.
Unfortunately, most people with schizophrenia are unaware that their symptoms are warning signs of a mental disorder. Their lives may be unraveling, yet they may believe that their experiences are normal. Or they may feel that they're blessed or cursed with special insights that others can't see.
Schizophrenia is a disorienting and often frightening condition for people who have it, causing them to lose touch with reality and their ability to tell what's real and what isn't. When people experience paranoia, they may struggle to trust people who want to help.
positive symptoms – any change in behaviour or thoughts, such as hallucinations or delusions. negative symptoms – where people appear to withdraw from the world around then, take no interest in everyday social interactions, and often appear emotionless and flat.
It is one of the most common mental disorders diagnosed among criminals, especially serial killers: David Berkowitz, better known as the “Son of Sam” killed six people in the 1970s claiming that his neighbor's dog had told him to do it. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
Eduard Einstein grew up in Zurich with his older brother Hans and their mother, after she and Albert Einstein had separated. Eduard suffered early on from schizophrenia and was under constant medical care.
Some people do recover “fully” from schizophrenia. Ten years after diagnosis: 50% of people with schizophrenia recover or improve to the point they can work and live on their own. 25% are better but need help from a strong support network to get by.
Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPDs) become overwhelmed and incapacitated by the intensity of their emotions, whether it is joy and elation or depression, anxiety, and rage. They are unable to manage these intense emotions.
While in a mental institution, Nash is treated with insulin coma therapy, in which patients are given insulin to induce a comatose state that lasts about 15 to 60 minutes. The results, as shown in the movie, are horrific. The treatment has been discredited and is no longer used.
The movie depicts Nash's journey through life with schizophrenia. Nash displays many characteristic symptoms of schizophrenia, including hallucinations, delusions, fear of persecution, and lack of interpersonal relationships.