Does schizophrenia suddenly occur, like will a sufferer be normal until they have their first episode?

or is there a period in time when they know the things that are happening to them are not normal (although at the time they seem real, when they look back, say the next day, they realize they were being irrational but can not explain what happened to them)?

like if one night a person of around 16 is convinced the devil is communicating with them and watching them, and they keep moving from room to room, trying to escape, asking the devil to leave, but the next day they realize they were being strange, and try to shrug it off as just being tired and confused...

And if this person has at least one family member who is a schizophrenic?

is this person you? l have schizophrenia. l wasnt really ever ''normal'' but who is now & days? lol

My symptoms started up when l was very young, like 4 or 5. l started getting treatments, mostly counseling & stuff in 3rd grade. it just kept getting worse & worse through the years , but since so much is happening in childood to adult hood, like puberty & such, l wasnt given a diagnoses.

i attempted suicide one month after graduation, was admitted to a psychiatric hospital, & diagnosed as major depressive with psychosis. l was medicated & have been getting help since, & am now diagnosed as schizophrenia bipolar disorder with axiety.

When ur schizoprhenic, at least for me, u dont even think that something might be irrational or not right so to say. l believed everything l saw heard, & would act as l always do because it was real to me. l never came up with the possiblity l was mentally challenged. l did good in school had some friends but not many, just a normal kid

im now 19, have been in treatment for over 13 years, & l still have relapses & thinking l might try electro convulsive therapy soon. If this person is you, talk to a counselor or a doctor. if he thinks ur haveing really bad problems he will refer u to a psychiatrist. its just like a chain of command, but make sure this isnt a phase, cuz waitin for a psychiatrist takes months

there two forms to every type of schizophrenia- active n passive. in active schizophrenia- there may be a sudden eruption of psychotic symptoms, whereas in passive schizophrenia- the symptoms become very much noticeable in childhood. if there is a history of schizophrenia in the family-it definitely means that there is a greater chance of it being genetically transferred in another person in the family tree.

Sounds like a sudden onset of paranoid schizophrenia. As stated in a previous post, there are two basic types-active and passive. This is an example of active. An individual is more likely to develop the illness if there is a family history. Science seems to have found a genetic history within families.
Schizophrenia is treatable. See a psychologist or psychiatrist. Usually meds and counseling will help.

Hi Tasha M.

Schizophrenia does not just happen like overnight, where one day u r just fine & the next day u r completely sick. However, often times the signs r so subtle that the person does not notice there is anything wrong until they have a full psychotic break. The point l am trying to make is that each person is different & the illness will manifest itself differently in each person.

The mid to late teens is when the signs start to become noticeable, if people r paying enough attention. If there is a family member who has it, that makes it more likely that another family member will get it. However, it does not mean u will definitely get it.

That story u told about the person being afraid of the devil is pretty extreme. In the early stages, the person may notice that there r abnormal things happening to them. It is important, at this point, to ask for help. l know that this can be very difficult.

If this incident happened just one time, maybe the person WAS just tired & confused. But if these types of incidents occur more often, then it is important to get help. It is better to get help during the time when u can still realize that things have not been normal. That is because eventually the person will not be able to recognize that how they think & act is abnormal. Then it will be very difficult to get them help.

There is a lot of help out there. There r medications, called psychotropics, that help bring back clear thinking. There is no cure for schizophrenia, but it can be managed, as long as the patient takes his/her meds.

Schizophrenia is a progressive illness, which means that it continues to get worse over the years. However, the earlier the person gets help, the better their life will be. They can hold down jobs, have friends & relationships, go to school, etc. The important thing is to take their meds & go to therapy. There is always hope.

Tasha, l do not know if u r speaking about yourself, a family member or a friend. Whoever it is, if they have been having feelings that they think r not normal, they should get help right away. They should tell their parents that there is a problem & sit down & tell them help is needed. If they wo not listen, the person can call his/her doctor & make an appointment to go. Telling the doctor will be the start of getting help.

l hope this has been helpful for you. l hope the person u r asking for can get the help that is needed.

l wish u the best of luck.

There are signs. It is not like the flu where you can just pick it up from somewhere. There are signs, sometimes they do start appearing at young adulthood. You get angry, think the world is against you, stuff like that.

For some schizophrenia does just happen. For others that have a mild case of schizophrenia everything is fine until certain stressors. In fact, anybody could develop schizophrenia under certain harsh conditions.