# PTSD vs Schizophrenia



## Doberg

I was wondering if there are any articles or respectable information on the similarities and differences between these two mental health issues? Does anyone know the differences and similarities? To me, they both seem to be similar in symptoms. Any info?


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## Jurgen

I think you've posted a thread concerning schizophrenia, unless I'm confusing you for someone else. Either way, there is a commonness in symptoms. But it doesn't mean you're schizophrenic. For instance, someone who is schizophrenic suffers from anxiety, DP, etc. But someone who suffers from anxiety doesn't suffer from schizophrenia. You probably aren't schizophrenic.


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## Doberg

Jurgen said:


> I think you've posted a thread concerning schizophrenia, unless I'm confusing you for someone else. Either way, there is a commonness in symptoms. But it doesn't mean you're schizophrenic. For instance, someone who is schizophrenic suffers from anxiety, DP, etc. But someone who suffers from anxiety doesn't suffer from schizophrenia. You probably aren't schizophrenic.


LOL, there is a lot of us who have this fear and I probably have made similar threads. But the goal of this one is too share the facts, similarities and differences and get opinions. I have token 4 online screening tests for schizophrenia and all but 1 have undoubtedly concluded that I am not schizophrenic nor im I at a predisposition as I had originally thought. I have seen psychologists and doctors who have concluded the same, yet I still have my doubts. I HAVE been diagnosed with repetitive ptsd (chronic or complex ptsd however you want to word it) with dissociative features. I have took a few online tests which have concluded/confirmed this diagnosis. I have also been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder GAD. But I find it fearful on how similar severe ptsd namely with dissociative or psychotic features is related to schizophrenia. I have also been diagnosed with severe depression. I don't take any medications at the moment. Anyways, the Dp/dr has me seeing everything through fear goggles. But to stay on topic, I have heard many stories of people with ptsd being diagnosed schizo and vise versa.


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## Jurgen

Are you serious? Kind of seems like a lot of stress over nothing.


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## Doberg

Jurgen said:


> Are you serious? Kind of seems like a lot of stress over nothing.


I suppose you are right, I just wanted some feed back on this cuz there isn't much on the web


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## Haumea

Basic rule of thumb - if you're that worried about being schizophrenic, you are *not* schizophrenic.


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## odisa

DP, PTSD, and Schizophrenia all have one thing in common: dissociation.
PTSD and Schizophrenia have at least one thing in common, which is a disrupted prepulse inhibition, or PPI.

Those are the similarities I know from the top of my head. Oh and quite possibly NMDA dysregulation.
I'm sure there are many overlapping characteristics, such as cognitive dysfunction. However what makes Schizophrenia unique is psychosis.
Severe PTSD can also be accompanied by psychosis, yet again quite often different from Schizophrenia.

Setting DP apart is the absence of psychosis, for one. But, leaving behind the psychotophobia, I think it is indeed paramount to find a "template" to work with to figure out how to approach DP, considering the relative lack of investigation, let alone interest.

I concur that DP (can) share(s) many characteristics with the aforementioned disorders, and one may take such a model to devise appropriate novel treatment hypotheses.

As an aside; the negative symptoms of schizophrenia basically overlap with about 80% of mental disorders. It's the positive symptoms that make Schizophrenia unique. A lot of people get scared by the presence of negative symptoms.



> Negative symptoms are deficits of normal emotional responses or of other thought processes, and respond less well to medication.[8] They commonly include flat or blunted affect and emotion, poverty of speech (alogia), inability to experience pleasure (anhedonia), lack of desire to form relationships (asociality), and lack of motivation (avolition).


In summary: blunted/lack of emotions, speech impediments, loss of pleasure, lack of social desire, and lack of motivation.
Sound familiar? It does to me. Something to worry about? Not really; depression can be accompanied by all these symptoms as well.


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## Guest

Schizophrenia has nothing to do with PTSD. Sure there may be some common symptoms, but that means nothing. Nothing.

Stop trying to compare the two.

What a load of garbage this is....


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## Doberg

Philo said:


> Schizophrenia has nothing to do with PTSD. Sure there may be some common symptoms, but that means nothing. Nothing.
> 
> Stop trying to compare the two.
> 
> What a load of garbage this is....


the reason I made this thread was because many people including myself fear that they may have schizophrenia when in fact they have PTSD. Thus having this thread compare and contrast the two will demonstrate that although the symptoms maybe similar you DO NOT have schizophrenia. This is true with also having another anxiety disorder and or depression. THEY ARE NOT the same but they do have similar symptoms.


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## Guest

Those who fear they may have schizophrenia, ptsd, did, dp/dr, swollen testicles or whatever should go and see a doctor. That's what they're there for.

Don't come to a forum for a diagnosis and don't waste your time making comparisons across different diagnosis's. You're not helping anyone particularly yourself. You're just feeding the fear by finding similarities.

Have a nice day.


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## Guest

SolomonOrlando said:


> I think it was more meant for re-assurance that Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is not like Schizophrenia. It's more or so a thread based on the differences because many people fear they have it. Re-assurance that they don't often helps and doctor visits exclusively for that is money out of pocket for no good reason.


What I see here over and over again is.. people fearing they have schizophrenia.. so they start asking questions. They get answers and realise they don't have schizoid tendencies.

5 minutes later they're back again, worried again, with a new concern this time. They ask more questions and again express their concern. More answers and off they again..

It's a cycle we've all seen many times.

Going to see a doc/psych/counsellor with concerns about this is NOT money out of pocket for no good reason. More than likely it will STOP this cycle of fear and paranoia.

We do not need an entire thread devoted to reassuring people with PTSD that they DO NOT have schizophrenia. In fact, more than likely this thread, and the many others like it, will make people fear that DO have schizophrenia by drawing comparisons between the two.

My advice if you're hearing voices.... listen to them and ask questions. After all, they're your internal friends!


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## Guest

If I honestly believed I had schizophrenia I would head straight to a specialist and I would thoroughly recommend anyone to do the same. I certainly would not head to a forum for dp/dr looking for advice.

Of course PTSD is NOT schizophrenia. I doubt anyone here needs to be told that.

I believe this forum needs a sticky topic on 'what to do if you fear you may have schizophrenia', or 'before you start a topic about your fear of developing schizophrenia, read this'.. That would save the same old fears been rehashed over and over and perhaps it would also stop putting the 'fear of god' into some of the younger and more vulnerable members.

I wonder if people stopped talking about it, the fear of developing schizophrenia would go away? Maybe...


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## Guest

SolomonOrlando said:


> Would you like me to make a sticky involving what you quoted? I'd be more than happy to put my full effort into making a topic like such and getting it stickied.


Maybe it IS a good idea.. I'm really not sure how you'd go about it but I think a lot of people would very much appreciate any effort you put into it, myself included.

But please don't rely on just what I say regarding information required. I'm certainly no expert on this... A group effort is the way to go maybe?


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