What is the difference between depression and schizophrenia

summary

Depression and schizophrenia are two different diseases. Depression is the dysfunction of 5-hydroxytryptamine in the brain, while schizophrenia is the dysfunction of dopamine in the brain, which is often confused. How to distinguish depression from schizophrenia is very important. According to clinical practice, we should pay attention to the following four points

What is the difference between depression and schizophrenia

First: treatment mode: active or passive --- patients with depression have insight, so they are active in treatment. However, the way of active treatment for patients with depression is different from that for patients with other physical diseases. Some of them do not understand that they are suffering from psychological diseases, and some of them want to avoid psychological problems. Therefore, they often go to internal medicine or traditional Chinese medicine department first, and then transfer from internal medicine or traditional Chinese medicine department to psychological department. Of course, most patients come to the psychological clinic directly.

Second: emotional expression: pain or indifference --- the emotional expression of depression and schizophrenia is different. The first impression of patients with depression is that they are very painful, sad, dejected and worried. Many patients burst into tears before they speak. Schizophrenic patients have serious emotional disorders, and most of them are at a loss, apathetic and numb when they see a doctor. No matter how the doctor guides them to ask questions, the patients either don't answer or the questions are not answered. Some patients show high emotion or wrong emotion, but schizophrenic patients generally do not have the emotional performance of being urgent and painful.

Third: thinking content: ideation or delusion --- in terms of thinking content, there are important differences between depression and schizophrenia, which is also the most confusing focus in clinic. The main clinical manifestations of patients with depression are negative and pessimistic thoughts, such as fear of difficulties, fear of setbacks, fear of failure, self blame, self guilt and so on. There are two main differences: first, the ideas of patients with depression do not come out of thin air, but are related to their environment and events, such as learning pressure, communication barriers, sexual confusion of young people; family and career problems of middle-aged people; illness and loneliness of the elderly . Second, patients with depression have insight, and admit that these ideas are subjective, one-sided, untrue, inaccurate and undesirable, but they are spontaneous and can not get rid of them.

matters needing attention

There are many kinds of delusional symptoms in schizophrenic patients, some of which are close to reality, some of which are absurd and bizarre, but their common characteristics are that they have no factual basis, which is far from the level of education of the patients; the patients can vividly describe the content of delusion, and firmly believe that others can not persuade them.