Posted by SLS on October 12, 2005, at 17:16:04
In reply to Re: Schizoaffective disorder, posted by SLS on October 11, 2005, at 10:42:40
> Schizoaffective disorder is considered by many to be biologically distinct from either bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. I'm not sure what to think, but I lean in the direction that it is a separate illness rather than a comorbid presentation of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
> I have seen someone with this disorder enter a hypomanic state that then led into a schizoid psychosis. In the hypomanic state, there was a reduced need for sleep (3 hours), racing thoughts, and a tendency towards religiosity. This state could last for days, weeks, or months without the appearance of any schizoid thinking. When it did appear subsequently, the psychosis was pronounced and included both auditory and visual hallucinations.
What I forgot to mention is that as the schizoid symptoms appeared, her sleep normalized, her thoughts were no longer racing, and religiosity became less of an issue as she found it increasingly difficult to maintain focus on a single thought. These things are important to note because they represent the appearance of a schizoid episode without manic features. This is necessary condition for a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:564018
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20051010/msgs/566117.html