Schizophrenia may have a variety of symptoms and develops slowly over months and years.  Like other chronic illnesses, schizophrenia cycles between periods of few symptoms and periods of more symptoms.

At first, you may feel tense, having trouble sleeping or concentrating.  You can become isolated and withdrawn, and have trouble making or keep friends.

As the illness continues, the follow psychotic symptoms can develop:

• Appearance or mood that shows not emotion
• Bizarre movements that show less of a reaction to the environment (catatonic behavior)
• False beliefs or thoughts that are not based on reality (delusions)
• Hearing, seeing, or feeling things that are not there (hallucinations)

Problems with thinking will occur:

• Problems paying attention
• Thoughts “jump” between unrelated topics (disordered thinking)

People with schizophrenia may have difficulty keeping friends and working.  They may also have problems with anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts or behaviors.  There are a various types of schizophrenia:

• Paranoid
  types often feel anxious, are more often angry or argumentative, and falsely
  believe that other are trying to harm them or their loved ones.
• Disorganized
  types have problems thinking and expressing their ideas clearly, often exhibit childlike behavior, and frequently show little emotion. 
• Catatonic
  types may be in a constant state of unrest, or they may not move or be
  underactive.  Their muscles and posture may be rigid.  They may have odd facial expressions and be less responsive to others.
• Undifferentiated
  types may have symptoms of more than one other type of schizophrenia.

Residual types experience some symptoms, but not as many
as others who are in a full-blown episode of schizophrenia.