Listening to people with schizophrenia describe their illness and hearing accounts given by their relatives can give the impression that symptoms of the disorder are fairly uniform: hallucinations and delusions. It may take a closer look over a longer time to appreciate the diversity of symptoms and their changeable nature.

Lack of Emotional Response

Labeling someone with one of the five standard diagnoses of schizophrenia doesn't, unfortunately, provide much insight into how well she may respond to treatment or what course the disease is likely to follow. Psychiatrists have noted, however, that symptoms tend to change over time in groups.

The severity of one group of symptoms tends to change independently of other groups. Within a group, however, you are less likely to see changes.

Shifting Patterns of Symptoms

Hallucinations and delusions, psychotic symptoms, tend to increase or decrease in severity together. The same is true for negative symptoms and for disorganized behaviors and speech. Each of these three categories of symptoms can change from absent to mild to moderate to severe.