To diagnose schizophrenia, residual type there should be an absence of prominent delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, grossly disorganized behavior. If the individual lacks the above symptoms and only presents with depressive symptoms - flat affect, poor interest in pleasure things, etc. Depersonalization refers to the experience of feeling detached from one s mental process or body, as if one were an external observer. In PTSD, one may experience an acting or feeling as if the traumatic event were recurring which includes a sense of reliving the experience, illusions, hallucinations and dissociative flashback episodes. Frank psychosis is not part of the disorder.
Schizophrenia leave varying degrees of residual impairment.
Untreated persons with schizophrenia do not attain their full psychosocial potential. They are unable to perform complex work and sometimes are not able to work at all. Their interpersonal relationships are altered negatively to varying degrees. Depending on their degree of impairment, it is would be very unusual that a person with schizophrenia would have periods of normalcy without medications. Some persons with schizophrenia are not without insight meaning that after years with struggling with this illness, patients develop a fair amount of knowledge regarding their experience with this disorder.