What is schizoaffective disorder?

Most people will have heard of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (formerly known as manic depression) but you could be forgiven for never having heard about schizoaffective disorder. Schizoaffective disorder is less common than schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and it is an often misunderstood condition.

Schizoaffective disorder is a serious mental illness that can have profoundly disrupting effects on people’s lives. It is closely related to both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and shares symptoms with both the disorders. It was once thought that people with schizoaffective disorder were actually experiencing an unlucky coincidence of the two conditions. Now, however, schizoaffective disorder is recognised as an illness in its own right. Schizoaffective disorder can easily be confused with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia because the symptoms are very similar. Someone with schizoaffective disorder will generally experience the hallucinations and delusions that are commonly associated with schizophrenia at the same time as, or within a few days of, experiencing the mood disturbances of mania or depression that are usually associated with bipolar disorder.

Statistically, around one in every two hundred people (0.5% of the population) will develop schizoaffective disorder at some point in their lives. This figure, however, may not be accurate, because many people with schizoaffective disorder are mistakenly diagnosed with either schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. This is because it is often difficult for psychiatrists to distinguish between the three conditions, particularly in the early stages of assessment. It can often take many months, or even years, for a correct diagnosis to be given.

What are the symptoms of schizoaffective disorder?

The symptoms of schizoaffective disorder include psychotic symptoms, such as hallucinations, delusions and thought disorder, and affective symptoms, such as hypomania, mania, depression and mixed states.