What is Schizoaffective Disorder- Is It Worse Than Bipolar Disorder?

Schizoaffective disorder as a combination of schizophrenia and a mood disorder either bipolar disorder or depression. Where does the term affective come from? In psychology there’s a concept called the ABC’s of the psychology. It divides the mind into three domains. A is for affect which is your emotions or feelings, B is for behavior and C is for cognition which is how you think. Mood disorders like depression and bipolar disorder primarily affect your emotions expression, so they are called affective disorders. Whereas Schizophrenia at it’s core affects your thinking, so it’s more of a cognitive disorder. With Schizoaffective disorder you get a combination of alterations in your emotions and your thinking abilities.

The gist of it that schizophrenia is a disorder where a person has psychotic symptoms as well as cognitive symptoms. The psychotic symptoms are hallucinations, delusions, or severe thought or behavioral disorganization.

A person with schizophrenia isn’t necessarily depressed. They may get agitated, but that agitation is not the same as mania. Mania is an elevated or irritable mood along with a lot of other things like increased energy and a decreased need for sleep. The person with pure schizophrenia isn’t experiencing these things.

So what happens with schizoaffective disorder is you have a depressive illness or bipolar illness superimposed on the schizophrenia. The diagnosis that you will get is called schizoaffective disorder bipolar type or depressive type.

Video that defines a manic episode

References
Seldin K, Armstrong K, Schiff ML, Heckers S. Reducing the Diagnostic Heterogeneity of Schizoaffective Disorder. Front Psychiatry. 2017;8:18. Published 2017 Feb 10. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00018

Amann BL, Canales-Rodríguez EJ, Madre M, et al. Brain structural changes in schizoaffective disorder compared to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2015;133(1):23–33. doi:10.1111/acps.12440

Disclaimer: All of the information on this channel is for educational purposes and not intended to be specific/personal medical advice from me to you. Watching the videos or getting answers to comments/question, does not establish a doctor-patient relationship. If you have your own doctor, perhaps these videos can help prepare you for your discussion with your doctor.

[gypsysoul]

My Son took his life because of schizoaffrective bi polar mood disorder. He was only 31. He was Bright with such a Kind Heart ❤. Not sure he had proper meds and treatment. He said meds made him feel like a Zombie and still could not feel normal. Truly sad and devastating. I could not save him❤❤❤❤❤❤. The pain of lising him is beyond. I feel that his pain for him was unbearable. 😇😇My Angel baby

[houseplantasy]

As someone who wakes up everyday and battles a Schizoaffective diagnosis, the one thing I wish every morning is that there are more people out there who have the DESIRE to want to know more about schizophrenia and how they can support those in their lives whom may face a similar diagnosis. It's devastating to live life engulfed by a stigma that makes people afraid of me when really, I am not dangerous, I am misunderstood. All I could ask for from anyone is an effort of understanding even we both know you may never fully understand.

Please be kind to us and remember that it is our mind that is our own worst enemy.

[sweetbutterfly]

I have this condition...no one understands me....this disorder leaves you lonely....no one wants to be around people like me.

You have a way of explaining these very complicated disorders and the differences between them. I wish you were my doctor!

[sheilaturner]

Dr. Marks, I believe you are helping a lot of people, especially me. I'm a nurse working in Behavioral Health, the information and explanations are great. Keep up the GREAT WORK!

[shaelynnstilson]

I have been diagnosed with depressed type schizoaffective. This video has gave me a better understanding of my diagnosis. 16 years of therapy and they couldn't explain this to me in a way that I could understand, thank you. I appreciate your videos.

[smugpuddle]

I was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder a little under a year ago. I always knew I had bipolar but never did anything about it. when it turned to schizoaffective disorder I started realizing just how serious the condition was.

[meganpeterson]

I currently live with this schizoaffective disorder. Some days are really hard to get through. Other days everything's okay. I'm a mom to a two year old. I have to say that it's been a journey.

[ari]

I was just diagnosed with Schizo-affective disorder and I'm really happy I've been able to understand my diagnosis a little more

[silentgrove]

I suffered from schizoaffective disorder from age 28 for approximately 10 years. One full blown psychotic break with significant delusions with auditory and visual hallucinations. I did a lot of work with therapists to treat cognition problems and also work to resolve childhood trauma issues that I believe were part of the emergence of schizoaffective. I am of the thought my experience comes almost entirely from childhood trauma.


I no longer suffer from any of this and I wanted to let others know this can be beaten. Though you will have to do the work. There is no magic pill for this.


There is one other aspect that I didn't understand at the time and it isn't discussed. During this period I had a lot of experiences that seemed delusional, though I realize now that some were synchronicity experiences. It would take a sharp therapist to see the differences. Unfortunately therapists (being human) can also have confirmation biases around a diagnosis. Ie. they can put you in a box. Lately (this decade) the therapists I have worked with tend to be Rogerian.

[ThePeterboroughPrairie]

Dr. Tracey, you deserve an award. You properly and concisely explain big topics in a way that everyone can understand. You have given easy words to things I have been trying to explain to the people around me for nearly 20 years. I can't help but be frustrated at the quality of mental health care that I have recieved for nearly 20 years. Every psychiatrist, therapist, nurse, doctor, psychologist, crisis phone line operator, literally every proper professional I have ever spoken to or been treated by has failed miserably at affectively communicating to me what i was going through in a way that was easy to digest and helpful. I'm grateful for these videos and I wish other professionals took their career and vocation as seriously and passionately as you do. You are literally saving lives.

[GabyG]

What I had when I was a teenager was psychology depression. I started out with me being bullied, sensitive to criticism, avoiding people, sleeping too much and still being tired, not wanting to eat, wanting to die, then I couldn't sleep started being paranoid of people talking about me and started to see things and hear things

[johngregory]

I have schizoaffective disorder bi-polar type and let me tell you. Life is hell i think about taking my own life everyday. The worst part is not being able to form relationships with people. I've spent the last couple of days looking up information about psychedelics thinking that was the only thing that would save me. In the end nothing matters. I also have adhd to the point where I can't work without some kind of stimulant, but that only increases the risk of another episode. I've lost all hope.

[tiaw.]

Thanks! I have schizoaffective disorder-bipolar type. This video explained well why they keep giving me neuroleptic meds along with a mood stabilizer and anti-psychotic meds. This video was helpful!

[CharlieBoyCharlie]

I was just diagnosed with this and I appreciate you explaining all of this.

Thank you for all of the help.

[queenbossshelly]

I haven't slept for 48 hours because I'm out of medz stubbled on this video it really helps

[YuuoChaos]

I know there are people in the psychiatric community who think that schizoaffective is just a form of schizophrenia and it makes me feel so unseen and unheard as someone who suffers from it. I know it's a complex topic and the diagnostic criteria are a little vague because it's poorly understood, but when someone says it's just a form of schizophrenia, it makes me feel like they're dismissing my mood problems as just being a thinking problem and not an emotional problem. My thinking's borked, I know it is, but the depression and mania aren't caused by messed up thought processes. That almost makes it feel like I'm being told it's 'all in my head' in fancy doctor-speak. And I hate it.

So thank you for taking the time to make this video and acknowledging people like me as real and valid from the perspective of a doctor.

[LVSMYWEAPN]

Dr. Tracey, I am so thankful to you for doing these videos for us! You’ve taught me more about my bipolar disorder than I knew my whole life being medicated. I feel more empowered and informed because of you and I can’t wait for more videos to come out! Thank you so much for all that you do for us!

[pyxisdee]

thank you so much! you’re really good at explaining and it helps me a lot, especially when i’m having a bad time but can’t immediately go to see a doctor. it’s very calming to watch you talk, you make it look like the issue is never impossible to treat.

[hillbillyexorcist]

After being married for 9 years to a person with this disorder I came to learning alot about it, of course it is genetically inherited but found a link to child abuse from the parent cause of rejection and everything that comes from rejection. A child will begin to fantasize to escape the mental/emotional abuse and then turn to things that brings a false sense of satisfaction when one becomes older from spending sprees to sexual encounters because how sexual sensitive one is who has this disorder. This disorder is very spiritual sophisticated. One will have dreams and hallucinations that is spiritual related. Sleep paralysis, sexual dreams that is similar to a sucubi/succubus experience. The danger is not believing the CIA is after you but a few people who actually love and care for you are against you. With this disorder you will always find deep childhood mental/emotional abuse mainly but the physical abuse is normally there as well but doesn't have to be. When a person has a psychotic episode in adult years usually comes after an action behavior the person did and they felt justified by doing so and reality kicks in and they realized they were not justified and they feel very ashamed. This did something that they hated and don't know why they would do such a thing. They can begin to talk to people that are not bgg there and this can last for days or couple of weeks. This goes back to fantasizing to escape reality like one did as a child. The scary part is the person can be in a unconscious state of mind but will appear as if they are coherent and functioning as normal but there really are not. Being accident prone tripping over their own feet, dropping things bumping into things often, car accidents. This really all comes the twisted abuse a person received as a child in 99% of all cases.