Catatonic Schizophrenia
This disorder is characterized by a waxy flexibility. If one raises the arms of a catatonic to an upright position, the patient may keep them there for an hour or more. The normal person finds this virtually impossible to do. Try it!
Part of the clinical picture is a shift from stupor to extreme excitability, a condition in which the patient may be dangerous. While in stupor, the catatonic will do the opposite of what is requested. An offer to shake hands may lead the patient to put his hand quickly behind his or her back.
It is the interpersonal side of the schizophrenic's thinking that is especially confused; this person cannot anticipate what to do next. However, thought-disordered schizophrenics have been found to be only slightly less stable than normal people in the way they interpret objects, but much more unstable and inconsistent in the way they interpret people.
The visual hallucinations in schizophrenics have been likened to the projection of motion pictures' on the wall-that is, striking intensification of color and light. Such experiences, however, are more rare than auditory (sound) hallucinations. One theory is that the biological system underlying visual memory storage is less susceptible to derangement than the system underlying auditory memory and images. Auditory stimulation, even though more frequent, is far shorter and less intense than that of the visual world. Schizophrenics react much more slowly than do normal people, and they are quite handicapped in making decisions.
