Negative Symptoms.

Post Reply New Topic

How much can negative symptoms of schizophrenia overlap with AS in a person who has both autism and schizophrenia?

I ask because when I was a child, I was very hyperactive, and I smiled. I showed emotion (not always the right ones though). When I was 12, I developed schizophrenia and I lost emotion in the process.

When I am severely psychotic (hallucinating constantly, very delusional, aggressive), I show emotion, but that is usually anger, resentment, fear, agitated excitement etc.

However in between exacerbations I experience what I believe are negative symptoms, one of which is a severe lack of emotion.

I talk in a monotone and I don't have any facial expression. I don't get excited, smile or laugh. I don't interact with people face to face unless I have to. I can stay in my bedroom for days.

Is this part of my schizophrenia or my AS?

So far I know those are nearly identical.
ppl with ASD even show more "negative symptoms" than ppl with shizophrenia.

Theres a difference in the negative symptoms in schizophrenia and alexithymia in autism.
Negative symptoms in schizophrenia is more of an actual loss of emotion.
In autism alexithymia is a symptoms that looks like negative symptoms to an outsider but is different from true negative symptoms. Alexithymia is difficulty processing emotion and understanding emotion. Also emotions are often not outwardly visable. Still though most people with autistic disorders have emotion, they just have trouble identifying and showing it.

The difference however is that in an ASD the symptoms exist well before mid to late childhood. They need to be present from early childhood to justify an ASD diagnosis.