Condition Basics

What is schizoaffective disorder?

Schizoaffective disorder is a condition in which people have the symptoms of schizophrenia and a mood disorder. Mood disorders, such as bipolar disorder or depression, are mental health conditions that affect how you feel.

What causes it?

Experts don't know what causes schizoaffective disorder. It may have different causes for different people. It's not caused by anything you did or how your parents raised you. And it's not a sign of weakness.

What are the symptoms?

Many of the symptoms of schizoaffective disorder are the same as schizophrenia and a mood disorder.

Mood disorder symptoms include:

• Depression.
• Feeling extremely happy or having lots of energy (mania).

Schizophrenia symptoms include:

• Not feeling emotions.
• Having hallucinations. This means that you see or hear things that aren't really there.
• Having delusions. These are beliefs that aren't real.

How is it diagnosed?

A doctor or mental health professional usually can tell if you have the disorder based on what symptoms you have and how long they last.

How is schizoaffective disorder treated?

The goal of treatment is to help you manage your symptoms and learn ways to cope. Ongoing treatment can help you improve your overall quality of life. You can decide to try medicines, counseling, or both.

Medicines help your symptoms. It's important to take your medicines on schedule to keep your moods even. When you feel good, you may think that you don't need them. But it is important to keep taking them.

Counseling helps you change how you think about things. It can also help you cope with the condition. Counseling may also include social skills and job training. This can help you stay involved in your community and lessen social isolation. You will work with a mental health professional. This may be a psychologist, a licensed professional counselor, a clinical social worker, or a psychiatrist.