Social Withdrawal or Isolation
Schizophrenia may trick the mind into thinking that other people are irrelevant. This mindset branches from other symptoms like hallucinations, social anxiety, depression, and avolition. All of these lead to isolation or social withdrawal. As a result, patients with schizophrenia may refuse to leave their rooms or homes for an extended period. They even neglect their social responsibilities, jobs, studies, and relationships.
A long-term study on schizophrenic patients concludes that the lack of empathy is one of the reasons why patients socially disconnect. Patients fail to connect to other people emotionally, where they can feel other people’s happiness, pain, or anger. As a result, they lose their ability to react or sympathize with their friends and loved ones. This is a challenging and confusing feeling to deal with. And since patients with schizophrenia lack the motivation to deal with anything, they tend to avoid these situations instead.
Social isolation can be a big issue for patients with schizophrenia. Avoiding any form of socialization may trigger anxiety, depression, and emotional vulnerability. In addition, experts explained that being alone allows the voices inside the patient’s head to “scream” louder, gravely affecting their mental health.
