The peculiarity of Experiencing Body by Patients in Schizophrenia

Abstract

Introduction

By the present, the study of corporeality as a psychological phenomenon in schizophrenia has had a lack of attention. At the focus of works, there have been mainly psychopathological phenomena: cenestopathies, visceral hallucinations and body scheme disturbances. There is an evidence of the necessity for psychological investigations: the execution of radical changes in appearance, a frequent turning to plastic surgery, dysfunctional wearing and transsexuality.

Objectives

The experimental group consisted of 23 patients in schizophrenia of paranoid type (F 20.00). The control group consisted of 27 healthy subjects.

Aim

It is to study the peculiarity of experiencing their own body by patients in schizophrenia.

Methods

There are projective techniques, such as: “A Picture of Me”, “Verbal Self-Portrait”, ‘A Picture of Inner Body” and the psychosemantic test “Classification of Sensations”.

Results

There are statistically significant differences (P < 0.005) found between the groups:

– patients with schizophrenia are characterized for their deficit of experiencing their body. It does not refer to “Myself” and is deinvidualized. The body does not serve as a physical presentation of the subject in a social world;

– a wary attitude is observed in relation to body displays in the form of inner body sensations with a minor (than in norm) awareness relatively to the inner arrangement of their own body. This causes the increase of the quantity of intraceptive sensations categorized by patients in schizophrenia as unhealthy or a threat.

Conclusion

The above-mentioned peculiar features of corporeality in schizophrenia make it a source of negative experiences.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.