Schizophreniform disorder is a mental disturbance with serious abnormalities in sensory perceptions, thought, speech, attention, mood, behavior, interpretation

of everyday life events, and the capacity to enjoy life. Although similar to schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder is a more acute illness. Lasting for longer than 1 month, but less than 6 months, serious impairment in social and occupational functioning may or may not have occurred, whereas the diagnosis of schizophrenia requires functional impairment and at least 6 months of illness. Schizophreniform disorder is not due to drug or alcohol abuse. It is diagnosed only after ruling out schizoaffective disorder or mood disorders with psychotic features such as bipolar disorder (manic-depression). Symptoms of this disorder are described as positive or negative. Positive symptoms are an excess of normal functions, such as abnormalities of thinking (delusions), sensory perceptions (hallucinations), language (disorganized speech), or behavior (grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior). Negative symptoms involve a reduction or loss of normal functions, such as a restriction and flattening of emotions, severely reduced speech or thought, and lack of interest in any goal-directed activities. It is more common in relatives of those who have either this condition or another mental illness. The greatest incidences are 18 to 24 years in men and ages 24 to 35 years in women