Editing Mental Health and Psychosocial Nursing – RN Flashcards (section)

== Psychotic Disorders ==

;Positive versus negative symptoms of schizophrenia, and which respond better to medication
:Positive symptoms are added experiences (hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech, bizarre behavior) and respond well to antipsychotics. Negative symptoms are the five A's (affective flattening, alogia, avolition, anhedonia, asociality), are more disabling long term, and respond poorly.

;Nursing response to a hallucination
:Ask directly what the voices are saying, because command hallucinations directing harm are a safety emergency. Acknowledge the client's experience while presenting your reality once: "I do not hear a voice, but I believe you hear one." Do not argue, reduce stimuli, and provide reality-based distraction.