Schizo or not Schizo?

Hello everybody,

Could somebody tell me how one would test another if they claim to here voices inside their own head?

Are their any oral, or written tests that could be applied easy enough for the uneducated to follow and understand.

I have a close family relative claiming this, but I don't know if it's just attention seeking nonsense, or fact. Professional support is also proving inadequate.

Looking forward to any/all replies.

Thank you.

oh man I can see many ways that this can go wrong... short version hearing voices for some people is normal for others its a medical problem and for others its a mental problem....

let me show you what I mean...

i hear voices..

some of those voices are just normal for me to hear.
some of those voices are from having Bipolar disorder
some of those voices are from having depression,
some of hearing those voices is because I have MS
sometimes I hear voices when I havent eaten correctly or gotten enough sleep.

if for example my best friend wanted to diagnose me with online tests what would happen she could say hey you have schizophrenia when I do not, she could say I have cancer when I do not, she could say I have DID when that is no longer my diagnosis....

and who knows she could tell me I have PTSD when the problem is a nutritional deficiency. then what could happen I could die because of not having enough irorn which means the body wont produce enough red blood cells which means my body doesnt get the right amount of oxygen it needs because red blood cells carry oxygen through out the body to run and take care of everything in the body ...

see what I mean... though your idea may be from the heart and trying to help this person you can instead cause them more harm and possibly accidentally killing them.

the best thing to do is let this persons own treatment providers do their jobs of diagnosing and treating this person and if this person decides for their self that their doctor is not adequately doing the job they can let their treatment provider they want a second opinion or different treatment provider.

unless of course you are this relatives parent or guardian, in which case you can choose other treatment providers that you feel may do a better job.

or if you are not this relatives parent or guardian you can apply to the court to have this person hospitalized if you feel they are a danger to their self or others or you can apply to the courts to become this relatives parent or guardian so that you will have the power to choose better mental or physical health treatment for your relative.

My thoughts are that you start with a family doctor who will in turn make a referral to a psychiatrist. Leave it to a professional to make a diagnosis. I discourage you from trying to make one yourself.

Thank you for your reply, but the professionals are all failing her, I don't have the power to diagnose in any official capacity, but I was wondering if any standard or official tests exist, otherwise if not, that would mean even the professionals use little more than educated guesswork.

You should try a second professional opinion. It's serious matter. There's no room for misdiagnosis.

Testing by a professional is the only path to take. Are you asking if the person has Schizophrenia? Or is Schizoid? There are a number of other conditions that would cause a person to hear voices inside their own head.

This is a serious matter and guess work is not going to help anybody. Once a person is diagnosed then the professionals will have resources and contacts to help your relative.

Has your relative always been inclined to make up things? Attention seeking should not be dismissed lightly. Often there will be an real need that this person needs help with.

Wondering what you mean when you say that you can't diagnose in any official capacity? Do people normally come to you for help in an unofficial capacity? If so then your gut seems to be telling you something.

Maybe she needs encouragement to express herself when she sees a doctor. Personally I find it helpful to write things down before I see a doctor otherwise I am like a rabbit in the head lights and nothing gets expressed. Maybe she could write down about the voices inside her head? Hang in there with your relative.

What type of professional has this individual seen?

depends upon your location... different countries and locations have different ways of diagnosing. for example if you were here in america yes there are diagnostic tests that are done. here its called a psychiatric evaluation. many tests and an interview with a psychiatrist.

to find out if your location has a uniform diagnostic process you would need to contact your own treatment providers or ask the person in question if you can have contact with their treatment providers. dont be offended though if your friend says no. many people dont want their friends and family to have access to their psychiatrists, therapists and doctors. its a right of privacy and confidentiality thing. like you wouldnt want just anyone to be able to talk with your doctors about you and whether they think you are in your right mind or not right.. well others also dont want that kind of invasion of privacy.

my suggestion since this isnt about you,and you have no control over who this person can see for their treatment providers is to voice your opinion with your friend and then leave it up to your friend to take care of their self and their own mental/ physical health problems and treatment providers.