Every year 1.5 million people worldwide are diagnosed with schizophrenia.lt is a mental illness whlch has periods called' psychotic episodes'. During a psychotic episode,asufferer showsdisturbibg changes in behaviour. They may seem very cold unemotional, using few faciceal expressions, and say strange things in a slow,
flat voice. They may lose all interest in life and spend days doing nothing at all,not even washing or eating. These distressing symptoms are shicking for family members who, of course, remember what the sufferer was like befire the onset of the illness.
During a psychotic episode there may be hallucinations. Hearing voices that other people do not hear is the most common type of hallucination. The voices give orders snd carry on convers ations. Sometimes the voices