Read the following Case-Study and answer the questions that follow.
Vijay graduated from college and got a job at a local grocery store. After working for six months he began to hear voices of people hatching a plan to poison him. He stopped eating and drinking anything in the shop as he felt it tasted bitter and looked green in colour. He reported smelling strange odour in the shop. He would take long winding detours on his way home as he felt people were following him. He told his family that the supervisor was against him and would one day burn down the shop in an attempt to kill him. One day he slapped a customer and swore that someone else made him slap him using his hand. No evidence was found to support his allegations.
Identify the disorder that Vijay is suffering from:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Schizophrenia
Option (1) Dissociative Identity Disorder — Incorrect. In this disorder, often called multiple personality, the person assumes alternate personalities that may or may not be aware of each other. Vijay remains one person throughout; he does not switch between personalities.
Option (2) Bipolar Disorder — Incorrect. Bipolar disorder is a disorder of mood in which the person alternates between depression and mania. The case says nothing about swings between deep sadness and excited, elated mood.
Option (3) Schizophrenia — Correct. Schizophrenia is a group of psychotic disorders in which functioning deteriorates as a result of disturbed thought processes, strange perceptions, unusual emotional states and motor abnormalities. Vijay’s delusions of persecution and control and his hallucinations of voices, colour, taste and smell are its positive symptoms.
Option (4) Anxiety Disorder — Incorrect. Anxiety disorders are marked by excessive fear and worry, with symptoms such as a rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, tension and restlessness. Vijay’s fear comes from false beliefs and false perceptions, which point to a loss of contact with reality, not to anxiety alone.
NCERT (2025-26): “Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders … Schizophrenia is the descriptive term for a group of psychotic disorders in which personal, social and occupational functioning deteriorate as a result of disturbed thought processes, strange perceptions, unusual emotional states, and motor abnormalities. It is a debilitating disorder. The social and psychological costs of schizophrenia are tremendous, both to patients as well as to their families and society.…” “Symptoms of Schizophrenia … The symptoms of schizophrenia can be grouped into three categories, viz. positive symptoms (i.e. excesses of thought, emotion, and behaviour), negative symptoms (i.e. deficits of thought, emotion, and behaviour), and psychomotor symptoms.…” |