Identify the disorder Brijesh is suffering from:

Read the passage and answer the question that follows:

Brijesh is 25 years old autorickshaw driver. He has continuous feelings of insecurity and believes that the police in the area is tracking and following him. The patrolling of the police makes him feel that they are monitoring his behaviour minutely. The intense anxiety about this is interfering with his work and relationship and his family and friends are all worried for him. Brijesh laughs abruptly and inappropriately and sometimes stops speaking mid sentence and stares into nothingness as he appears to see or hear something that is not present.

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 3

The correct answer is Option (3) → Schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorder

Option (1) Generalised anxiety disorder — Incorrect. It consists of prolonged, vague, unexplained and intense fears that are not attached to any particular object, with worry and motor tension. Brijesh’s fear rests on a false belief and comes with hallucinations, which anxiety does not explain.

Option (2) Panic disorder — Incorrect. It consists of recurrent anxiety attacks in which the person suddenly feels intense terror, with shortness of breath, dizziness and palpitations. Brijesh has no such sudden attacks.

Option (3) Schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorder — Correct. 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, strange perceptions and unusual emotional states. Brijesh shows a delusion of persecution, the most common delusion in schizophrenia, along with hallucinations and inappropriate affect, and his work and relationships are suffering.

Option (4) Obsessive compulsive and related disorder — Incorrect. Here people cannot control their preoccupation with specific ideas or cannot stop themselves from repeatedly carrying out a particular act. Brijesh has no such repeated thoughts or acts.

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.…”

“Symptoms of Schizophrenia … Many people with schizophrenia develop delusions. A delusion is a false belief that is firmly held on inadequate grounds. It is not affected by rational argument, and has no basis in reality. Delusions of persecution are the most common in schizophrenia.…”