What defines schizoaffective disorder?

Schizoaffective disorder is characterized by the presence of both mood disorder symptoms and symptoms of schizophrenia. Specifically, this condition includes symptoms such as delusions or hallucinations, which signify a loss of contact with reality, as well as significant mood disturbances that can be consistent with bipolar disorder. This means that an individual with schizoaffective disorder will display both psychotic features (such as those found in schizophrenia) and mood episodes (either depressive or manic), which illustrates the dual nature of the illness.

In contrast, the other options do not accurately capture the full spectrum of symptoms associated with schizoaffective disorder. For example, merely having bipolar symptoms combined with physical ailments does not involve the psychotic symptoms that are essential for a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder. Similarly, loss of reality contact and anxiety symptoms does not encompass the mood episodes required for this diagnosis, and purely depressive episodes without mania excluded the manic components that can form part of the bulwark for the diagnosis. Therefore, the combination of loss of contact with reality and bipolar symptoms correctly encapsulates the essence of schizoaffective disorder.