In her Ted Talk, "My Journey Through Schizophrenia and Homelessness" (2006), Bethany Yeiser describes her experience of schizophrenia. She courageously details how her thinking changed and became clouded by beliefs that she would be a prophet and menacing voices. After a battle involving hospitalizations and times of being unhoused, she made a remarkable recovery and now advocates for others while sharing her own story.

Early in her talk, she says, "My heart was like ice." This experience of emotional flatness or blunted affect is common in schizophrenia. On the outside, it can look like a still face, on the inside it can feel like a disconnection. This is one of several schizophrenia symptoms known as negative symptoms, things like loss of motivation, social withdrawal, and flatness.

While not as well-known as the hallmark symptoms of hallucinations and delusions in schizophrenia, research shows that this set of symptoms might better predict a person's functioning (Milev et al., 2005). These symptoms can affect a person's relationships and joy in life. Yet perhaps because these symptoms are sometimes less apparent than others, they often go untreated.

That said, psychotherapy techniques involving focus on the body and the........

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