How Age and Gender Affect Schizophrenia Symptoms

Schizophrenia may develop in people of all ages, and the early signs of the disorder vary greatly from person to person. While the symptoms are the same, the presentation of them can change due to age of onset, gender, and severity.

Host Rachel Star Withers, a diagnosed schizophrenic, and co-host Gabe Howard explore how the early signs of schizophrenia can present differently and specific behaviors to watch for. Joining them is Dr. Gus Alva, a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and the American Board of Geriatrics.

As an author and coauthor, Dr. Alva's work has been published in peer-reviewed medical journals, including the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and the Journal of the American Psychiatric Association. He has been featured on numerous media outlets and has served as an expert guest in various television programs, such as CNN News.

About Our Guest & Hosts

Our guest, Dr. Gus Alva, is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He is also Board Certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and the American Board of Geriatrics. He completed his residency training at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, where he served as chief resident during his final year of residency.

He also served as an associate professor and deputy director in the department of psychiatry at U.C. Irvine Medical Center, and he is currently serving as an assistant professor at U.C. Riverside Medical School, Department of Neuroscience.

As author or co-author, his work has been published in peer-reviewed medical journals, including the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, The Journal of the American Psychiatric Association, and Clinics in Geriatric Medicine. He has published numerous articles and presented at national and international meetings and conferences. He was the recipient of the First Annual Senior Care Humanitarian Award as Outstanding Physician in Dementia Care and the Physician’s Recognition Award by the American Medical Association.

He has been featured in numerous media outlets and has served as an expert guest in various television programs, such as CNN News, Inside OC, Salud Es Vida, Despierta America, The Morning Blend, Healthy Body, Healthy Mind.

Our host, Rachel Star Withers, (Link: www.rachelstarlive.com) is an entertainer, international speaker, video producer, and schizophrenic. She has appeared on MTV’s Ridiculousness, TruTV, NBC’s America’s Got Talent, Marvel's Black Panther, TUBI’s #shockfight, Goliath: Playing with Reality, and is the host of the Healthline podcast “Inside Schizophrenia”. She grew up seeing monsters, hearing people in the walls, and having intense urges to hurt herself.

Rachel creates videos documenting her schizophrenia, ways to manage, and letting others like her know they are not alone and can still live an amazing life. She has created a kid’s mental health comic line, The Adventures of ____.  (Learn more at this link: https://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Fearless-Unstoppable-Light-Ambitious/dp/B0FHWK4ZHS )

Fun Fact: She has wrestled alligators. 

Our cohost, Gabe Howard, is an award-winning writer and speaker who lives with bipolar disorder. He is the author of the popular book, "Mental Illness is an Asshole and other Observations," available from Amazon; signed copies are also available directly from the author.

He also hosts the twice Webby honored podcast, Inside Bipolar, with Dr. Nicole Washington.

To learn more about Gabe, please visit his website, gabehoward.com.

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