Schizoaffective Disorder Schizoaffective disorder is a mental illness characterized by a person having both a thought disorder and a mood disorder. The thought disorder has symptoms characteristic of schizophrenia , such as delusions and hallucinations. The mood disorder can be either bipolar or depression . According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, the psychotic symptoms must be present for at least two weeks without the presence of mood symptoms. Onset usually occurs in late teens or early adulthood. This disorder is a debilitating illness that can affect a person’s ability to work, his or her social interactions, and the overall quality of that person’s life. It can significantly decrease a person’s ability to function in the world at the level that he or she functioned prior to getting sick. Schizoaffective disorder is a life-long illness (for most people) with no known cure and therefore the prognosis is not great, though it is slightly better than that of schizophreni