There are many disorders throughout the world that affect people on a daily basis. They are life altering and life changing. They affect how a person can function on a normal level of life. This, in itself, is an interesting way of viewing the disorder, but it truly is the way that schizophrenia is viewed. The term normal is in its self a complex concept, but to understand that for the purpose of schizophrenia; normal is anything that deviates from the socially accepted way of conducting one’s self. The person affected by this disorder is drifting away from reality and, at the same time, drifting away from who they have been their whole life. It has been stated that schizophrenia plays a very large role pertaining to who a person is and how that person’s actions are interpreted by the culture they live in. To contain the context of what schizophrenia is, the textbook definition reports it as a “severe disorder of thought and emotion associated with a loss of contact with reality” (Lilinfeld 479). The author of this textbook has put in the time and done the research to discover the most socially accepted and understood definition that could be possible. This definition in itself is almost overwhelming to consider that this is a disorder that currently has lifetime affects. Thought and emotional aspects come into play by realizing that any deviation from what a person normally thinks and feels will, without a doubt, affect how their thoughts and emotions change. By changing thoughts and emotions, actions will inevitably be affected in how they are carried out. This is where the culturally accepted portion becomes an issue because anything that is away from the normal action will have attention drawn to... ... middle of paper ... ...my L., & Woolf N. (2010). The Enigma of Schizophrenia. In L. Jewell (Ed.), Psychology: a framework for everyday thinking (pp. 479-483). Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc. Merlo, M. C. G., Perris, C., Brenner, H. D., (2006) Cognitive Therapy with Schizophrenic Patients: The Evolution of a New Treatment Approach. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Book Reviews, 2(3), 1-2. Myers, D. G., (2009). Self-Concept: Who Am I?. In M. Ryan(Ed.), Exploring social psychology (pp. 23-33). New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Nevid, J. S., Rathus, S. A., & Greene, B. (2011). Schizophrenia and Other Psycholtic Disorders. In J. Marshall (Ed.), Abnormal psychology in a changing world (pp. 390-425). Sawhney, V., Chopra, V., Kapoor, B., Thappa, J. R., Tandon, V. R., (2005). Prescription Trends in Schizophrenia and Manic Depressive Psychosis. JK Science. 7(3), 1-3.
Tsuang, M. T., Faraone, S. V., & Glatt, S. J. (2011). Schizophrenia. New York: Oxford University Press.
Mental illnesses are diseases that plague a being’s mind and corrupts one’s thoughts and feelings. Schizophrenia is one of the many disastrous illnesses that consume one’s life, is known as a real disease that deserves much attention. Experts believe that what causes the illness is a defect in the gene’s of the brain, and little signs of schizophrenia are shown until about one’s early adult years. Some effects of schizophrenia can either be negative or positive, but even if the effects could be either one, people should still be aware that there is something puzzling and alarming happening in the mind of a schizophrenic patient.
According to (Barlow, 2001), Schizophrenia is a psychological or mental disorder that makes the patient recognize real things and to have abnormal social behavior. Schizophrenia is characterized by symptoms such as confused thinking, hallucinations, false beliefs, demotivation, reduced social interaction and emotional expressions (Linkov, 2008). Diagnosis of this disorder is done through observation of patient’s behavior, and previously reported experiences (Mothersill, 2007). In this paper, therefore, my primary goal is to discuss Schizophrenia and how this condition is diagnosed and treated.
Schizophrenia: A guide to the New Research on Causes and Treatments. New York: Macmillan, 1994.
According to Gamble and Brennan (2000), the effectiveness of medication for schizophrenia to relieve patients from psychotic symptoms is limited. Although patients have adequate medication, some received little or no benefit from it and almost half of them still experience psychotic symptoms. They are also more likely to suffer relapse (Gamble and Brennan, 2000). Furthermore, Valmaggia, et al. (2005) found that 50% of patients who fully adhere to anti-psychotic medication regimes still have ongoing positi...
Called a “modern leprosy”, schizophrenia and those who struggle with its disabling outcomes glaringly lack public empathy compared to other conditions that are as severe and existent. Stigmas and misconceptions clutter outsider knowledge of the illness, from its prevalence to its actual effects and complications. Often seen as a very distant kind of condition, schizophrenia is frequently connected to crime and a doomed life, however false and unfair. With the contrary being closer to the truth, those coping with schizophrenia are just as human as anyone else. While hope and opportunity stand for schizophrenic persons, knowledge and comprehension would be an integral measure of progress made by the public in really solving the apparent issue, one misunderstanding at a time.
Schizophrenia is a behavioural disorder that affects both men and woman. It involves a difficulty in telling the different between real and imagined experiences. The disorder usually sees its onset in teen years or young adulthood. It is often referred to as a type of split personality or multiple personality disorder. Oftentimes people with this condition find themselves socially isolated mainly because people with this condition find it difficult to make normal social responses and have generally disorganized minds. The irritability caused by living with a mind that feels confused much of the time often causes feelings of depression, anxiety and sometimes suicidal thoughts. With treatment many people manage to function well with this affliction, however others are find it difficult and this leads to many other social problems. In this essay I hope to explore some first person accounts of living and dealing with schizophrenia, as well examining some popular texts about culture and scholarly but non medical texts that look at schizophrenia. Such a complex illness and its patients have become the study and focus of many different disciplines over the years so this will allow me to pull information from other non medical disciplines, giving a more ‘real-life’ account of the condition.
Coon, Dennis, John O. Mitterer, and Art VanDeventer. "Schizophrenia." Psychology: a journey. 3rd ed. Australia: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2008. 493.
What if you lived your life in constant fear of the voices in your head, feeling like someone’s plotting to harm you, or had a hard time interacting with the people around you? These are some of the common issues that people with Schizophrenia face in their life. Imagine if you were a parent and you believe your child is just acting out, but all signs lead to a much broader diagnosis. In order to visualize ourselves or other people around us living with Schizophrenia; we must first define the meaning of Schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia is a disease of the brain that is expressed clinically as a disease of the mind. Once it strikes, morbidity is high (60% of patients are receiving disability benefits within the first year of onset) as is mortality (the suicide rate is 10%). (www.nejm.org/content/1999/0340/008/0645.asp). Because its symptoms and signs and associated cognitive abnormalities are diverse, researchers have been unable to find localization in a single region of the brain. This essay will discuss the symptoms, treatments and causes of schizophrenia.
...ected over another because it has less chance of damaging a diseased liver, worsening a heart condition, or affecting a patient’s high blood pressure. For all the benefits that anti-psychotic drugs provide, clearly they are far from ideal. Some patients will show marked improvement with drugs, while others might be helped only a little, if at all. Ideally, drugs soon will be developed to treat successfully the whole range os schizophrenia symptoms. Roughly one third of schizophrenic patients make a complete recovery and have no further recurrence, one third have recurrent episodes of the illness, and one third deteriorate into chronic schizophrenia with severe disability (Kass, 206).
SCHIZOPHRENIA Schizophrenia, from the Greek word meaning “split mind”, is a mental disorder that causes complete fragmentation in the processes of the mind. Contrary to common belief, schizophrenia does not refer to a person with a split personality or multiple personalities, but rather to a condition which affects the person’s movement, language, and thinking skills. The question of whether schizophrenia is a disease or collection of socially learned actions is still a question in people’ mind. People who are suffering from schizophrenia think and act in their own the world and put themselves in a way that is totally different from the rest of society. In other words, they have lost in touch with the reality. Most schizophrenics accept the fact that they have this disorder and are willing to receive necessary treatment and listen to, if not follow, professional advice. However there are cases where patients have lost insight and do not acknowledge the fact that they suffer from a mental disorder. As a result, these people do not have the treatment normally patients with schizophrenia do. To observers, schizophrenia may seem like a disease or madness because people who have this disorder behave differently to the people that are considered “normal.” It impairs a person from doing work, going to school, taking care of his/herself or having a social relationship with others. Yet, by looking at some of the symptoms, it is sometimes hard to classify schizophrenia as a disease because it enables those inflicted with it to develop new ways of communication intellectually and creatively, as well as enhancing artistic abilities. A disease is usually some kind of sickness that will lead to death or under heavy medication. However, this is not the case. For now, there is no cure but only treatment to help people with schizophrenia to live more productive lives. Generally, schizophrenia carries enormous threats to the society. About one percent of the people in United States develop schizophrenia and the probability of developing this disorder is independent of the patient’s gender, race or culture. Women are as likely to develop schizophrenia as men but women tend to have less severe symptoms with fewer hospitalizations and are generally able to cope better in the community. About ten percent of the people who have schizophrenia commit suicide and many others attempt...
Schizophrenia is a long-term mental disorder involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior. It often leads to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation. There are around 200,000 cases a year in the US alone. The cause for schizophrenia is still unknown but is thought to be linked with genetics and brain chemistry. The reason I chose this topic is because while I was working in a nursing home I had a patient with schizophrenia that I took care of when I was in junior high who thought I was her daughter from the 80s and so taking care of her was an experience because I never knew anything about it before her.
U.S Department of Health and Human Services. (2009). National Institutes of Health. Schizophrenia. Retrieved November 28, 2013 from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/schizophrenia/index.shtml#pub10
This chapter got into more depth about people with schizophrenia. This was one topic I never really knew too much information about it. For a person to be classified as having a psychological disorder, the person’s behavior must not only be unusual, but also disturbing. The people with schizophrenia often suffer symptoms such as hearing voices, people are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, plotting against them. Reading this chapter has showed me that schizophrenia is a serious disorder and a very dangerous psychological disorder to themselves and the people around them. The cause of schizophrenia is still unclear. Some theories about the cause of this disease are genetics, biology; and possible infections and immune disorders. Symptoms may develop slowly over months or years, or may appear very