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treatment for schizophrenia essay
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Treating Schizophrenia
The term schizophrenia is used to designate the disease which is classified as an abnormal disintegration of mental functions. Schizophrenia is a serious and debilitating mental illness which is characterized by its symptoms being: loss of contact with reality, withdrawal from society and bizarre disorganization of speech and ideas. When these symptoms begin to occur an observer will begin to notice a slow and painful spiral into schizophrenia. The psychiatric world has taken a physiological and psychological approach to the disease; utilizing assessing the disease. The organic pathology of schizophrenia can be expressed in different ways. However, one can make a clear connection between the organic pathology of this disease and parallel this with its mental behavioral symptoms. The treatment of schizophrenia can be organic or psychological in process, and the debate on its treatment rages on; however, evidence will show that a high pharmacological treatment is the most successful route to dealing with this illness.
The diagnosis of schizophrenia had its own evolution. The disease was very difficult to diagnose, because of the complexity of its symptoms. It was often mistaken for a personality or anxiety disorder. Often the patient was labeled as "crazy", and unable to be helped. Obviously, now there is more structure to attempting to diagnose the disease. First there is a full physical and mental examination, partly just to separate its symptoms from those of other personality disorders and phobias. Part of the problem was the lack of a clear set of criteria to classify a person as schizophrenic. However, that has changed, in the 50s there was the creation of the DSM III and DST IV c...
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...t the disease and another that psychiatrists are quicker to diagnose the disease and read more into other comments or symptoms that are related to the disease. A combination of factors had led to the prevalence of a disease that is painful and horrible for any who have it and those that love them. This is why the treatment of Schizophrenia is so important. When there are new theories are presented it is important to embrace them, with the knowledge that most of the successful results from treatment has come from optimal dosing of anti-psychotics, that the patient is weaned off of over time. As the psychiatric and society otherwise looks into the future about this disease no one must forget that our first priority is the patient. If there is a certainty a treatment, although each patient is different, perhaps there can start to be a road toward true resolution.
Even though the word schizophrenia is only around a 100 years old, there are written document containing “diseases” that are very similar to cases of Schizophrenia dating all the way back to ancient Egypt. Studies have looked into ancient Greek and Roman literature and have shown that it is very likely that the general population most likely had some awareness of psychotic disorders, however, they did not have any ways to diagnose or treat these disorders. In most points in history anyone who was considered “abnormal”, whether because of physical, mental, or emotional issues, was treated the same. Most early doctors believed that mental disorders were caused by demon spirits or evil that had possessed the body. So, in order to treat these “possessed” people, doctors used various techniques to exorcise the...
According to the DSM-IV, schizophrenia is classified under the section of “Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders”. Schizophrenia is one of the most serious major chronic brain disorders in the field of mental health; it is a neurological disorder that affects the cognitive functions of the human brain. People living with this incapacitating illness can experience multiple symptoms that will cause extreme strain in their own and their families and friends life. The individual can lose reality, unable to work, have delusions and hallucinations, may have disorganized speech and thought processes, will withdraw from people and activities, they may become suspicious and paranoid, may behave inappropriately in every day social situations. They may neglect personal hygiene and dress improperly, use excessive make-up; every day life is becoming chaotic for everyone involved.
For many years schizophrenia was thought to be caused by bad parenting, the so-called "refrigerator mother" was to blame. Today there exists much more information on the disorder and the evidence points to the commonly accepted notion of a chemical imbalance in the brain. Unfortunately, many people still confuse schizophrenia with multiple personality disorder when, in fact, the two are separate. Schizophrenia however, deals more with people who simply don't have a firm grip on reality.
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.
In 1809, the first clinical descriptions of schizophrenia were written by J. Haslam, however, later it was found that he described a disease called hebephrenia. Some symptoms he included were: loss of memory, more prevalent in females, sensibility blunted, onset at puberty, unconnected with heredity, cyclic, no affection towards parents, inactivity, apathetic, inattention to cleanliness, etc. (Berle 4,5).
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is the authority on the diagnosis of mental diseases. It is a manual which provides all the symptoms and criteria listings for a certain type of disease. This manual list the symptoms of schizophrenia as characteristic symptoms (hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech, and catatonic behavior), occupational/social dysfunction (inability to maintain social abilities). Other areas are the duration of the disease (6 months or longer), Schizoaffective and mood disorder exclusion (rules out effects of other possible diseases). Also substance/ general medical substance exclusion (rules out effects based on drug effects), and finally ...
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...
Today, there are many different types of mental illnesses known throughout the world; i.e. bipolar disease, schizophrenia, paranoia, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, ect.; and many people who are able to diagnose such illnesses when symptoms are shown throughout a person [Webmd.com]. What about back in the 1600’s though, when such illnesses weren’t even known yet? In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, for example, Macbeth showed many signs of what today would be diagnosed as symptoms of schizophrenia, but he had no idea, nor did anyone around him, they just thought he was going insane. What is schizophrenia one might ask? “Schizophrenia is a serious brain disorder that distorts the way a person thinks, acts, expresses emotions, perceives reality, and relates to others” (Joseph Goldberg).
There are several people every year that are diagnosed with a mental disorder. In the world’s entire population, more than one percent of people have been diagnosed with schizophrenia (Brain and Behavior Research Foundation). When thinking of the billions of people in the world, it might not seem like that many people but once the number of those diagnosed is calculated it seems much larger. Currently there are more than seventy million people in the world that have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, only diagnosed. There are probably several more people who have this disorder and have not been diagnosed or are unable to obtain the resources to be diagnosed.
...ients that suffer severe symptoms. The most common treatment is a combination of medicine and therapy. Where the patient engages in individual psychotherapy with a therapist, rehabilitation, family education, or self help groups. These therapies usually help people cope with schizophrenia and its effects. At this time there is no cure for schizophrenia, there are very effective treatments and medications. Research is being conducted to help scientists understand the disorder better and is being used to try to treat schizophrenia permanently. The only way this is possible is with the use of new treatments, such as new experimental drugs and electrotherapy. No treatments today are preventative nor do they permanently “cure” schizophrenia, but we can look to the bright future for the development of a new treatment option that could potentially fully cure 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.
Schizophrenia is a serious, chronic mental disorder characterized by loss of contact with reality and disturbances of thought, mood, and perception. Schizophrenia is the most common and the most potentially sever and disabling of the psychosis, a term encompassing several severe mental disorders that result in the loss of contact with reality along with major personality derangements. Schizophrenia patients experience delusions, hallucinations and often lose thought process. Schizophrenia affects an estimated one percent of the population in every country of the world. Victims share a range of symptoms that can be devastating to themselves as well as to families and friends. They may have trouble dealing with the most minor everyday stresses and insignificant changes in their surroundings. They may avoid social contact, ignore personal hygiene and behave oddly (Kass, 194). Many people outside the mental health profession believe that schizophrenia refers to a “split personality”. The word “schizophrenia” comes from the Greek schizo, meaning split and phrenia refers to the diaphragm once thought to be the location of a person’s mind and soul. When the word “schizophrenia” was established by European psychiatrists, they meant to describe a shattering, or breakdown, of basic psychological functions. Eugene Bleuler is one of the most influential psychiatrists of his time. He is best known today for his introduction of the term “schizophrenia” to describe the disorder previously known as dementia praecox and for his studies of schizophrenics. The illness can best be described as a collection of particular symptoms that usually fall into four basic categories: formal thought disorder, perception disorder, feeling/emotional disturbance, and behavior disorders (Young, 23). People with schizophrenia describe strange of unrealistic thoughts. Their speech is sometimes hard to follow because of disordered thinking. Phrases seem disconnected, and ideas move from topic to topic with no logical pattern in what is being said. In some cases, individuals with schizophrenia say that they have no idea at all or that their heads seem “empty”. Many schizophrenic patients think they possess extraordinary powers such as x-ray vision or super strength. They may believe that their thoughts are being controlled by others or that everyone knows what they are thinking. These beliefs ar...
At some point a human might have a relative, or heard of someone, or even experienced itself of suffering from Schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that affects many humans throughout the world. People living with this mental disorder may depend on a family member or someone close to take care of him/her. Certain individuals have a good chance of inheriting schizophrenia if a family member appears to show a history of this mental disorder. Unlike others can develop this psychotic disorder while growing up. For instance, a young woman or man may begin to show some signs or symptoms within his/her teen years. Well unfortunately, I have a brother who inherited Schizophrenia and it is extremely difficult to cope with him at certain times.