Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe mental disorder characterized by the breakdown of the thought processes, of emotional responsiveness and of contact with reality. The term schizophrenia itself means “fragmented mind.” A person with this disorder has trouble with deciphering between what is “real” and what is “unreal”. (Gur & Johnson, 2006)
Symptoms of schizophrenia can be divided into five categories: psychotic symptoms, negative symptoms, cognitive impairment, mood problems, and behavioral disturbances. No two people with schizophrenia have the same symptoms; each person is unique. Symptoms can vary in intensity and alter over time. (Mueser & Gingerich, 2006)
Psychotic symptoms also known as positive symptoms include perceptions or beliefs that reflect a break from reality and are not shared by people without mental illness. The two types of psychotic symptoms are hallucinations and delusions. Hallucinations are false perceptions that a person experiences but other people do not. They include hearing, seeing, feeling, tasting and smelling things that are not present in the environment. Delusions are false ideas and appear quite real to the person with schizophrenia but seem impossible or untrue to others. Drugs such as LSD, marijuana, ecstasy, crack and amphetamines can cause symptoms that closely resemble schizophrenia. (Mueser & Gingerich, 2006)
The negative symptoms are characterized by the absence of typical feelings, thoughts and behaviors. People with schizophrenia no longer feel pleasure or enjoyment. They lack motivation towards personal goals and every day task. They are forgetful and find it difficult to engage in conversations. Another symptom, cognitive impairment includes poor insight, social perception and ...
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...ily therapy are just a few that are available. A 2004 Consumer Reports survey found that the combination of therapy and medication work best for improvement in the patients life. Hospital stays are usually used to diagnosis and stabilize the medications that might be used. Also the stays can be used to determine the next step of the patient’s life whether it be housing or plans for therapy. Recovery from schizophrenia is controlling psychotic symptoms with treatment and trying to maintain an everyday life style as much as possible. (Gur & Johnson, 2006)
Works Cited
Gur, R. E., & Johnson, A. B. (2006). If Your Adolescent Has Schizophrenia. New York: Oxford University Press.
Landau, E. (2004). Schizophrenia. New York: Scholastic Library Publishing.
Mueser, K. T., & Gingerich, S. (2006). The Complete Family Guide to Schizophrenia. New York: The Guilford Press.
Tsuang, M. T., Faraone, S. V., & Glatt, S. J. (2011). Schizophrenia. New York: Oxford University Press.
Schizophrenia has multiple symptoms; according to the World of Health Organization, these symptoms include “delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech and behavior [as well as depressive behavior].” Monomania
Long, Phillip W. M.D. “Schizophrenia: Youth’s Greatest Disabler.” British Columbia Schizophrenic Society. 8th edition. April 12, 2000. www.Mentalhealth.com.
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.
Chien, W. (2010). Stress of Family Members in Caring for a Relative with Schizophrenia. New York: Nova Science Publishers.
Schizophrenia is a disorder that affects about 1 in 100 people at different stages in their lives and is very difficult to diagnose. It has many symptoms that typically begin to appear around age 18-30 (2). Signs of Schizophrenia can be misread and sometimes overlooked due to the amount of other disorders that share many of the symptoms. Autism is one example. Symptoms can be classified into "negative" and "positive." Negative symptoms could be seen as those that are absent but should be present. Examples of negative symptoms include lack of motivation or apathy, blunted feelings, depression, and social withdrawal (1). Positive symptoms are those that should be present but are absent. Some examples of positive symptoms are hallucinations, delusions, thought disorder, and an altered sense of self (1). It is thought that hallucinations are the...
[1]Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe brain disorder, though most people may call it an illness. With this disorder the person is more likely to experience “Imaginary friends”,[2] Hearing voices that are not there, and being very paranoid. The people who have schizophrenia are often withdrawn and can be agitated easily. [3]The main thought to the symptoms are known to be paranoia, although the symptoms can vary depending on the person and what type of schizophrenia that he or she may have. [6][7]There are five types of schizophrenia, which include, paranoid, disorganized, catatonic, undifferentiated, and residual schizophrenia.
National Library of Medicine, National Institute of Health. Schizophrenia. 31 Jan 2013. Web. 15 May 2014
According the fourth edition diagnostic manual of mental disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2000), the category psychotic disorders (Psychosis) include Schizophrenia, paranoid (Delusional), disorganized, catatonic, undifferentiated, residual type. Other clinical types include Schizoaffective Disorder, Bipolar Affective Disorder/Manic depression, mania, Psychotic depression, delusional (paranoid) disorders. These are mental disorders in which the thoughts, affective response or ability to recognize reality, and ability to communicate and relate to others are sufficiently impaired to interfere grossly with the capacity to deal with reality; the classical and general characteristics of psychosis are impaired reality testing, hallucinations, delusions, and illusions. Mostly, these are used as defining features of psychosis even if there are other psychotic symptoms that characterise these disorders (L. Bortolotti, 2009).
...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.
Duckworth M.D., Ken. “Schizophrenia.” NAMI.org. National Alliance on Mental Illness, Feb. 2007. Web. 28 March 2010.
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.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Arasse, Daniel. Complete Guide to Mental Health. Allen Lane Press,New York, 1989. Gingerich, Susan. Coping With Schizophrenia. New Harbinger Publications, Inc. Oakland, 1994. Kass, Stephen. Schizophrenia: The Facts. Oxford University Press. New York, 1997. Muesen, Kim. “Schizophrenia”. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. Microsoft Corporation, 1998. Young, Patrick. The Encyclopedia od Health, Psychological Disorders and Their Treatment. Herrington Publications. New York, 1991.
Schizophrenia can be described by a wide-ranging spectrum of emotional and cognitive dysfunctions. These can include hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech and behavior, as well as inappropriate emotions. Consequently, this disease can affect people from all walks of life. Since schizophrenia is such a complex disorder it can ultimately affect a person’s entire existence and their struggle to function daily. With a chronic disease like this, most people have a difficult time functioning in society. This can make it hard for someone who is schizophrenic to relate to others as well as maintain significant relationships. Life expectancy for those who suffer this illness tend to be shorter than average. This is due to the higher rate of accident and suicide. The symptoms of schizophrenia can be broken down into different categories: positive, negative and disorganized. Positive symptoms include hallucinations and delusions. These tend to be the more obvious signs of psychosis. On the other hand negative symptoms indicate deficits or absence of normal behavior which can affect sp...
One big question would be what actually is adolescent schizophrenia? In all cases there are positive and negative symptoms. A child’s life can be altered dramatically if not diagnosed or treated soon enough. Sadly sometimes this disorder will become a life long struggle. The parents and family of the child always have to worry about their child reacting to something and what those problems could turn into.