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Essays defining schizophrenia and its five characteristic symptoms
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Definition of Paranoid Schizophrenia
Description and Definition
Schizophrenia causes its victims to lose touch with reality. They often begin to hear, see, or feel things that aren't really there or become convinced of things that simply aren't true. In the paranoid form of this disorder, they develop the delusion that everything and everyone is out to get them. The first signs of paranoid schizophrenia usually surface between the ages of 15 and 34. There is no cure, but the disorder can be controlled with medications. Severe attacks may require hospitalization. The term schizophrenia comes from the Greek words schizo (split or divide) and phrenos (mind) and is best translated as "shattered mind".In the DSM-IV, paranoid schizophrenia is defined as:
A type of schizophrenia in which there are:
· Obsessions with one or more delusions or with frequent hallucinations related to a single theme.
· None of the following: incoherence, catatonic behavior, disorganized behavior.
Causes
The causes of schizophrenia are still under debate. A chemical imbalance in the brain seems to play a role, but the reason for the imbalance remains unclear. It is known that you're a bit more likely to become schizophrenic if you have a family member with the illness. Stress does not cause schizophrenia, but can make the symptoms worse.
Signs/Symptoms
Schizophrenia usually develops gradually, although onset can be sudden. Friends and family often notice the first changes before the victim does. Among the signs are:
· Confusion
· Hallucinations
· Delusions
· Nervousness
· Anger
· Inability to make decisions
· Changes in eating or sleeping habits, energy level, or weight
· Strange statements or behavior
· With drawl from friends, work, or school
· Neglect of personal hygiene
· Not caring about the opinions of others
· A tendency to argue
· A conviction that you are better than others, or that people are better than you
The essential feature of Paranoid Schizophrenia is obsession with one or more delusions or with frequent hallucinations related to a single theme. In addition, symptoms like that of the Disorganized and Catatonic Types such as incoherence, catatonic behavior, or disorganized behavior, are absent.
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
The most typical symptoms of schizophrenia are things such as, hearing things that others cannot, such as voice of people whispering, having a feeling that someone is going out of their way to make sure they harm you, having visions of things that people around you cannot see, receiving special messages from the television, radio, and other appliances, felling that you posses special powers that ca...
saying I am better than the next person, but the areas we grow up in and the people
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.
Most psychiatrists believe that when a person suffers from paranoia they most likely have paranoid schizophrenia. According to Frederick Frese chief psychologist at Ohio mental hospital, Paranoid schizophrenia is defined as “ excessive concern about one's own well being, sometimes suggesting the person holds persecutory beliefs concerning a threat to themselves or their property.” Some characteristics are “confusion; indecision; nervousness, suicidal and homicidal thoughts. People with paranoia tend to believe that they have super sensitive hearing. They hear inanimate object taking to them or voices that don’t exist ”Many People with schizophrenia go through periods of getting better and worse. They have remission and relapse. They can go for long periods of time without any symptoms (Frese 13)
No one knows for sure what causes schizophrenia. The biological explanations are linked to genetic predisposition.
[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.
Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder which causes people with this disorder to misinterpret reality. It is one of the top ten causes of long-term disability. Schizophrenia patients may hear voices that may not be there, they will believe that people are out to harm them, reading their minds, and controlling their thoughts. Because they have these feelings a person can become withdrawn and paranoid. The name schizophrenia leads us to believe that the illness causes a person to have a split personality. This was the old way of thinking about the illness, but it is not the case today. Although the causes of schizophrenia are still not determined data suggest that environmental, social, and genetic factors can play a part in developing the illness. People with schizophrenia develop this illness around the ages 16 and 30 years old. The illness does not develop quickly. Onset is gradual and subtle and usually takes places over a course of five years.
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).
What is Schizophrenia? Schizophrenia is brain disorder that makes it hard to see the difference between reality and imagination, have normal emotional responses, and act normal in social situations. Schizophrenia is relatively young, it has only been around for less than 100 years. It was first discovered by Dr. Emile Kraeplin in 1887. He believed it was a mental illness. A few documents take Schizophrenia’s origins back to Egypt during the Pharaoh’s rule around 1550 B.C. People originally thought schizophrenia was simply madness, and usually associated it with madness, even though it is quite different from madness. Symptoms of this disease include Positive symptoms, which are: hallucinations, or things that someone can see, feel, smell, or hear that do not really exist. Many people hear voices inside their heads, see people that are not there, or smell odors no one else smells. Delusions are another symptom, also known as bizarre beliefs, these may include paranoid delusions also, which are delusions that tell the person that others are trying to hurt them. Thought Disorders are a symptom in which the person thinks unusually or dysfunctionally. Movement disorders may be present in schizophrenic people, they may seem like twitches or small, sharp, and sudden movements. Schizophrenia’s “negative symptoms” are harder to recognize. These include the flat affect, in which the persons face doesn’t move and the voice is droning. The lack of pleasure in life is another once, along with the lack of ability to start and sustain activities, and little speech. These symptoms prevent or block the person from living a normal life because they cause social, physical, and emotional, and mental problems. This may lead to psychosis, insanity, or ...
There are many different genetic and environmental factors that contribute to the development of schizophrenia. Some environmental factors would include exposure to certain viruses, stress within that person’s life ( Parents of the person going through a divorce, trouble in school, etc.), prenatal malnutrition in pregnant women, and certain types of drug use in teens. These drugs, such as cannabis, methamphetamine, hash, and marijuana, could be a very likely cause of schizophrenia in teens. Alcohol has also been considered a very likely contribute to the disorder as well. Over all of that, the factors that contribute the most to the development of this disorder are complications during pregnancy. This can include having diabetes while the woman is pregnant, complications during the birth of the child, unusual growth of the fetus, low birth weight, and birth before the baby is fully developed. A pregnant woman can get a response to an infection by the placenta, the fetus, or even the woman herself. Having this infection can set off a certain toxic effect on the developing neurons within the baby, and it will regulate the neurodevelopment processes such as the ones found in 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...
The cause of schizophrenia is still unclear, but some theories about the cause of the disease include: genetics, an imbalance in the brains chemistry, traumatic experience or accident, and/or possible viral infections and disorders. The illness occurs in 1% of the general population, but occurs in approximately 10% of people who have a first-degree relative with the disorder such as a parent or sibling. The risk is highest for an identical twin or a person with schizophrenia - with a 40-65% chance of developing the disorder.
Schizophrenia includes several symptoms. One common symptom is delusions, which are false beliefs that the person holds and that tend to remain fixed and unshakable even in the face of evidence that disproves the delusions (Cicarelli, p. 557).
According to the Johns Hopkins Medicine Website , schizophrenia is “a mental illness that usually strikes in late adolescence or early adulthood, but can strike at any time in life” that is characterized by “delusions, hallucinations, bizarre behavior, [and] disorganized speech” among other symptoms. Schizophrenia is, at its core, the altering of a person’s perception of reality by some somatic means and when observed by a psychologically sound individual, can be quite unsettling. After all, seeing a person whose reality is fractured causes us to doubt our own reality, if only in a fleeting thought.