According to NAMI (), schizophrenia is a long term mental illness that interferes with a person’s ability to think clearly, make decisions, and relate to others, impairing a person from functioning to their full potential when left untreated. For these persons affected, it is many times difficult to distinguish what is real from what is not. “Unfortunately, no single simple course of treatment exists.” Research has linked schizophrenia to a multitude of possible causes” (NAMI).
As stated by NIHM, the prevalence of schizophrenia is about 1 in every 100 people in the general population. Ten percent of the people who have first degree family members with the disorder, such as a brother, sister, or parent, also have schizophrenia. A longitudinal incidence study was conducted in the Netherlands to further study prevalence over 10 years of the general population. According to (ANNUAL INCIDENCE GALILEO), the incidence rate of schizophrenia was 12/100,000 per year. The study found that incidence rates were higher in men than in women. The results also showed that there was a peak in incidence rates between the ages of 15 and 25 with a decrease by 40% after 25 per ten years. The results also indicated that the incidence rate was higher in urban area, but found no association between incidence rates and living in deprived areas. “Although presumed to be relatively infrequent in presentation, the existence of late onset schizophrenia is now recognized by the International Consensus on Late Onset and Very Late Onset Schizophrenia Group. LOS patients tend to experience more positive and fewer negative symptoms.” (LATE ONSET SCHIZOPHRENIA).
The etiology of schizophrenia would the diathesis-stress model, involving both hereditary and environment...
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...esn’t move or respond to others. “Catatonia is rare today, but it was more common when treatment was not available” (NIHM).
“Negative symptoms refer to the absence of normal behaviors found in functional humans” (HELP GUIDE). Stated by the NIHM, negative symptoms may be harder to recognize and can be mistaken for depression. Some examples could be the flat affect, where a person’s face does not move and talk in a monotonous voice, lack of pleasure, lack of ability to start and sustain activities, and little verbal communication. One category of negative symptoms includes cognitive symptoms. Cognitive symptoms can include poor executive functioning, trouble focusing, and problems with working memory.
Other than symptoms, there are also types of schizophrenia, three to be exact. There is paranoid schizophrenia, disorganized schizophrenia, and catatonic schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia: A guide to the New Research on Causes and Treatments. New York: Macmillan, 1994.
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.
The domination of schizophrenia in specific geographical countries suggests a strong association between genetics and schizophrenia’s aetiology. Surveys regarding adopted, by different families, monozygotic twins were made. These surveys were established to investigate the relationship between schizophrenia and genes. The studies showed a potent genetic aetiology. Chances increase by fifty percent to develop schizophrenia once the other twins be diagnose with the disorder. Among schizophrenic patients, having schizophrenic siblings increases the chances of developing schizophrenia by eight percent. Other family studies have showed that 12% of children with schizoph...
People who suffer from schizophrenia may have a very broad range of symptoms which can cause great distress to themselves and their families. These symptoms can take many forms including:
Schizophrenia is a type of psychological disorder that affects a person’s brain and affects how they think and act on a daily bases. The disorder is known to be one of the most disabling and puzzling psychological disorder. People that suffer from this disorder have stated experiences that it is almost like a break from reality. It seems that schizophrenia in the past years has become a larger issue in our society. Moreover, people who develop the disorder seem to be disengaged from the common things in our lives such as working a job and having a relationship with others. There are many reasons why schizophrenia is one of the most bizarre and disabling types of mental disorders.
One of the most surprising yet basic and simple facts of schizophrenia is one that is often unknown and underestimated, that being the prevalence of the illness. While many think it a rare disorder that only a select few possess, quite the opposite is true. Approximately 1% of the world population develops schizophrenia and in the United States, around 3 million people are afflicted by the illness (Nemade and Dombeck, www.mentalhelp.net). In the United States, there are twice as many people suffering from schizophrenia as Alzheimer’s, five times as many as MS and sixty times as many as muscular dystrophy (www.schizophrenia.com). Ranking in the top ten most common disabling conditions (www.psychiatrictimes.com), schizophrenia, instead of a confined and uncommon, is one of the most prevalent and distributed illnesses worldwide.
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...
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 is a complex psychological disorder, which affects 1 -- 2 % of the world's population (www.nami.org/helpline/schizo) Schizophrenia can affect anyone at any age, but most cases develop between adolescence and age 30. The relative prevalence of schizophrenia is staggering compared with the likes of muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's. (See appendix one).
There are many different diagnoses for mental problems these days from anxiety disorders to eating disorders and from mood disorders to obsessive-compulsive disorders. However, I am choosing to write about schizophrenia disorder because I believe that this type of disorder is one of the most dangerous of all mental problems. Throughout this paper I will describe the criteria doctors use to diagnose somebody with schizophrenia as well as the specific DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. This will include the clinical symptoms of schizophrenia such as the positive, negative, and disorganized symptoms. Also I will talk about the etiology and the medical and psychological treatments for schizophrenia. Lastly I will write about the impact this disorder has on the person and the people around them in the real world.
Schizophrenia has long been known as a psychotic disorder, having five different categories. The symptoms of Schizophrenia can include negative symptoms, hallucinations, disorganized speech and thought patterns. Also abnormal or disorganized motor behavior, and delusions. Many patients experience psychotic episodes, while some never experience psychosis. The objective of this study was to try and determine why
Most commonly, schizophrenia strikes a person between his or her late teens and early 20s. Nonetheless, it can affect children as young as 12-years-old, or may lay dormant in a person until their late 20s (Saha, et al., 2008; Ueland & Rund, 2005). The cause of Schizophrenia is not fully known. However, it shows that Schizophrenia may be caused by the interaction between genetic and environmental factors. Biological interpretations have dominated in previous studies. Nevertheless, neither the biological nor the environmental categories is determinant completely, and there is no guarantee that one will confirm if he will or will not develop Schizophrenia.
The most uncommon subtype of schizophrenia is catatonia. Although this kind of mental disorder is the rarest of the schizophrenias, it is perhaps the most disturbing to the people inflicted with the illness, and also to the families and friends who encounter the devastating disorder. Whereas paranoid and unorganized schizophrenia are disorders that effect mainly thought and speech behavior, catatonic schizophrenia not only disables speech and thought processes, but it is also a physically disabling illness. Catatonic schizophrenics experience many of the same symptoms as the other types, especially loosely attached thought and speech patterns and paranoia. Added to these symptoms, catatonic schizophrenics also experience extreme shifts between excited and withdrawn, stuporous motor behavior. These opposing states of physical activity, and the pronounced motor gestures are what characterize catatonic schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia is a specific type of psychosis. It is a disorder distinguished by disturbances within thought patterns, attention and also emotion. It can also result in a complete lack of emotional expressiveness, or on occasions inappropriate ones. Every now and then it may cause disturbances in the patient’s movement and or behaviour, resulting in an unkempt appearance.
Prevalence of the condition schizophrenia are most reported on the adults and some small cases late teenagers, as well as individual with lifetime prevalence rates are also reported. In most studies men were often subjects than women are and it is unclear that gender has any relevance being diagnosed with schizophrenia. Schug & Fradella (2015).