Schizophrenia is a mental disorder categorized as a breakdown of thought processes, and by impaired emotional responses to different stimuli. The origin of Schizo originates from the Greek roots skhizein which means "to split", and phren, phren- ,"mind"; but schizophrenia does not signify a split personality , nor is a multiple personality disorder. Rather, the terms “ to split” and “mind” implies a splitting of mental functions, because of the symptomatic presentation of the illness. According to the DSM-IV, schizophrenia symptom characteristics involve a scale of cognitive and emotional dysfunctions, but the symptoms aren’t pathognomonic to the disorder. Because the disorder is a combination of signs and symptoms related to impaired occupational or social functioning. People who suffer from the disorder will show differences in signs and symptoms. Common symptoms include delusions, such as paranoid beliefs; hallucinations; disorganized thinking; and negative symptoms, such as blunted affect and avolition (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Schizophrenia causes significant social and vocational dysfunction. Genetics, early environment, neurobiology, and psychological and social processes appear to be important contributory factors; some recreational and prescription drugs appear to cause or worsen symptoms.
There are four subtypes associated with schizophrenia. They include paranoid, disorganized, catatonic, and undifferentiated. The paranoid type includes delusion and hallucinations of being in danger or being watched; but there are no signs of disorganized speech, disorganized or catatonic behavior or flat or inappropriate affect (Craighead et. al. 2008, p. 407). The disorganized subtype show signs of disorganized spee...
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...fore, a healthy person must be able to formulate true meaning and translate them into symbols based on their personal experiences and if of their surroundings. According to Hasson-Ohayo, there needs to be two subjective beings to create metacognitive abilities. Therefore, treatment must include an awareness and exploration of intersubjective conversations. Based on the understanding that in life and in psychotherapy exists two intersubjective motives. The first motive being understanding other’s intentions and feeling; the second being the need for self-identity and self-cohesion (Hasson-Ohayon, I. 2012, p. 362). And people with schizophrenia lack the ability to comprehend and process these two intersubjective motives. Thus, a proper treatment need to include such approach along with a CBT based therapy to fully integrate a person with schizophrenia into reality.
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.
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.
"From these symptoms, schizophrenia is divided into four sub-types determined by which symptoms are most prevalent", Strauss, 1987). The four sub-types are paranoid, hebephrenic, catatonic, and finally simple. Paranoid schizophrenics often suffer from either delusions, hallucinations, or both of a persecutory content. Hebephrenic schizophrenia is characterized by inappropriate emotions, disorganized...
Schizophrenia is a major psychiatric disorder, or cluster of disorders, characterised by psychotic symptoms that alter a person’s perception, thoughts, affect and behaviour (NICE, 2009). Tai and Turkington (2009) define Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) as an evidence-based talking therapy that attempts cognitive and behavioural change based on an individualised formulation of a client’s personal history, problems and world views. CBT as a treatment for schizophrenia can be understood within a wider framework of CBT as applied to a range of mental disorders such as anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression (Tai and Turkington, 2009). CBT was built on behavioural principles that emphasised clear relationships between cognition, physiology and emotion (Beck, 1952). This essay will analyse CBT as a therapy for individual suffering from schizophrenia. It will discuss briefly the historical background and the development of CBT, the aims and principles, the evidence base of the strengths and weaknesses of the therapy. It will discuss as well the implication to mental health nursing practice. The focus of this essay is on intervention and psychosocial in nature which will be brought together in the conclusion.
Coined by Eugen Bleuler in 1950, the term ‘Schizophrenia’ refers to a group of mental disorders with heterogeneous outcomes. The most prevalent subtype of schizophrenia is the paranoid subtype. Typically, this disorder is characterized by psychosis, in which the patient suffers from altered perceptions of reality. According to the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM – V), the typical subtypes – paranoid, catatonic and disorganized, among others have been eliminated, although the general definition of the disorder remains unchanged. These changes were made due to the clinically diverse prognosis, pathophysiology and etiology of the disorder, which add to its heterogeneity1, 2. In addition, sex of the patient and age of onset of the disorder also contribute to schizophrenia’s diverse effects. The age of onset and sex of the patient heavily influence the demographics and course of paranoid schizophrenia, and in turn are also affected by the patients ethnicity and any premorbid conditions the patient may have suffered1, 3...
Schizophrenia has three main subtypes. Paranoid schizophrenia is when the person believes someone is out to get them. Disorganized schizophrenia is people who do silly strange behaviors, inappropriate emotions, and have messed up speech patterns. They do a thing called a word salad, when they talk with bunches of words randomly thrown together. Catatonic schizophrenia is when the person gets in a position and stays in that exact position for a long time (like hours). This is very and the medication for it is good.
There are so many types of mental illnesses that affect people every day. When some people think of mental illnesses they think of the ones that would cause people to have physical symptoms as well, but that’s untrue, there are many more that you would never know anyone has if you were to see them on the street. As defined by the 2008 encyclopedia “a mental illness is any disease of the mind or brain that seriously affects a person’s ability or behavior. Symptoms of a mental illness may include extreme moods, such as excessive sadness or anxiety, or a decreased ability to think clearly or remember well.” A mentally ill person has severe symptoms that damage the person’s ability to function in everyday activities and situations. Every nation and every economic level can be affected by a mental illness. In the United States alone about 3% of the population has severe mental illness and to add to that number about 40% of people will experience a type of mental illness at least once in their lives. Some cases of mental illnesses can go away on their own, but some cases are so severe that they require professional treatment. There is so much more available to help people recover from their symptoms than in the past.
African Americans have a unique relationship with the clinical disorder schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is more frequently diagnosed among African Americans than white Americans or any other racial or ethnic minority in the United States (Neighbors, Trierweiler, Ford & Muroff 2003). The reasons for this are complex and not fully understood. Because of this there is a considerable suspicion and mistrust of psychological care within the black community. Clinicians should take particular precaution in the diagnosis and treatment of African Americans.
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).
Schizophrenia is a devastating and costly mental disorder that affects 1% of population worldwide. Patients manifest clusters of positive, negative and cognitive symptoms in early twenties and are often left with life-long severe mental disability and social stigma. Cognitive deficits in patients with schizophrenia are considered core symptoms of this disorder, and can manifest at the initial stage (Elvevåg and Goldberg, 2000). Atypical antipsychotics ameliorate positive symptoms but may only modestly improve cognitive symptoms (Richelson, 2010). In addition to this, some of the typical antipsychotics are even have deteriorative effects on cognitive symptoms (Heaton and Crowley 1981). To find the appropriate treatments for cognitive deficits of schizophrenia, it is important to know the underlying pathophysiology.
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 ...
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...
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...
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, schizophrenia is characterized by the development of two or more symptoms in a one-month period. At least one of the two symptoms must be delusions, hallucinations, or disorganized speech. Schizophrenia has always been a disorder shrouded in mystery. There have been many hypotheses from varying perspectives offering up causation for it and some have research, while some lack support. It is important when trying to comprehend and appreciate the disorder that its history is taken into consideration. This way the full extinct to which each branch of the disorder has developed can be absolutely understood. Learning from the past is the only way to proceed towards the future. With schizophrenia, it starts in the dark and works it ways towards the light.
Mental health refers to the state of individuals psychologically, emotionally and socially. Mental health affects a person’s emotions, feelings, thoughts, and sections when exposed to different situations. Furthermore, mental health is responsible for a person’s reaction to stress and other social conditions. Generally, mental health affects how a person relates to others and their ability to understand and interact with them. Therefore, problems that affect a person’s mental health affect the abilities to socialize, their feelings, moods, reaction to situations. The person experiencing mental health problem may portray different behaviors when confronted with different issues. Mental health issues have several