The minds of human beings are probably the most complex of structures there can be in the world. As much good the human mind puts out into the world as we know it, is the same amount of bad that it could also emit. The only apparent way it could harm the world is through disorders. One of these disorders, being Schizophrenia, has taken over the minds of around 2.4 million Americans and one to two percent of people across the world. There are different forms of Schizophrenia. As of today, there have been no cures for it, only treatments. Schizophrenia’s fatal outburst has no limits or racial or gender boundaries and has continued to be researched today.
Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder that affects neurotransmitters in the brain. Schizophrenia causes its victims to have, hallucinations, delusions, disordered thinking, and disheveled speaking and behaviors. Although there are no clear or exact causes to Schizophrenia, some have linked this illness to factors that include: genetic make-up, pre-natal viruses, early brain damage, stress, and poverty. The susceptibility of S...
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.
This essay will begin by describing the major symptoms of catatonic schizophrenia, outlining and critically considering the difficulties associated with diagnosis. It will then describe and evaluate the biological explanations of catatonic schizophrenia including genetics, brain structure and biochemical explanations. Next it will discuss and evaluate the psychosocial explanations of catatonic schizophrenia including psychodynamic and cognitive explanations. Finally it will describe and evaluate the major approaches to the treatment of catatonic schizophrenia.
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 is considered a disease of the brain, a physical disorder that, thanks to modern technology, is able to be visualized. Schizophrenia, along with other diseases of the brain, such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and multiple sclerosis, are all brain diseases which alter both functionality and structure of the brain. Schizophrenia has been called a cruel disease, one that impairs life greatly in a degenerative fashion, altering emotions and various abilities greatly. This unfortunate disease is quite common, effecting about one to two percent of the World's population. About two to four percent of the population suffer from less severe yet still debilitating and disturbing schizophrenic-like symptoms. An estimated sixty five billion a dollars per year is spent on this disorder in the United States.(2) It is estimated that over two million Americans suffer from schizophrenia in their lifetime..
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.
Psychiatry is a medical field that deals with the diagnoses, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. The FDA is constantly approving drugs for psychiatrists to use that are supposed to help with in their practice. For example, Michael Levin-Epstein, who wrote the article “A New Way to Deliver Psychiatric Meds: Drugs for ADHD and Major Depression Now Can Be Delivered with Skin Patches,” shows how pharmacotherapy is continually being advanced by new ideas and approaches. However, Psychiatric drugs are not always the answer. Prescriptions are not a good remedy when it comes to the overcoming of a mental illnesses, because there is not enough information regarding the effects of the drugs, pharmaceutical companies are driven by profits,
National Library of Medicine, National Institute of Health. Schizophrenia. 31 Jan 2013. Web. 15 May 2014
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 common disease; it is a serious disorder of the mind and bran but is actually very treatable it actually ranks in the top 10 causes of disability in developed countries worldwide. Schizophrenia is a completely brain based disorder, that causes hallucinations, and affects multiple brain functions, like the thinking clearly, managing how you feel, making decisions and how to relate to other people. People with schizophrenia also have to face illusions daily, which are very vivid false beliefs, which might cause them to think that people are following them or looking directly at them. Schizophrenia is a horrible disorder for the majority of people who face it, and very can also be enormously costly for families and even society in general. Even though it is treatable there is no current cure for schizophrenia the only thing now is that it must be managed through therapy. There are over fifteen modern medications for that could treat schizophrenia that were developed by different biotechnology and pharmaceutical businesses. The costs from schizophrenia was estimated to be in the range of $61.7 billion, and $22.6 billion direct health care costs in 2011. The most accepted theory of why people have schizophrenia is that it’s result of a simply genetics from the environmental exposures and stress during pregnancy or childhood are what generally causes the disorder to form. Researchers note several key strand genes that when damaged seem to create a pre problem or increase for the risk of schizophrenia. The genes, in mixture with known environmental exponentials are thought to be the reason that it is a result in schizophrenia. The genes that are projected to enhance the risk of obtaining schizophrenia are the Dysbin...
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...
It has been stated that schizophrenia plays a very large role pertaining to who a person is and how that person’s actions are interpreted by the culture they live in. To contain the context of what schizophrenia is, the textbook definition reports it as a “severe disorder of thought and emotion associated with a loss of contact with reality” (Lilinfeld 479). The author of this textbook has put in the time and done the research to discover the most socially accepted and understood definition that could be possible. This definition in itself is almost overwhelming to consider that this is a disorder that currently has lifetime affects. Thought and emotional aspects come into play by realizing that any deviation from what a person normally thinks and feels will, without a doubt, affect how their thoughts and emotions change. By changing thoughts and emotions, actions will inevitably be affected in how they are carried out. This is where the culturally accepted portion becomes an issue because anything that is away from the normal action will have attention drawn to...
Since the 1800s, treatment methods for mental illness have developed significantly worldwide. From electrotherapy to modern practices like psychotherapy, treatment for mental disorders has greatly progressed as scientists and psychologists learn more information on the causes of mental illness and the best therapy for each particular disease. The past 200 years mark the most defined era since the beginning of humans for the progression of treatment for mental illness. Not only has treatment improved for the mentally ill, but also the perception of mental illness has greatly changed and will continue to do so as more is learned about the human mind.
In today’s world, mental illness is still looked upon as a very bad thing and the negative views of mental illness are common within the employees. Most of the time, people assume that employees who suffer from mental illness are often seen as weird, defensive, and hard to talk to. Generally, concepts about mental illness tend to be subjective, leading to difficulties in defining mental illness. One article has described mental illness as, “ mentally distorted, mad, or crazy” and the degree of mental illness varies depending from person to person (Corrigan et al. 2010, p. 909). The following essay is based on the topic ‘Mental Illness as an Emerging Discourse’ and the article ‘Employee Mental Illness: Managing the Hidden Epidemic’ was the main article that was analysed and used in the essay to discuss the topic. The analysis has been divided into two parts which are covered equally by the study group members.