Taking a Closer Look at Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia was not well known prior to the 19th century. Up until this point, not many accounts of schizophrenic like syndromes were recorded, whereas “reports of irrational, unintelligible, or uncontrolled behavior were common” ("Schizophrenia", n.d.). Schizophrenia is a difficult illness to understand and it took doctors and psychiatrist a long time to classify the illness and to figure out how it presents itself. “The history of schizophrenia is complex and does not lend itself easily to a linear narrative” ("Schizophrenia", n.d.).

Early on experts believed that schizophrenia, then called dementia praecox (Latinized term), was a form of a "premature dementia" or "precocious madness". The Greek meaning of the word schizophrenia, “splitting of the mind” was coined by Eugen Bleuler in 1908. He intended to describe the separation of function between personality, thinking, memory, and perception. Bleuler realized that the illness was not a dementia, as some of his patients improved rather than deteriorated, and thus proposed the term schizophrenia instead. Treatment was revolutionized in the mid-1950s with the development and introduction of chlorpromazine ("Schizophrenia", n.d.).

The mental illness of schizophrenia, is defined as a “severe psychological disorder characterized by highly disordered thought processes, referred to as psychotic because they are so far removed from reality” (King, 2011, p. 507). To those who have not experienced schizophrenia it might sound disturbing, but to those living with the disorder, it seems unimaginable. “The experience of schizophrenia is often one of extraordinary terror (King, 2011, p. 507).

The broad category of schizophrenia includes a set of disorders in which individuals experience distorted perception of reality and impairment in thinking, behavior, affect, and motivation” (Whitbourne & Halgin, 2013, p. 199). “The symptoms of schizophrenia are divided into two groups, positive and negative. Psychological disturbances "added" to the patient's behavior as a result of the illness are known as positive symptoms. Psychological capabilities the schizophrenic person has "lost" as a result of his illness are known as negative symptoms” ("Schizophrenia Symptoms", 2010).

When a patient is diagnosed with schizophrenia, he is put into one of five subtypes based on which symptoms are most prominent (Whitbourne & Halgin, 2013, p. 221). The five subtypes are catatonic, disorganized, paranoid, undifferentiated, and residual. Out of these five subtypes, it is said that disorganized schizophrenia is considered a more severe type of schizophrenia, because it can leave people unable to carry out routine daily activities and frustration and agitation may cause them to lash out.