Schizophrenia

447 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Psychological causes of schizophrenia essay

Lesson on Schizophrenia
As an overview, schizophrenia is a disease to the brain. It is one of the most disabling and emotionally devastating illnesses known to man. It has been misunderstood for a long time. It has a biological basis, so it is like other diseases. It is a very common disease; one percent to one and a half percent of the U.S. has been diagnosed within some point in their life. There is no cure for this disease, although there is treatable medicine. Schizophrenia is not a multiple personality disorder. People who take medicine for it are able to lead normal fulfilling lives.
There are two ways that schizophrenia begins. One way is called Acute Onset. This happens very fast, about a couple of weeks. It is easier to recover from this. You are able to get help faster because people notice it sooner. The other way is called Process Onset. This takes a longer period of time to show. It is gradual, sometimes up to years. You may say or do strange things every now and then. It could be a long time before you go to the doctor.
There are three main types of delusions a person can have. Delusion of Persecution is when the person thinks that people are out to get him or her. For example the government. Grandeur is when the person thinks he or she is very important, rich, famous, ect. Reference is when the person thinks that the TV is talking directly to him or her. They also think some outside source is talking to them.
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.
No one knows for sure what causes schizophrenia. The biological explanations are linked to genetic predisposition.

Show More
Related

  • The Causes of Schizophrenia

    3207 Words  | 7 Pages

    The causes of schizophrenia and the related psychotic illness have been the subject of much

    Read More

  • Edgar Allan Poe's Berenice: Symptoms Of Schizophrenia

    1051 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest

    1055 Words  | 3 Pages

    Every year one hundred thousand young Americans are diagnosed with the disease schizophrenia (Carman Research). Schizophrenia is a brain disorder that is associated with unnatural behavior or thinking . The disease usually affects people during the late adolescence stage or early adulthood, typically during this time they develop the symptoms linked to the disease.

    Read More

  • Case Study of Gerald: Living with Schizophrenia

    2528 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Tardive Dyskinesia and Schizophrenia

    559 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Schizophrenia and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

    775 Words  | 2 Pages

    Delusions are false or irrational beliefs that are firmly held despite obvious evidence to the contrary. Most common are persecutory, grandiose, and religious delusions.

    Read More

  • Schizophrenia Genes and Environmental Basis

    656 Words  | 2 Pages

    [5]Most people do not find out that they have schizophrenia until late childhood. It is rare for children to find out before the age of ten. While others may not find out until they are in their late thirties or early forties. The symptoms can be developed over time. Females seem to receive the symptoms later than males do.

    Read More

  • “Psychosis and delusional states and their relationship with normal anomalous experiences”

    1905 Words  | 4 Pages

    Delusion and hallucination in their different forms are the major symptom of psychotic disorders. There is a growing evidence however that these symptoms are not exclusively pathological in nature. The evidences show that both delusion and hallucination occur in a variety of forms in the general population. This paper presents and analyzes the relationship between the above major psychotic symptoms with normal anomalous experiences that resembles these symptoms in the normal population.

    Read More

  • Schizophrenia Essay

    696 Words  | 2 Pages

    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 ...

    Read More

  • Schizophrenia

    672 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are a number of ways that schizophrenia can develop through a person. There can be even more factors that contribute to the development of the disorder. Scientists are still observing and researching anything they could possibly find out, whether that is gene related or environment related. It is still a disorder that confuses everyone in our society today.

    Read More

  • Delusional Disorder Case Study

    841 Words  | 2 Pages

    Do you think to look at someone you can tell if they have Delusional Disorder? The most common symptom is the presence of delusions. These delusions have a grip on the person’s mind which has an unshakable belief that the delusions are true. The delusions can be either non-bizarre or bizarre. Some non-bizarre delusions can be either being poisoned, followed, and being conspired against. There are six different traits a

    Read More

  • Schizophrenia

    1848 Words  | 4 Pages

    Schizophrenia is defined as a severe disabling mental illness. A person with this illness may be completely out of touch with what is going on around them. For example, the individual suffering from Schizophrenia may hear voices, see people who are not there (ghost in other words), and or feel bugs crawling on their skin when in actuality there are now. They may also have disorganized speech and behavior, physically rigid, emotionless, and delusions. The type of delusions where they believe that people are reading their minds, have control over their thoughts, and or plotting to hurt them. They have difficulty holding jobs and taking care of themselves.

    Read More

  • Schizophrenia

    1026 Words  | 3 Pages

    As the above information has shown, schizophrenia is a treatable disease that affects 1 -- 2 % of the world's population. The symptoms can be managed through medication but as of yet there is no cure. The cause is unknown but there are several plausible theories. Researchers can only hope that future work will shed a brighter light on this debilitating disease.

    Read More

  • Schizophrenia

    1137 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Theme Of Schizophrenia In A Beautiful Mind

    1362 Words  | 3 Pages

    Schizophrenia is a group of psychotic disorders with major impairments in thought, emotion, and behavior; there is a constant prevalence rate of one percent with the occurrence being slightly higher in men. Though different psychologists have various theories on whether the disorder is linked to genetics or social economic status, schizophrenia in all

    Read More

More about Schizophrenia

Open Document