Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe mental disorder characterized by the breakdown of the thought processes, of emotional responsiveness and of contact with reality. The term schizophrenia itself means “fragmented mind.” A person with this disorder has trouble with deciphering between what is “real” and what is “unreal”. (Gur & Johnson, 2006)
Symptoms of schizophrenia can be divided into five categories: psychotic symptoms, negative symptoms, cognitive impairment, mood problems, and behavioral disturbances. No two people with schizophrenia have the same symptoms; each person is unique. Symptoms can vary in intensity and alter over time. (Mueser & Gingerich, 2006)
Psychotic symptoms also known as positive symptoms include perceptions or beliefs that reflect a break from reality and are not shared by people without mental illness. The two types of psychotic symptoms are hallucinations and delusions. Hallucinations are false perceptions that a person experiences but other people do not. They include hearing, seeing, feeling, tasting and smelling things that are not present in the environment. Delusions are false ideas and appear quite real to the person with schizophrenia but seem impossible or untrue to others. Drugs such as LSD, marijuana, ecstasy, crack and amphetamines can cause symptoms that closely resemble schizophrenia. (Mueser & Gingerich, 2006)
The negative symptoms are characterized by the absence of typical feelings, thoughts and behaviors. People with schizophrenia no longer feel pleasure or enjoyment. They lack motivation towards personal goals and every day task. They are forgetful and find it difficult to engage in conversations. Another symptom, cognitive impairment includes poor insight, social perception and ...
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...ily therapy are just a few that are available. A 2004 Consumer Reports survey found that the combination of therapy and medication work best for improvement in the patients life. Hospital stays are usually used to diagnosis and stabilize the medications that might be used. Also the stays can be used to determine the next step of the patient’s life whether it be housing or plans for therapy. Recovery from schizophrenia is controlling psychotic symptoms with treatment and trying to maintain an everyday life style as much as possible. (Gur & Johnson, 2006)
Works Cited
Gur, R. E., & Johnson, A. B. (2006). If Your Adolescent Has Schizophrenia. New York: Oxford University Press.
Landau, E. (2004). Schizophrenia. New York: Scholastic Library Publishing.
Mueser, K. T., & Gingerich, S. (2006). The Complete Family Guide to Schizophrenia. New York: The Guilford Press.
Long, Phillip W. M.D. “Schizophrenia: Youth’s Greatest Disabler.” British Columbia Schizophrenic Society. 8th edition. April 12, 2000. www.Mentalhealth.com.
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...
Schizophrenia is a disorder that affects about 1 in 100 people at different stages in their lives and is very difficult to diagnose. It has many symptoms that typically begin to appear around age 18-30 (2). Signs of Schizophrenia can be misread and sometimes overlooked due to the amount of other disorders that share many of the symptoms. Autism is one example. Symptoms can be classified into "negative" and "positive." Negative symptoms could be seen as those that are absent but should be present. Examples of negative symptoms include lack of motivation or apathy, blunted feelings, depression, and social withdrawal (1). Positive symptoms are those that should be present but are absent. Some examples of positive symptoms are hallucinations, delusions, thought disorder, and an altered sense of self (1). It is thought that hallucinations are the...
Schizophrenia, also known as the splitting of the mind, is a mental disorder characterized by disintegration of thought process and of emotional responsiveness. It manifests as auditory hallucinations, paranoid and bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it are accompanied by significant social and or occupational dysfunction. It is a group of psychotic disorders usually characterized by withdrawal from reality, illogical patterns of thinking, delusions and hallucinations, and accompanied by other emotional behavioral or intellectual disturbances. There are three main factors that are involved in the diagnosis of schizophrenia: 1-Delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, which is a manifestation of formal thought disorder, grossly disorganized behavior or catatonic behavior, negative symptoms, blunted affect, alogia or avolition; 2-Social or occupational dysfunction; 3- Significant duration: continuous signs of the disturbance persist for at least six months; according to the DSM IV. Delusions are a false belief based on faulty judgment about one’s environment. Hallucinations are experiencing something from any of the five senses that is not occurring in reality. Positive and negative (deficit) symptoms are important in diagnosing schizophrenia. Positive symptoms (PS) are not experienced, but are present. Delusions, disordered thoughts and speech, tactile, auditory, visual, olfactory, and gustatory hallucinations or manifestations of psychosis are all positive symptoms. Negative symptoms (NS) are deficits of normal emotional responses and thought processes that normally do not respond to medications. The patient experience a flat or blunted affect and emotion, poverty of speech (alogia), inability to expe...
Unfortunately, schizophrenia cannot be cured. Treatment usually consists of antipsychotic therapy, counseling, family support and rehabilitation. Medicines can help to control many of the symptoms. Most people with schizophrenia will need to take medicines for the rest of their lives.
I will first talk about the positive symptoms of schizophrenia. One of the most occurring positive symptoms is hallucinations. Hallucinations are false perceptions, inaccuracies that affect a person's senses and cause us to hear, see, taste, touch, or smell what others do not. Some people with schizophrenia will hear voices that can be reassuring and yet they can be very menacing. Allot of times these voices lead people to hurt themselves or just do abnormal things. Hallucinations, usually the same ones over and over, take control of a person and leave them feeling victimized.
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.
...ients that suffer severe symptoms. The most common treatment is a combination of medicine and therapy. Where the patient engages in individual psychotherapy with a therapist, rehabilitation, family education, or self help groups. These therapies usually help people cope with schizophrenia and its effects. At this time there is no cure for schizophrenia, there are very effective treatments and medications. Research is being conducted to help scientists understand the disorder better and is being used to try to treat schizophrenia permanently. The only way this is possible is with the use of new treatments, such as new experimental drugs and electrotherapy. No treatments today are preventative nor do they permanently “cure” schizophrenia, but we can look to the bright future for the development of a new treatment option that could potentially fully cure schizophrenia.
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...
The modern definition of schizophrenia describes it as a long-lasting psychotic disorder (involving a severe break with reality), in which there is an inability to distinguish what is real from fantasy as well as disturbances in thinking, emotions, behavior, and perception (Cicarelli, p. 557).
Schizophrenia is a disease of the brain that is expressed clinically as a disease of the mind. Once it strikes, morbidity is high (60% of patients are receiving disability benefits within the first year of onset) as is mortality (the suicide rate is 10%). (www.nejm.org/content/1999/0340/008/0645.asp). Because its symptoms and signs and associated cognitive abnormalities are diverse, researchers have been unable to find localization in a single region of the brain. This essay will discuss the symptoms, treatments and causes of schizophrenia.
Elyn Saks said, “The schizophrenic mind is not so much split as shattered. I like to say schizophrenia is like a waking nightmare”. Schizophrenia is a long term mental disorder involving the breakdown between thought, behavior, and emotion. The title “Schizophrenia” is just an umbrella that encompasses more than one type of schizophrenia; such as Paranoid Schizophrenia, Disorganized Schizophrenia, Catatonic Schizophrenia, Residual Schizophrenia, and Schizoaffective Disorder (Mental Health America).
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.