Schizophrenia is a mental disorder in which the relationship between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are broken down into a perception that can be delusional or result in inappropriate actions. Schizophrenia causes a withdrawal from the reality in which the person lives in. Schizophrenia is not a common mental disorder. It affects more than 21 million people worldwide. It affects both women and men, although it’s more prevalent in men than women. Symptoms, such as hallucinations can start from the age of sixteen to thirty. According to BBRF (Brain and Behavior Research Foundation) “Men tend to experience symptoms earlier than women and most of the time, people do not get schizophrenia after the age of forty-five.”
Schizophrenia can be divided into five subtypes. The first being the catatonic schizophrenia. This is a type of schizophrenia that results in peculiar postures and leaves the person experiencing this disorder speechless. The second type is paranoid schizophrenia. This is when the person experiences delusions and becomes preoccupied with them becoming overly suspicious, or even causing
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However, there are several hypotheses for why schizophrenia may occur in a person. One being it is a genetic mental disorder. Meaning, a person inherits the genes. However, even though it could be genetic and the person can be predisposed to schizophrenia does not mean they will always end up with the disorder, but if the environment adds stress to the person then they may start to build on top of those predisposed genes and could eventually escalate into the full blown mental disorder. Another factor could be brain abnormalities and the final factor that could cause schizophrenia is an over flux of the chemicals dopamine and GABA. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that controls the reward and pleasure centers within the brain. GABA regulates the communication and sends messages through the nervous
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.
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.
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).
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.
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
According to the Johns Hopkins Medicine Website , schizophrenia is “a mental illness that usually strikes in late adolescence or early adulthood, but can strike at any time in life” that is characterized by “delusions, hallucinations, bizarre behavior, [and] disorganized speech” among other symptoms. Schizophrenia is, at its core, the altering of a person’s perception of reality by some somatic means and when observed by a psychologically sound individual, can be quite unsettling. After all, seeing a person whose reality is fractured causes us to doubt our own reality, if only in a fleeting thought.
No one knows for sure what causes schizophrenia. The biological explanations are linked to genetic predisposition.
Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness that affects one to two percent of people worldwide. The disorder can develop as early as the age of five, though it is very rare at such an early age. (3)) Most men become ill between the ages of 16 and 25 whereas most women become ill between the ages of 25 and 30. Even though there are differences in the age of development between the sexes, men and women are equally at risk for schizophrenia. (4) There is of yet no definitive answer as to what causes the disorder. It is believed to be a combination of factors including genetic make-up, pre-natal viruses, and early brain damage which cause neurotransmitter problems in the brain. (3)
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 ...
There are many different genetic and environmental factors that contribute to the development of schizophrenia. Some environmental factors would include exposure to certain viruses, stress within that person’s life ( Parents of the person going through a divorce, trouble in school, etc.), prenatal malnutrition in pregnant women, and certain types of drug use in teens. These drugs, such as cannabis, methamphetamine, hash, and marijuana, could be a very likely cause of schizophrenia in teens. Alcohol has also been considered a very likely contribute to the disorder as well. Over all of that, the factors that contribute the most to the development of this disorder are complications during pregnancy. This can include having diabetes while the woman is pregnant, complications during the birth of the child, unusual growth of the fetus, low birth weight, and birth before the baby is fully developed. A pregnant woman can get a response to an infection by the placenta, the fetus, or even the woman herself. Having this infection can set off a certain toxic effect on the developing neurons within the baby, and it will regulate the neurodevelopment processes such as the ones found in schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia affects men and women equally and occurs at similar rates in all ethnic groups. Symptoms will usually start between the ages of 16 and 30 but men tend to start experiencing symptoms earlier than women. Schizophrenia is rarely diagnosed after age 45 and rarely occurs in children however the rates of child-onset schizophrenia are increasing.
Bipolarity, Schizophrenia, and Anxiety are all mental disorders prominent in the world and the United States. Each disorders has several stages, stages, and groups in which the disorder gets more intense leaving the patient in critical condition. Bipolarity has has three main stages which include severe mood swings, hypomania or long periods of depression interrupted by brief mania or intense energy much like hyper activeness, and Cyclothymic which is both intense suicidal depression with the mixture of intense energy. Anxiety has twelve types or groups, which have similar conditions but affect different parts of the mind and thus having different symptoms. Schizophrenia or split mind is a illness that worsens in a patient if not treated. In this specific disease a patient may hear, see, or feel unrealistic or imaginary things.
Schizophrenia is a complex psychological disorder, which affects 1 -- 2 % of the world's population (www.nami.org/helpline/schizo) Schizophrenia can affect anyone at any age, but most cases develop between adolescence and age 30. The relative prevalence of schizophrenia is staggering compared with the likes of muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's. (See appendix one).
At some point a human might have a relative, or heard of someone, or even experienced itself of suffering from Schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that affects many humans throughout the world. People living with this mental disorder may depend on a family member or someone close to take care of him/her. Certain individuals have a good chance of inheriting schizophrenia if a family member appears to show a history of this mental disorder. Unlike others can develop this psychotic disorder while growing up. For instance, a young woman or man may begin to show some signs or symptoms within his/her teen years. Well unfortunately, I have a brother who inherited Schizophrenia and it is extremely difficult to cope with him at certain times.
Researchers do not know exactly what causes schizophrenia, but it is believed to be caused by several factors. Genes, environment, and brain structure and chemistry may all play a part in the causes of schizophrenia. About one percent of the population in the United States have this illness. It is currently impossible to establish what makes a certain person develop schizophrenia. One person may develop the disease due to a high level of genetic risk while another may have schizophrenia due to a combination of environmental factors, prenatal factors, and other issues experienced during childhood.