Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a serious brain disorder. There is about 1% of Americans that have it. It is the most chronic disabling of the major mental illnesses. It affects the brain by distorting the way a person thinks, acts, expresses emotions, perceives reality, and relates to others. People with schizophrenia often hear voices and see people that in reality are not there. They may believe that people are plotting to hurt them, controlling their thoughts, or reading their mind. Schizophrenia is often confused with split personality or multiple personality but that is not what it is, it is a psychosis. People with this disorder interpret reality differently. They often have problems functioning at work, school, in society, and in relationships.
Primary Causes
There is not an exact cause of schizophrenia that is known yet. What is known is that it is a real illness with a biological basis. Researchers have found many factors that play a role in the development of schizophrenia. Genetics is one factor that has been found to play a role. Researchers have found that schizophrenia runs in the family and that there is a likelihood of it being passed down. Brain chemistry is another factor that has been found. This is because people with schizophrenia have an imbalance in the brain with certain chemicals like dopamine. There is either too much of the chemical produced or they are sensitive to it. Another factor is brain abnormality but this does not occur in all people with schizophrenia. It has also been found in people that don't have it. One more factor is the Environment. This includes exposure to certain viruses or malnutrition before birth, problems at birth, and other psychological factors that are not known yet.
Symptoms
The most common symptoms are grouped into three categories: Positive symptoms, disorganized symptoms, and negative symptoms. The word positive does not mean "good" when referring to schizophrenia symptoms. It means that they are the most obvious symptoms. Positive symptoms include: hallucinations, delusions, thought disorders, and movement disorders. Disorganized symptoms indicate the person's inability to think clearly and respond appropriately. These include: talking in sentences that don't make sense or using nonsense words, moving slowly, shifting from thought to thought, being unable to make decisions, and writing excessively but with no meaning. Disorganized symptoms also include: forgetting or losing things, having problems making sense of everyday sights, sounds and feelings, and repeating movements and gestures like pacing and walking in circles. With negative symptoms, negative does not mean "bad." It reflects the absence of certain normal behaviors in people with schizophrenia. These include: lack of emotion or emotions that do not fit with the situation at the time, withdrawal from family, friends, and social activities, lack of motivation, reduce in energy, or loss of pleasure or interest in life. Negative symptoms also include: poor hygiene and grooming habits, problems functioning at school, work, or other activities, and moodiness. Schizophrenia symptoms begin to occur in men between the teenage years and the 20s. Symptoms usually begin to occur in women between the 20s and early 30s. It is very rare to see younger children and adults over the age of 45 to have symptoms of schizophrenia.
Treatment Options
Most people with schizophrenia will cope with the symptoms throughout their lives which requires lifelong treatment. Some treatment options when treating schizophrenia are medications and Psychosocial treatment. There are two main phases when treating schizophrenia; Acute phase and maintenance phase. Acute phase is when higher doses are needed to treat the psychotic symptoms. Maintenance phase means that it is usually life-long. The doses will gradually reduce often to the minimum required in order to prevent further episodes. Some medicines that are used to treat schizophrenia are: Abilify, Clozapine, Olanzapine (Zyprexa), Paliperidone, Quetiapine, Risperidone, and Ziprasidone. When starting the medication it may take a few weeks for it to start working and improve the symptoms. The medicines do cause side effects also like weight gain, high blood cholesterol, and diabetes. Psychosocial treatment helps people with schizophrenia deal with everyday challenges. Psychosocial treatment includes: illness management skills, integrated treatment for co-occurring substance abuse, rehabilitation, family education, cognitive behavior therapy, and self-help groups.
Article Summary & Importance
![Picture](/uploads/1/5/8/5/15858154/958087199.jpg)
John Nash was a Nobel Prize winner for the 1950 doctoral dissertation he wrote on the game theory. What makes this so special is that he also suffered from schizophrenia. His life was first wrote about in a series of articles in The New York Times by reporter, Sylvia Nasar. Later she wrote a biography on John Nash called, A Beautiful Mind. It was then made into a movie by Ron Howard. The attention as a result from the movie helped people understand schizophrenia a little better. Nash eventually recovered from schizophrenia which is very rare. I believe that he is an inspiration and role model to people with schizophrenia. He is a great example of how you can go far in life even with a disorder. Just because you have schizophrenia you shouldn't let that stop you. You can still make a huge difference in life.
By: Haylie Steer
Links
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/schizophrenia/DS00196
http://www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/default.htm
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/schizophrenia/what-is-schizophrenia.shtml
http://psychcentral.com/lib/2010/living-with-schizophrenia/all/1/
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/02/01/beautiful_mind.html
http://www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/default.htm
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/schizophrenia/what-is-schizophrenia.shtml
http://psychcentral.com/lib/2010/living-with-schizophrenia/all/1/
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/02/01/beautiful_mind.html