The Truth About Schizophrenia: A Scary and Debilitating Mental Disorder

Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and completely debilitating disorder that effects the brain. It has been recognized for many years in patients, and is said to affect approximately one percent of the American population.

People who are suffering from schizophrenia may hear voices that no one else can hear, they may believe that people around them are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or are out to cause them harm. For those suffering from schizophrenia, these experiences are terrifying, and as a result, the sufferer may become withdrawn, show signs of being afraid, or become extremely agitated. These people may not make sense when they talk, they may sit still for hours, not moving or talking much at all, and may even appear to be normal until they begin to talk about things that are on their minds. People suffering from schizophrenia have difficulty holding a job and even taking care of themselves.

Some symptoms of schizophrenia are easily seen and normally involve a loss of contact with the realities around them. They experience hallucinations, delusions, thought problems, and movement problems. These symptoms are known as positive symptoms because they are more easy to spot than other symptoms.

Hallucinations are things that a person sees, hears, smells, or feels that no one else can sense. For those suffering from schizophrenia, hearing voices is the most common hallucination. Other hallucinations that schizophrenics experience are seeing people that are not there, smelling odors that no one else can smell, and feeling things touching them when no one is near.

Delusions are defined as false personal beliefs that are not a part of the person's culture and do not change even when it is proven that they are neither true nor logical. People suffering from schizophrenia have delusions that are weird and illogical. They may believe such things as someone else having the ability to control their actions and thoughts with special powers or tools, or that messages are being sent to them through television programs and commercials. Some schizophrenics even have delusions that they are someone who they really are not, such as a king. These delusions are known as delusions of grandeur.

Many schizophrenics have unusual thought processes, such as disorganized thinking. They have trouble logically organizing and collecting their thoughts which can cause them to have trouble speaking clearly. They also experience times when they stop in the middle of expressing a thought, and say that the thought was taken away from them. This is known as thought blocking.

Schizophrenics are also known to be clumsy and uncoordinated. They may experience involuntary movements and may display unusual mannerisms, They may repeat motions and movements , and in severe cases, they may become catatonic. This is a state of immobility and unresponsiveness.

Some symptoms of schizophrenia cause the sufferer to suffer from reductions of normal emotional and behavioral states of mind. They may have flat facial expressions, meaning that their face shows no emotion. They may not experience pleasure with everyday activities in life, nor be able to start and continue any planned activity. They may also may speak little, even when they are forced to interact with others. Schizophrenics often neglect personal and basic hygiene, and need help to do these every day things. These symptoms are known as negative symptoms because they are not always associated with mental illness.

Other symptoms, known as cognitive symptoms may only be detectable with certain neuropsychological tests. These symptoms include things such as a lack of being able to understand information and make decisions based on the information provided to them, They may also lack the ability to focus and pay attention. They may also have memory problems and be unable to use things that they were just taught. These cognitive symptoms can interfere with a schizophrenics ability to maintain a job, and cause them great emotional distress.

Symptoms of schizophrenia usually begin with psychotic symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions, and begin to emerge in men in their late teens and early 20s, and in women in their mid 20s and early 30s. Rarely do symptoms begin after the age of 45 and it is extremely rare for any symptoms to emerge before puberty. There have been a few cases reported of schizophrenia beginning at the age of 5.

The first signs of schizophrenia in adolescents are things like a change of friends, a drop in grades, sleeping problems, and irritability. Diagnosis can be difficult during this time because these symptoms can also be normal adolescent behavior. This period is known as the prodromal period.

People with schizophrenia are not normally violent, they are rather reclusive and prefer to be left alone. Generally, if there is no criminal or violent history before diagnosis, and they are not substance abusers, they are unlikely to commit any violent crimes.

Schizophrenics are more prone to attempt suicide than other people. Approximately ten percent of schizophrenic men actually succeed. Because it is extremely difficult to predict which schizophrenics will attempt suicide, it is extremely important to seek immediate medical help for any one who talks about it or attempts suicide.

It is believed that schizophrenia runs in families, therefore; it can be genetic. Statistically speaking, schizophrenia occurs in one percent of the population, but it is seen in ten percent of those with an immediate family member that suffers from it. It is also said that even if a person has a cousin, aunt, uncle, or grandparent with schizophrenia, they are more likely to be afflicted. The highest risk is to be an identical twin of someone who is schizophrenic.

Although there is a link to family history and schizophrenia, it is thought that it takes more than just genetics for a person to get the disorder. Environmental factors in combination with genetic factors are what is believed to be the cause. Being malnourished in the womb, complications during birth, and a stressful environment are all considered to be contributing factors. Tests have shown that the brain of a schizophrenic differs slightly than that of a more normal person. It is believed that a chemical imbalance in the brain does play a part in a person becoming schizophrenic.

The causes are still widely unknown, therefore; current treatment focuses on eliminating the symptoms. Antipsychotic medications effectively alleviate those symptoms that are thought to be positive symptoms. They have been known to help schizophrenics have much better lives, but they do not cure the disease.

In conclusion, schizophrenia is the most chronic and debilitating of all mental illnesses. Approximately one percent of the population will become afflicted with the disease in their lifetime, and the risk increases with a known family history of the disease. Currently, there is no cure, only medication that can help alleviate the symptoms.