Exploring Schizophrenia Essay

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, schizophrenia is characterized by the development of two or more symptoms of the following symptoms in a one-month period. The symptoms most characteristic of schizophrenia are delusions, hallucinations, and/or disorganized speech. Schizophrenia has always been a disorder shrouded in mystery. There have been many hypotheses from varying perspectives proposing different sources of causation for schizophrenia. Some of these hypotheses have considerable amounts of research, while some lack support. To fully comprehend and appreciate the disorder, it is important to take into consideration its history. In this way, the full extent to which each branch of the disorder has developed can be

Schizophrenia consists of a broad spectrum of diagnostic criteria (both cognitive and emotional dysfunctions) that cause problems in every day functioning (Barlow et al., 2015). This criteria includes the presence of delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, grossly disorganized/catatonic behaviour, and/or negative symptoms, such as diminished emotional expression (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The prevalence rate of this disorder is estimated to be in the range of 0.2% to 1.5% in the general population (Barlow et al., 2015).

Schizophrenia is a chronic, lifetime mental disorder that cannot be cured, but can be effectively treated and managed. Research conducted in developed countries revealed that about 20 to 35 percent of patients undergo a rapid improvement when treated. Approximately, 70 percent of the patients suffer a relapse of acute symptoms within the next 2 to 5 years after being discharged from hospital. The risk of relapse usually decreases 10 years after the initial onset.

A common myth today is that patients with Schizophrenia have split personalities. While the roots of the word “schizophrenia” are Greek for split mind, being diagnosed with Schizophrenia is not the same as having multiple personality disorder. Paranoid Schizophrenia, one of the more well known subcategories of the disorder typically involves hallucinations, either auditory or visual. A Schizophrenic patient could reply to a voice, or acknowledge a visual hallucination, giving the impression of a second

Modern attempts to revise forms of schizophrenia base on Langfeld’s approach. Schizophrenia disorders are characterized by mental and motor impairment, disturbances of sensory perception, temporary insanity. Some people have only one such psychotic episode; others have many episodes during a lifetime, but lead relatively normal lives during the interim periods. As a rule schizophrenia begins in early twenties.

The word schizophrenia means split mind and was first used in 1911 by Eugen Bleuler. According to Paul Eugen Bleuler and the origin of the term schizophrenia "as the disease becomes distinct, the personality loses it unity." Originally it was meant to describe patients whose thoughts and emotions seemed disconnected or disrupted. Unlike the meaning of the word schizophrenia, it has nothing to do with split personalities. Schizophrenia is a complex psychological disorder that can be characterized into 4 different categories; paranoid-type, disorganized-type, undifferentiated-type, and residual-type. All 4 types of schizophrenia have their own symptoms and treatment.

What is schizophrenia? The America Psychiatric Association explain schizophrenia in its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV(DSM-IV) as a disarray with active symptoms for at least 1 month, consisting of delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, grossly disorganized/bizarre behavior, and/or a lack of organized speech, activity, or emotions. Usually, at least two of these sets of indication are present. The illness, with a prodromal stage prior to diagnosis and a residual stage after treatment (both having some often nonspecific behavioral symptoms), lasts at least 6 months with a continuous sign of some disturbance. During this period, an individual with schizophrenia is clearly considered impaired in his or ability to perform at work, attend school, or participate in social activities in a productive way (Jones& Bartlett, 2010).

The word itself, schizophrenia, was meshed together by Bleurer, meaning ‘split mind’. However there is a common misconception that schizophrenia refers to multiple personality. In fact, schizophrenia is characterised by various symptoms such as disturbances in thought including delusions and neologisms, emotions such as flat effect of inappropriate emotional reactions, perception such a hallucinations and false perceptions, and behaviour, affection one’s ability to communicate effectively and disrupting most aspects of daily functioning. Those living with schizophrenia have difficulty in differentiating what is real and what is not real, keeping track of their thoughts and responding to the daily events of life. There is evidence that biological factors affect the likelihood of a person to get schizophrenia. It is family disorder, therefore meaning that the relatives of people with schizophrenia have a greater chance of being affected by the disorder. The origins of schizophrenia appear to lie in numerous biological and psychological domains. However, the full causes have not yet been discovered and there is no known cure. According to the World Health Organisation, schizophrenia affects about 24 million people worldwide so research into the condition is ongoing.

In 1908, a Swiss psychiatrist by the name of Paul Eugen Blueler made history when he coined a new term for a disease that had long been thought of as Acute Dementia. By careful observation he collected information on his patients and discovered that this disease was distinct from the normal symptoms of dementia, and claimed instead that it was a “splitting of the psychic functioning”. His new phrase became the clinical diagnosis we now have become to know as “Schizophrenia”. Bleuler derived this term from the Greek verb schizen, which means ‘split’, and the Greek noun, phren, which originally meant ‘diaphragm’ or ‘heart’, but was later understood to mean “soul, spirit, or mind’, (Ashok).

• Schizophrenia is a chronic, debilitating disorder of the brain characterized by display of abnormal social behavior and marked by episodes of delusions and hallucinations 4, 3, 1, 2

A commonly recognized but often misunderstood illness is schizophrenia. Schizophrenia, in basic terms, is a severe mental disorder that is characterized by impaired thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. The word schizophrenia originated in 1908 by a Swiss doctor named Eugen Bleuler to describe the splitting apart of mental functions that he marked as the main characteristic of the illness. (Lerner). Although the information on the disease is abundant, schizophrenia can be broken down into its causes, symptoms, types, and treatments in order to provide a simple but wide span of knowledge to those who may have trouble understanding it.

Schizophrenia is a brain disease. Its defining feture is psychosis, or being out of touch with reality marked with delusions and hallucinations. Delusions are fixed and false beliefs that aren't responsive to evidence and hallucination are false sensory experiences.

(Kalat, 2012). Bleuler used the term as a means of representing a major psychotic illness

Even with the advancements in science and the new technologies available, the causes of schizophrenia are still unknown. In 1911 a Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler, developed the term schizophrenia. “This word comes from the Greek roots schizo (split) and phrene (mind) to describe the fragmented thinking of people with the disorder” (Johns Hopkins Medicine). By developing the term schizophrenia, it allowed others to better understanding the disorder and move away from linking it to the common misunderstanding of having multiple or split personalities. Although this does not give us an understanding of the causes of the disorder, it does help to clarify and assist with classifying people with the symptoms associated with the

The term Schizophrenia, named so by Swiss psychiatrist Paul Eugen Bleuler in 1910, has the Greek literal translation, ‘schizo’ (split) and ‘phren’ (mind). Though, contrary to this translation and belief, schizophrenia is not a split or multiple personalities. Schizophrenia is a psychosis, and as a psychosis, a person cannot decipher what is real and what is imagined.