Features Of Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a mental health condition that places considerable burden on the individuals who have it, their families, and society (Eack 2012). Someone who has schizophrenia may have the following symptoms, but not all: faulty perceptions, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation (Oxford Dictionary). The two most commonly used interventions are drug and family intervention. Often times patients with a

Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder that affects one out of 100 people and presents with both positive and negative symptoms. Misconceptions of people with schizophrenia may include a belief that they are violent however they are more likely to be the victims of violence as of result of their abnormal behaviors. Positive symptoms may include the presence of symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and abnormal behavior whereas negative symptoms indicate a lack of a particular behavior. A positive symptom of schizophrenia may include hallucinations which are typically auditory hallucinations although may also be visual hallucinations in which clients experience some event despite a lack of stimuli. A negative symptom

Throughout the many years, there have been many negative public perceptions of Schizophrenia, which is known by majority of the public as an indication of mental illness. This disorder is most of the time perceived by the public as caused by psychological factors. People with this mental illness are considered to be unpredictable and threatening (Angermeyer & Matschinger, 2003, p. 526). Most patients have a behavioural dysfunction. Victims, families and society carry a substantial burden due to this illness (Wood & Freedman, 2003).

Every day, schizophrenia not only disrupts the lives of hundreds of thousands of Canadians, but it also places a significant strain on our society. This disorder affects approximately 300,000 Canadians, and places a burden on not only the patient, but their families, the clinicians and other health care professionals. Deinstitutionalization, importance on legal rights, ineffective policy, and community based treatment all contribute to the way services for schizophrenia are delivered in Canada. Symptoms of Schizophrenia can affect daily functions of which people rely on. These symptoms can vary in severity which creates obstacles such as being able to maintain employment, relationships, and engage in social network; which results in a lower standard of living among these individuals.

According to NAMI (), schizophrenia is a long term mental illness that interferes with a person’s ability to think clearly, make decisions, and relate to others, impairing a person from functioning to their full potential when left untreated. For these persons affected, it is many times difficult to distinguish what is real from what is not. “Unfortunately, no single simple course of treatment exists.” Research has linked schizophrenia to a multitude of possible causes” (NAMI).

For most individuals with schizophrenia, a thorough treatment plan is vital to assist with medication adherence, reduce hospitalization and to provide improvement in quality of life. Typically a prescription for antipsychotics is necessary not only to reduce positive

Additional, inferences about the disorder are provided by Whitcomb and Merrell (2013). The authors characterize the symptoms of schizophrenia as delusions that are “typically bizarre and implausible” and pronounced hallucinations such as hearing voices for long periods of time (p. 363). Additional, impairments noted by the authors include “severe disturbances in perception, thought and affect, a severe decline in personal and social functioning, poor personal hygiene, inability to function effectively at school or work, and a severe impairment in social relationships” (Whitcomb and Merrell, 2013 p.363).

Schizophrenia is a disease that has plagued societies around the world for centuries, although it was not given its formal name until 1911. It is characterized by the presence of positive and negative symptoms. Positive symptoms are so named because of the presence of altered behaviors, such as delusions, hallucinations (usually auditory), extreme emotions, excited motor activity, and incoherent thoughts and speech. (1,2) In contrast, negative symptoms are described as a lack of behaviors, such as emotion, speech, social interaction, and action. (1,2) These symptoms are by no means concrete. Not all schizophrenic patients will exhibit all or even a majority of these symptoms, and there is some

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).

2016 reports state that there has been a 4 percent increase of American adults suffering from mental illness (18.53 percent) when compared to 2015 (18.19 percent) (“2016 State of Mental Health in America - Adult Data”, MHA). Mental disorders have been a continuous public health concern within the United States, one of most chronic, disabling, costly, and recognizable being Schizophrenia. Contrary to popular belief, this mental disorder is rather common, an estimated 1.5 percent of the United States population being diagnosed within their lifetime (“What is Schizophrenia?”, SRF). Although treatment provided by specialty services may be highly effective, only 44 percent of Americans diagnosed seek treatment. In order to encourage that number to rise, the United States government needs to update the costs per treatment, increase the effectivity, and inform the population of the demands it deserves in order to achieve effective recoveries.

Schizophrenia stands to be inherently rare, however, the illness is, “among the worlds top ten causes of long-term disability” (Meuser, 2015). The onset of the disorder takes place over a period of approximately five years and during this time, symptoms begin to appear. Schizophrenia has negative, positive, and cognitive symptoms all of which stem from a breakdown in relation between thought, emotion and behavior (Meyer). These symptoms include but are not limited to withdrawal, hallucinations and delusions; without proper treatment a person could potentially become a danger or threat to themselves and those around them, “Because of the disruptive effects of relapses on patients lives, and the

Interventions ideally should be long-term and include a range of psychosocial approaches, including cognitive behavioral therapy, conflict management, and substance abuse treatment. However, this sort of idyllic treatment may be increasingly difficult to accomplish in the real world, given reductions in reimbursements for mental health services, ever-shorter hospital stays, inadequate discharge planning, fragmented care in the community, and lack of options for patients with a dual diagnosis. The Schizophrenia Patient Outcomes Research Team (PORT) guidelines, for example, outlined the type of multimodal treatment necessary to increase chances of full recovery. Most patients with schizophrenia do not obtain the kind of treatment outlined in the PORT guidelines. Answers to these challenges will arise not from clinicians, but from policy makers. (Siever, L

(Szasz,1982, p.4, p.29) In 1900, the term schizophrenia, now used worldwide, was used to describe the condition that one out of every hundred people had. This statistic remains the same today. Through research and years of study, the world has a better understanding of schizophrenia, its forms, characteristics, symptoms, types, possible causes, and treatments, if any. ( Pierce, 1990. p.263 )

Schizophrenia is a universal mental illness which is both complex and devastating. Schizophrenia generally begins in the early stages of life and may lead to lifelong disabilities (Moritz, 2010). The context of this paper shall include an introduction on schizophrenia as well as the reasoning this discipline was chosen. It will include a critiqued research study that will explain how the research was presented. The primary focus on the research study will be a literature review, the methods used, the results found, and a presented discussion.

Schizophrenia, unlike most disorders, is a standout amongst the most genuine of the mental disorders. It is known that one in a hundred individuals are affected by it, and starts in either youth or early adulthood. Schizophrenia brings social interruption, anguish and hardship to the individuals who experience the ill effects of it, as well as to their family. Under those circumstances, it is known to be the most devastating of all disorders. There are both negative and positive symptoms when it comes to dealing with schizophrenia. Despite the fact that there are various negative indications, the most present one is limitations or absence in thoughts and behaviours that are characteristics in normal functioning. For this