Mental Illnesses Has Been Recorded Since The Beginning Of History

Schizophrenia is a disorder that is characterized by a broken thought process and poor emotional responses. Typical symptoms of this disorder include delusions, paranoia, hallucinations, social dysfunctions,

So what is Schizophrenia? Schizophrenia is a long term mental disorder of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior(Schizophrenia). Schizophrenia often leads to faulty perception, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, or inappropriate actions or feelings.

Dr. Emile Krapelin, a German physician, was one of the first to separate mental disorders into different categories. “Dementia praecox” was the term Krapelin used for those patients who had some of the same symptoms that we now use to describe schizophrenia. Many people had described the basic concept of “madness” for hundreds, even thousands of years, however, Krapelin was the first to distinguish Schizophrenia as a distinguished mental disorder in the year 1887. He also was the first to distinguish between mental disorders such as Schizophrenia and depression. “Dementia praecox” was believed to be a “disease of the brain” meaning literally “early dementia.”

According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the definition of Schizophrenia is “a chronic and severe mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves” (2016). In 1887, Dr. Emile Kraepelin was the first to acknowledge Schizophrenia. Patients were having memory loss and not acting like themselves. When studying patients, he believed that it was much like dementia except in this particular case, the disease formed earlier in life. Dr. Kraeplin even named it "dementia praecox" meaning “early dementia”. After more research was conducted on this disease, Eugen Bleuler came to conclusion that this was not even close to dementia. So, in 1911, he changed the name to Schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a chronic brain disorder that affects more than one percent of the population. When schizophrenia is active, symptoms can include delusions, hallucinations, trouble with thinking and concentration, and lack of motivation. However, when these symptoms are treated properly, a large portion of those diagnosed will greatly improve over time.

Blealer coined the term "Schizophrenia", which means split mindedness, in reference to the theoretical schism between thought, emotion, and behavior. Unfortunately, this term historically has caused confusion with split personality (also called multiple personality), a completely different disorder from schizophrenia. Blealer?s definition of schizophrenia differed from Kraeplin?s dementia praecox in-two major ways: first, Blealer did not feel that deterioration was a necessary symptom of the disorder; Second, Bleuler divided the symptoms into fundamental (primary) and accessory (secondary) symptoms. The most important fundamental syndrome was a thought disorder characterized by associational disturbances, particularly looseness. The other fundamental symptoms were affective disturbances, autism, and ambivalence. Accessory disorders included hallucinations and delusions. Both Kraepelin and Bleuler assumed that there was an underlying biological basis for this disorder.

Schizophrenia is classified as a psychotic disorder. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, in order to be diagnosed with schizophrenia, an individual must present two (or more) of the following symptoms for a significant portion of time during a one-month period: delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, catatonic behavior, or negative symptoms (such as diminished emotional expression or avolition). The DSM-5, however, has a continuum (schizophrenia spectrum) of disorders that may be similar to schizophrenia disorder but not as severe or persistent.

Schizophrenia is a disabling and chronic mental illness that typically begins in late adolescence or early adulthood, and for most sufferers, the disorder continues throughout their lifetime (Australian Psychological Society, 2014). There are five different subtypes of schizophrenia, namely paranoid, disorganised, catatonic, residual, and schizoaffective disorder.

Socially the term Schizophrenia has a certain caricature about it that society has turned into a very serious social stigma. Many associate the disorder with criminals, nut houses, and extreme uncontrollable violence. Schizophrenia is portrayed in literature, and in movies so horrendously negative that those who experience symptoms of this very serious mental disorder can be in a stage of denial that can ultimately cause them to go undiagnosed, that is until something goes wrong. In spite of myths and portrayals in pop culture schizophrenia is sometimes viewed as split personality, but the root of the word comes from the Greek word schizo and phrene which loosely translates into split mind (Internet Mental Health Initiative 2010).

Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that interferes with a person’s ability to think clearly, manage emotions, make decisions and relate to others.

Emil Kaepelin in 1899 called Schizophrenia “Dementia praecox” and defined three main criteria: (1) cognitive deficit, (2) motor dysfunction, and (3) terminal state of deterioration. In 1920, Eutene Bleuler began calling the illness “Schizophrenia” and added basic

Jablensky, A. (2010, September). The diagnostic concept of schizophrenia: its history, evolution, and future prospects. Retrieved November 19, 2017, from

(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 not yet fully understood, but it is known that it is characterized by extreme disturbances in many vital areas, including behavior, emotions, speech, perception and thinking. The term schizophrenia means

Schizophrenia was first identified as a mental illness in 1887 by Dr. Emile Kraepelin, though the word is a little more than one hundred years old. Dr. Emile Kraepelin named the disease dementia praecox; because this term gave the wrong impression of the disease, Eugen Bleuler, a Swiss psychiatrist, changed the name to schizophrenia in 1911. The term schizophrenia is Greek meaning split mind, though it does not mean multiple personalities.