Emelia Baidoo
Abnormal Psychology
The Horror of Schizophrenia
10/07/2015
Schizophrenia
Background
(course of the disorder)Schizophrenia is a severe cognitive impairment that interferes with a person’s mental or emotional and behavior, all of which have a bizarre aspect. Delusions, also generally bizarre, and hallucinations, generally auditory in type, also typically occur. The original name for this illness, “dementia praecox,” was coined by Emil Kraepelin, a German psychiatrist in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, whose description of the illness remains a guiding force for modern investigators.. As soon as onset of the illness has occurred, it progresses with social impairment, which eventually leads
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Men tend to experience symptoms a little earlier than women. Most of the time, people do not get schizophrenia after age 45. Schizophrenia rarely occurs in children, but awareness of childhood-onset schizophrenia is increasing.
Risk factor for the disorder:
Although the precise cause of schizophrenia isn 't known, environment factors such the season of birth seem to increase the risk of developing or triggering schizophrenia, genetic and physiological factors is also a contributing factor to the development of the disease. There is a strong contribution for genetic factors in determining risk for schizophrenia, though most individuals who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia have no family history of psychosis. Liability is conferred by spectrum of risk alles, common and rare, with each allele contributing only a small fraction to the total population variance. Family including:
It can be difficult to diagnose schizophrenia in teens. This is because the first signs can include a change of friends, a drop in grades, sleep problems, and irritability—behaviors that are common among teens. A combination of factors can predict schizophrenia in up to 80% of youth who are at high risk of developing the illness. These factors include isolating oneself and withdrawing from others, an increase in unusual thoughts and suspicions, and a family history of psychosis. In
Disorders that are often co-morbid
Paranoia, hallucinations, emotional withdrawal - . fFor victims of schizophrenia everyday life is a strange and terrifying journey. Schizophrenia shatters people’s ability to feel, to communicate, to understand or interact with the everyday world. The symptoms represent what we know best about the disease however no one knows exactly why it strikes, who the next victim will be and how to reverse its life ruining effects.
Schizophrenia is a unique disease in its pathophysiology. For their early lives, patients appear healthy. However, symptoms begin to appear during adolescence or early adulthood and may be triggered by changes in the brain during puberty. The first signs of the illness include anxiety, depression, changes in friends, sleep problems, irritability, dropping grades, and having trouble concentrating (Picchioni and Murray, 2007; National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)). Delusions and hallucinations typically begin between the ages of 16 and 30 (NIMH).
Many researchers believe it to be a combination of factors such as brain chemistry, genetics, and various environmental factors. Neuroimaging studies have shown differences in the brain structure and central nervous system of people with schizophrenia. While researchers aren't certain about the significance of these changes, they indicate that schizophrenia is a brain disease. (Mayo Clinic Healthy Living, October 11, 2012) Also, people who have problems with certain naturally occurring brain chemicals- including some neurotransmitters called dopamine and glutamate- have a higher risk of contracting schizophrenia. Other factors that may increase the risk of a person developing schizophrenia is having a family history of the disorder, pregnancy complications, taking certain psychoactive drugs, and exposure to neurotoxins at a young
Majority of cases begin in adolescence and adulthood. The peak age range would be eighteen to thirty year olds. As far as we know it is very rare for a child to have schizophrenia. The age for schizophrenia to appear differs by gender. Women tend to be diagnosed in between twenty and twenty-four. There is a second rise in numbers for women. The second rise begins after the age of forty. Men tend to get it in their twenties. After the age of thirty-five the number of men who develop schizophrenia tends to drop, thus males more likely to have early onset compared to women. “Gender differences may be related to women having more mood disorder and anxiety diagnosis leading to milder forms of schizophrenia going undiagnosed,” (Butcher, 2014). Gender can play a big role when diagnosing schizophrenia.
First off I would like to tell you what exactly schizophrenia is. Schizophrenia is a brain disease, with concrete and specific symptoms due to physical and biochemical changes in the brain. This illness strikes young people in their prime age usually between 16 and 25. Schizophrenia is almost always treatable with medication. Contrary to what most think schizophrenia is not a "split personality", or caused by childhood trauma, bad parenting, or poverty, and not the result of any action or personal failure by the individual.(3)
Generally, it will be seen mostly in the family line. If your mother, father, brother, or sister has had it then your chances are increased compared to someone whose distant family member has had it. Someone in the ancestry may have had it before and since then it has been carried down. As of yet, there is no way to determine exactly if you will develop the disease. Scientists have not found the specific gene variations that will eventually lead to Schizophrenia. There have been other cases however, where the disease is nowhere to be seen in past family members but certain factors such as drug or alcohol abuse have contributed to it being activated. Sometimes chemical imbalances in the brain will be what causes Schizophrenia. When you compare a normal healthy human brain to one that has Schizophrenia, they are somewhat different in the way they are structured. For instance, a Schizophrenic brain has a lot less gray matter in it and/or the ventricles will increase in size even after being treated. The NIMH believes that Schizophrenia affects more males than females and that the symptoms usually start between the ages of 16-30. Most likely it will not be a diagnosis after the age of 45 and rarely will it occur in children. The youngest child to ever be treated for Schizophrenia was a girl named Jani Schofield. The hallucinations began at a very young age for Jani. She could see rats that
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).
Not every person with schizophrenia will have all symptoms, and the symptoms of schizophrenia may change over time.” (Schizophrenia: Sings, Types & Causes, Authors: Melinda Smith, M.A., and Jeanne Segal, Ph. D., Last Update February 2014, http://www.helpguide.org/mental/schizophrenia_symptom.htm) It is believed that no one single gene causes schizophrenia it is said that more than one gene is the cause of increased risk of schizophrenia there is a greater risk of a child developing it. There is more to this story than genetics; some type of early childhood trauma may play a role in schizophrenia. (The Causes of Schizophrenia http://www.nami.org/content/navigationmenu/mental_illnesses) The onset of schizophrenia occurs between the age of 15 and 45 in males, it is more common in males than females. There is talk from researchers about children with schizophrenia also having other mental disorders which include ADHD, ADD and bipolar disorder. Although there is not a tremendous amount of research they also believe that most children have had someone in their family who has been in a psychiatric hospital at some point and a family history of schizophrenia and some type of trauma. There is also a high number of suicide attempts in children with schizophrenia, there is also research to show that there is an increase of odds of schizophrenia in African Americans and Hispanic youth, however it is also very easy to misdiagnose these
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that is long-term and affects mostly adults. However, schizophrenia makes the body capable of displaying symptoms early on, possibly around adolescent years. The disorder makes it difficult to distinguish reality often causing a tainted perception of reality. Schizophrenia is defined by its symptoms of irritable feelings, hallucinations, isolation, lack of attention, and rapid thought process. While schizophrenia has no cure, it is treatable and has the ability to be tolerable. The long-term affect it has is the damaging of tissue in the brain, making it a lifetime struggle. Schizophrenia only induces itself on about 1 percent of adults in the world, however; it is still a burdensome disorder. Upon receiving
Holistically, as far as gender, Schizophrenia affects men and women equally. Generally, diagnosing teens, adolescents, and children with the disorder is difficult, continuous studies and researches are creating a walk able pathway for professionals. Diagnosing and misdiagnosing young individuals is always a possibility due to the fact that most of the early onset symptoms of Schizophrenia are “normal” for young developing individual. For example the initial signs can include: “a change in friends, a drop in grades, sleep problems and irritability”. (National Institute of Mental Health, 2011)Other factors include unusual thoughts and suspicions, and continuous isolation. For younger children, usually between the ages 11-14, instead of having the prominent symptoms they will usually have a delayed in speech and spontaneous muscle contractions in a monotonous routine. Interestingly, only about 30% of early onset Schizophrenia show signs of symptoms. Hallucinations,
Symptoms can start as early as 16 years old and males who have schizophrenia are more likely to demonstrate symptoms before females (National Institute of Mental Health, (n.d.). Doctors need to rule out depression, drug and alcohol abuse, and family history of schizophrenia (National Institute of Mental Health, (n.d.). The correct diagnosis should be determined prior to starting treatment.
Schizophrenia is very common in males than females the symptoms that occur in between the age 16 and 30 years old. In most cases people will not experience symptoms until they reach the age 45 however is very difficult for a doctor to diagnose teens with schizophrenia since all teens exhibit bizarre behaviors that might not seem like common symptoms of schizophrenia. Individuals with schizophrenia don't commit vicious crimes or become violent towards other people not unless they’re substance abuse however, there is a high percent of people with schizophrenia committing suicide or having suicidal thoughts
Approximately 1 percent of the world’s population is affected by schizophrenia. This illness does not discriminate. The symptoms usually start between ages 16 and 30. Once an individual reaches the age of 45, it is rare that schizophrenia manifests. Schizophrenia seldom occurs in children; however, awareness of childhood-onset schizophrenia is increasing (The National Institute of Mental Health, 2009). The symptoms tend to effect men more severely than women and those who suffer from schizophrenia are known to have a higher risk of substance abuse and suicide rates. Approximately 10 percent of the schizophrenia communities commit suicide. The most common addiction shared by these individual is (The National Institute of Mental Health, 2009).
Even with all the criteria for Schizophrenia that I described above, still there is no apparent reason as to what the risk factor of Schizophrenia is. Which lead to my research to indentify certain certain Risk factors associated with with Schizophrenia. During my research, I was able to discover many risks factors, but I chose to only discuss the few that are very common through most
There are many causes to Schizophrenia. Many causes are genetics, brain chemistry and structure, and the environment of a human being. Genetically Schizophrenia can run through a family and can be passed on generations at a time. “Individuals with a first degree relative (parent or sibling) who has schizophrenia have a 10 percent chance of developing the disorder, as opposed to the 1 percent chance of the general population.” (Helpguide.org) Identical twins are a good example of this. “If an identical twin is diagnosed with Schizophrenia the other twin is 50 percent more likely to also be diagnosed with the mental disorder (psychcentral.com).” Brain chemistry and structure is another big factor in the cause of Schizophrenia. Neurotransmitters-