Schizophrenia Essay

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,

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

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder which impacts the patient for their entire life following diagnosis. It involves neurasthenia's of reality, which lead to neurotic interpretations, disengaging from reality and creating fragmentations psychologically which can derive thoughts of homicidal/suicidal actions. Subsequently, often times people with schizophrenia are categorized as different types, such as schizoaffective, catatonic, early-onset, hebephrenia, and paranoid. The disease itself edits into the persons mood and mentality, sometimes causing an onset of depression or homicidal

Beecher (2009) states that a medical model perspective has dominated throughout the mental health practice. The medical model also known as the (biomedical model), impacts the course of treatment available to individuals with schizophrenia (Beecher, 2009). The literature shows that the perception of schizophrenia has commonly been informed from a medical model paradigm (Beresford, 2005; Lightburn, 2005), which views schizophrenia as a disorder of the brain in the central nervous system which can be fixed through pharmacological and physical treatment (Beecher, 2009). The medical model of schizophrenia arose as the reaction to historical notions that individuals with a mental illness were possessed, mad and at fault for their illnesses (Beecher, 2009). The medical model has also been criticized for being too limited and too problem focused and simplistic and not accounting for a person’s external environment (Ashford et al., 2006; Sayce, 2000 as cited by Beecher, 2009). Many individuals exhibit false misconceptions and hold relativity little knowledge about people living with a mental illness (Bell et al. 2006; Mason & Miller 2006). Many of these misconceptions are constructed amongst health care professionals and the

Usually with schizophrenia, the person 's inner world and behavior change notably. Changes might include the following:

Schizophrenia which affects approximately 1 percent of the population, usually begins before age 25 and persists throughout life. The illness is a life long debilitating condition for about 40% of patients and is enormously costly in both social and economic terms. Despite the presence of delusions, hallucinations and cognitive impairment which characterize the illness, overall life expectancy is not altered (although there is a significantly increased risk-of suicide in the early years).

According to Wilk et al. (2005), cognitive impairment is thought to be a central feature of schizophrenia. It spans across a number of separate cognitive domains, such as attention, working memory, executive functions and verbal fluency (Reichenberg, 2010). This notion is also supported in another study done by Bowie and Harvey (2006), which suggests that as a result of schizophrenia being associated across discrete domains of cognitive impairment, it has led some to gather that it is a disease “with a global profile of neuropsychological impairment”.

Just like any other illness schizophrenia has genetic and environmental causes. Genetically there are three main causes for schizophrenia. These genetics affect the structures in your brain and the way they perceive incoming information. First off, the hippocampus and surrounding brain matter might be reduced in size in a patient with schizophrenia, influencing sensory filtering. The reduction in size causes pressure in this region, creating inaccurate sensory filtering; altering the way the individual perceives the sensory input. Secondly, the cerebral fluid surrounding the brain could be sending different levels of certain chemicals that affect interpretation, nerve impulses, and general regulatory functions. Finally, there might be a cellular defect in the frontal

Schizophrenia usually strikes in late adolescence or in early adulthood. In some cases it can affect a person in middle age or even later and in rare cases it affects children. In general, the earlier this disease onsets, the more severe it gets as time goes by. Usually, the onset of this illness is gradual with subtle warning signs, but sometimes symptoms can appear all of a sudden and without warning. In initial phases people suffering from schizophrenia seem disconnected and isolated, emotionless, eccentric and reclusive. They begin to show an indifference to life and they stop caring about the way they appear. They stop doing things they once liked doing and the quality of work at school or work starts to

Schizophrenia is an illness that affects the brain chemistry and structure in such a way that they experience changes in how they think, manage emotions, make decisions, and relate to others. An individual with schizophrenia may experience psychotic symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, disorganized sleep, flat affect, loss of interest in life and activities, trouble organizing thoughts and remembering things, etc. Current treatment options may include medication, therapy, and psychosocial rehabilitation. (NAMI, 2015)

People who have this disorder can multiple symptoms leading to the diagnosis. Some symptoms are known as “psychotic symptoms” which includes a break with reality, hallucinations, delusions, or evidence of thought disorder. These symptoms are referred to as positive symptoms because they are so readily available. Negative symptoms, which are less readily observed, include withdrawal from society, the inability to show emotion or to feel pleasure or pain, total apathy, and lack of facial expression (Piotrowski, 2015). People schizophrenia also have senses that typically become enhanced or weakened. It can also be hard to concentrate or difficult to focus on things because their selection and filtering process may become impaired. One of the “psychotic symptom” of Schizophrenia

According to Essentials of Abnormal Psychology, schizophrenia is a devastating psychotic disorder that may involve characteristic disturbances in thinking, perception, speech, emotions, and behavior. It can also have an impact on movement.(Durnad, Barlow, 2014)

Schizophrenia is a mental illness that interferes with a person’s ability to think clearly, manage emotions, decision making, and relate to others. It’s a long-term medical illness affecting 1% of Americans. The causes of schizophrenia include genetics, environment, brain chemistry, and substance abuse. Schizophrenia occurs roughly in 10%of people who have a first-degree relative with the disorder such as a parent or sibling. ("NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness | What is Schizophrenia?," n.d.) “Problems with certain brain chemicals, including neurotransmitters called dopamine and glutamate, may contribute to schizophrenia”.

Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder that causes severe mental disturbances which disrupt ones thoughts, speech, and behavior. According to Paul Thompson, Associate Professor of Neurology, one percent of the world’s population suffers from this disorder. There is no one specific cause of schizophrenia, because it is caused by a combination of problems during development. It is a disorder which not only affects the patient, but their family and society as well. Schizophrenia can be a debilitating disorder, however, there are many treatments that can allow people who suffer from it to lead normal lives.

In some people's cases, Schizophrenia appears suddenly and without warning. But for most it comes slowly, with subtle warning signs and a gradual decline in functioning long before the first severe episode. “In the early phases of Schizophrenia people often seem eccentric, unmotivated, emotionless, and reclusive (Helpguide.org).” They may isolate themselves and not want to participate in daily activities such as playing with their children, going outside, or getting off the couch. They abandon their hobbies and they do not do well in their jobs. “The most common early warning signs of Schizophrenia include: social withdrawal, hostility or suspiciousness, deterioration of personal hygiene, having a flat and expressionless gaze, the inability to cry or express joy, inappropriate laughter or crying, depression, oversleeping or insomnia, odd or irrational statements, forgetfulness or the inability to concentrate, extreme reaction to criticism, and or strange use of words or way of speaking (Helpguide.org).” There are five types of symptoms of Schizophrenia. Positive is a symptom that involves having hallucinations or delusions. Negative is when one shows no emotion or flat behavior. Avolation is when a person shows little interest in whatever they are doing. Cognitive behavior is when you have disorganized speech or memory loss. Catatonic behavior is considered poor functioning such as your voluntary muscles