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,

Schizophrenia is a brain disorder that affects the way a person acts, thinks, and sees the world. People with schizophrenia have a completely different perception of reality, such as a significant loss of contact with it for example, compared to people who do not suffer from this mental disease. They tend to panic a lot, feel like someone is trying to harm them or their loved ones, fear that someone is watching every move they make. Although they hallucinate a lot and/or are delusional, most people with schizophrenia are not violent and are not a danger to others. (Helpguide.org, 2015)

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder often characterized by abnormal social behaviour and failure to recognize what is real. Common symptoms include false beliefs, unclear or confused thinking, auditory hallucinations, reduced social engagement and emotional expression, and inactivity. A person with schizophrenia often hears voices, experiences delusions and hallucinations and may believe thoughts, feelings and actions are controlled or shared by someone else.

Delusions: These are false beliefs that are fixed and do not change in the presence of evidence. They may be persecutory, grandiose, somatic or religious (APA, 2014).

SCHIZOPHRENIA Schizophrenia, from the Greek word meaning “split mind”, is a mental disorder that causes complete fragmentation in the processes of the mind. Contrary to common belief, schizophrenia does not refer to a person with a split personality or multiple personalities, but rather to a condition which affects the person’s movement, language, and thinking skills. The question of whether schizophrenia is a disease or collection of socially learned actions is still a question in people’ mind. People who are suffering from schizophrenia think and act in their own the world and put themselves in a way that is totally different from the rest of society. In other words, they have lost in touch with the reality. Most schizophrenics accept

By affecting these areas of the brain causes many causal factors. While it is still thought to be an imbalance of the chemicals, this disorder exhibits many associated symptoms. Because there are no tests that can diagnose schizophrenia, a psychologist must rely on analyzing clinical symptoms. One must pay close attention to the diagnosis because this disorder may exhibit the same symptoms as another disorder.

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.

According to DSM-IV, patients must show two or more of the preceding five symptoms to meet the diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia. Thus, no one of these symptoms is required for the diagnosis. Furthermore, the following four criteria must also be met: (1) the patient shows marked deterioration in occupational, interpersonal, or domestic functioning; (2) the patient manifests continuous signs of symptoms or dysfunction for at least 6 months; (3) the patient does not manifest predominant signs of mood disturbance (e.g., depression or mania); and (4) the symptoms are not caused by substance abuse or a primary medical condition.

To diagnose schizophrenia there are no medical tests to prove one has schizophrenia. But a psychiatrist or shrink will be able to assess a patient to make a complete diagnosis. The diagnosis is made up with different tests for one the discussion from the psychiatrist. The psychiatrist basically asks questions to the patient to get a better understanding of whether the patient is mentally sane. Here are some questions the psychiatrist will ask one-- how long has one had the symptoms, tell me a little about one's family history and genetics, is one on any medication and if so what medications are working for one. The second test would be a blood test to check if one is presumed normal. The third test would be a brain scan to further question if one has schizophrenia. (“Schizophrenia”)

There are many aspects that characterize schizophrenia. Schizophrenics usually behave in a strange or abnormal manner where the mind is separated from reality and the difference between what is real and not is unknown. A schizophrenic therefore has distorted ideas about who they are and about life. Feelings of withdrawal, worthlessness and emptiness also appear

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

As for the person with schizophrenia, there are also many varieties. They might act nearly normal around people at home and perhaps a bit shy or nervous in society. It is unlikely that they would act in a manner that would point towards psychosis. However, if the person was actively psychotic then their actions would be hard to predict because psychosis is different for every person that experiences it. Some people might be very scared/paranoid, others might be difficult to understand (communication problems), some might be violent, and some might try to avoid contact with other

This essay focuses on the diagnosis of schizophrenia, a major mental illness with much stigma and misinformation associated with it. World Health Organisation (WHO, 2012) epidemiological evidence suggests that schizophrenia is a mental illness affecting 24 million people worldwide. This essay will define schizophrenia and its characteristic signs and symptoms in relation to cognition, mood, behaviour and psychosocial functioning. The criteria enabling a diagnosis of schizophrenia are explored, as well as contemporary nursing care and pharmacological treatments. The positive and negative signs and symptoms of schizophrenia will be discussed and the treatment and care requirements outlined by the NSW Mental Health Act (2007) are also

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