Symptoms And Diagnosis Of Schizophrenia Essay

    What is Schizophrenia you may ask. According to the National Institute of Mental Health Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder that affects how people think, feel, and even behave. Someone that has been diagnosed with Schizophrenia may

The symptoms of schizophrenia are wide and varied, typically falling into three main categories, positive symptoms, negative symptoms, and cognitive symptoms. Each of these symptom types affect the patient in different ways, and in different degrees of severity. The symptoms may range from mildly irritating, to severe and debilitating. Positive symptoms are behaviors not normally seen in healthy people. Negative symptoms are behaviors that are usually exhibited in healthy people but are lacking in the patient. Cognitive symptoms are subtle symptoms that affect the patient’s thought processes and cognitive functioning.

What is schizophrenia? Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that affects people all over the world. In addition, it was named by the brilliant psychiatrist and psychologist from Germany, Eugen Bleuler. Well, we must first define what a mental disorder is. A mental disorder is a mental health condition that affects the sufferer’s emotions, thought processes and behavioral activities. Other common mental disorders (also known as mental illnesses) besides schizophrenia include but are not limited to depression, anxiety and eating disorders, and other destructively addictive behaviors. Therefore, schizophrenia is a mental disorder as it is often

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.

There are many symptoms that can come with schizophrenia. So people can see and some people are not able to see. The mind of the person can be very different than what we might think is going on. The difference between inward and outward signs can be difficult for a person to notice. Even when looking at brain scans you may not be able to see what is going on in the mind and what might be wrong. The symptoms of schizophrenia fall into three categories; positive, negative and cognitive.

Schizophrenia is a complex disorder of the brain, which is incurable but treatable to live a close to a normal life. There are different types of schizophrenia and they each have different symptoms and affect a person's life in different ways.

Schizophrenia is a neurological disorder that affects the cognitive functions of an individual. The cause of this illness is unknown, but there are several theories of how an individual may acquire schizophrenia. Because there are many symptoms of the disease and because the symptoms can vary quite dramatically among several individuals and even within the same individual over time, the diagnosis of schizophrenia can be quite difficult.

The Mental illness Schizophrenia involves a lot of signs and symptoms,mostly impacting the behaviour and emotions of the person.

A good question to ask here is how disorganized schizophrenia is diagnosed? There are a few things that need to be done in order to diagnose someone. First a physical exam is issued. The patient’s height, weight, heart rate, and blood pressure is measured. Second the patient’s complete blood count is taken to check for alcohol and drugs in the system. An MRI is then done because the physician wants to look for any brain lesions or any abnormalities in the brain. Last but not least a psychological evaluation is done by the patient being asked about their thoughts, feelings, and their behavior

But doctors use certain tests to make sure nothing else as at the root of the symptoms.” The doctor will begin to ask you questions about your mental health and medical history. If you are hearing voices, having odd experiences or having confusing thoughts that you can’t control. If they think you need to be further tested they may proceed with a MRI, CT scan. Those will then check the structure, function and size of your brain. From then on they will diagnose you with the Schizophrenia mental disorder if you have hallucinations, delusions. Other factors may also show symptoms of Schizophrenia but those two are the main ones that are most easily recognizable.

The diagnosis of schizophrenia is made based on a thorough psychiatric interview of the person and family members. As yet, there are no defining medical tests for schizophrenia. The following factors may suggest a schizophrenia diagnosis, but do not confirm it:

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.

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”)

A doctor who studies a patient's symptoms for at least six months can get a correct diagnosis. People whose family members have had a psychotic problem have a greater risk of getting schizophrenia, but everyone within the general population can also get schizophrenia (“Schizophrenia” Nami.org). Doctors and researchers and now trying to figure out what causes the abnormality in the brain.

There are three major types of schizophrenia, Paranoid, disorganized, and catatonic. Paranoid schizophrenia is when an individual develops absurd or suspicious ideas and beliefs. Their hallucinations and delusions typically revolve around an organized theme or "story" which consists over time. Disorganized schizophrenia generally appears at an earlier age than other types. It causes those to have disorganized speech, behavior, and have inappropriate emotions. These patients usually have trouble taking care of them and are unable to perform simple tasks. They sometimes suffer hallucinations and delusions, but their fantasies and imaginings aren’t consistent or organized like those who suffer from paranoid schizophrenia. Catatonic schizophrenia in general is a disturbance in movement with two different states (Veague 24). Stuporous state is when there is a decrease in motor activity. During this state, a patient can cease