Schizophrenia Essay

Records of the disease date back to old Pharaonic Egypt, but it was not until 1887 that it was fully discovered by Dr. Emile Kraepelin. The disease was not dubbed schizophrenia until 1911 by Eugen Bleuler. One place most people have heard of schizophrenia is when the subject of witches or evil possessions come up. The most notable appearance of evil possessions found in history that was most likely schizophrenia would be the Salem Witch Trials in the late 1600’s. Modern day scientist believe that the women accused may have actually been suffering from schizophrenia due to signs they exhibited according the records taken during the trials. Until almost recently people with diseases such as schizophrenia were classified as being abnormal and many were subdued to horrible tests that are today considered inhuman and sometimes seen as forms of torture. “Early theories

The disease was identified as a discrete mental illness by Dr. Emile Kraepelin in 1887. Dr. Emile Kraepelin was a German physician. Dr. Kraepelin used the term “dementia praecox” for individuals who had symptoms that we now associate with schizophrenia. Kraepelin was the first to make a distinction in the psychotic disorders between what he called dementia praecox and manic depression. He believed that dementia praecox was primarily a disease of the brain, and particular for of dementia. Dr. Kraepelin named the disorder dementia praecox to distinguish it from other form of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Dan Hoeweler a schizophrenic poet writes in his poem “Blast off to Insanity”, “They say I am mad/ that I am evil/ and creepy/ that my genes are corrupted/ and my brain is deformed/ that my actions are freaky/ that my behavior is not the norm…” Dementia Praecox: a psychotic disorder characterized by loss of contact with the environment, by noticeable deterioration of functioning in everyday life, and by disintegration of one’s personality. What we know as schizophrenia today has been around for at least two centuries, but not named until the early 1900’s by Kraepelin. In order to fully understand this disease you need to know the types and symptoms, the causes, and the treatment and recovery.

People who suffered from schizophrenia were once mistaken to be “dangerous” and untreatable. For this reason, they were often institutionalized and removed from society (DiRocco). The causes of this mental psychotic disorder has been much more understood over the past decade resulting in the possibility for people with schizophrenia to live more average lives. Development of treatments, such as medication and various forms of psychotherapies, have been effective in treating symptoms and common comorbid psychological disorders like depression and anxiety.

I have always been interested in my pattern of thinking. Often I have always thought that people don’t use their imagination as much as I do. I have always been into the darker side of life, watching horror movies and listening to heavy metal etc. Obviously this is all fantasy though; demons aren’t really going to rip me to pieces like in the movies. Some people can’t differentiate reality from fantasy though. I know in my head that I am able to think like most psychopaths but I am able to tell the difference between right and wrong. What I mean by that is I understand where they’re coming from and how they see the world because at times I feel that way. I want to why I am able to control my thoughts (as sick as they may be) and actions

Emile Kraepelin in 1887. Dr. Kraepelin named the disorder “Dementia Praecox” which is early dementia. Reasons why he named it that way was because he mostly focused on young adults who had dementia. Eugene Bleuler, a Swiss psychiatrist, coined the word schizophrenia in the early 1900’s. He later changed the name as the name Dr. Kraepelin gave the disease was the incorrect term for the disorder. The word schizophrenia is derived from the Greek root words Schizo which means split and phrene which is mind. Bleuler documented schizophrenia’s “positive” and “negative” symptoms – terms which we still use today. Kraepelin and Bleuler both subdivided schizophrenia into different categories depending on the symptoms and prognosis. There are five subtypes of schizophrenia. The five types of diagnosis are paranoid type, disorganized type, catatonic type, undifferentiated type, and residual type. Many people before who had this disorder were considered crazy, people who shouldn’t live outside a four wall bedroom from a hospital. Many people with the disorder were having therapy, insulin shock, frontal lobotomy as well as other crude neurosurgical procedures. Most of these treatments caused the patients to die as the procedure induces epilepsy, serious surgical infections as well as severe brain damage. During the Middle Ages and Renaissance Period witchcraft and demonic possession were considered to be the root of emotional

Living life imagining people and objects that are non-existent, already seems like a difficult way of living. Patients often turn to antipsychotic medications for help with Schizophrenia. The antipsychotic medication can help the patient minimize their hallucinations. The medication can also help the patient depict between what is real and what is a hallucination made up in their mind. According to Awad, “The clinical picture includes a range of symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, agitation, suspiciousness, hostility, conceptual disorganization, blunted affect, emotional and social withdrawal, lack of spontaneity, poverty of speech and a wide range of neurocognitive deficits” (Awad 877). Needless to say, there are a lot of symptoms

As a nationally and globally spread issue, schizophrenia has been a debilitating psychological disorder for centuries. Known as one of the most severe disorders, schizophrenia is growing more and more capable of treatment by medication and other modes of therapy, but the disorder itself markedly changes the patient who is diagnosed. Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disorder that has affected people throughout history. The symptoms can frighten people with the disorder, causing them to become removed and distressed. Schizophrenic patients can sometimes seem simply odd but not remarkably different until they begin to speak their mind on what they are actually thinking and experiencing. This affects patients’’ families

Schizophrenia, paranoid type was researched in terms of diagnostic criteria based on many different actions that affect people in multiple ways. Schizophrenia is a disease in the brain that is an emotionally draining illness that can affect the victim along with anyone in contact with the victim. RB a young man has a diagnosis of schizophrenia, paranoid type. He lives at home with a loving family and he was always socially active and great student. Schizophrenia has been a severely stigmatized disorder has many different aspects to the disorder. The standard diagnostic criteria for Schizophrenia are characteristic symptoms, social and occupational dysfunction and the duration of the symptoms. Everyday health describes Paranoid Schizophrenia as “Delusions of grandeur or persecution afflict paranoid schizophrenics, along with feelings of anger. These patients often argue a lot and can be violent.” RB is believed to have all the concerning aspects that clients with Schizophrenia have. I will be developing a case study to discuss RB’s positive and negative symptoms, delusional thinking, what medications would be helpful, screenings important to RB’s diagnosis and psychosocial treatments that he would benefit from.

Schizophrenia is defined as a brain disorder that creates a distorted reality in the minds of those affected. This brain disorder is the most common psychosis disorder, affecting people all around the world. There is no knowledge of where this brain disease originated, therefore there is no cure as of today. There are several sympotoms that come along with this disorder, many that affect the perception and sense of reality of the individual. Hallucinations, delusions and other uncommon behavior are all common symptoms. These hallucinations are usually auditory which affect the individual's thoughts and self-idenity; many schizophernic individuals sometimes even identify as someone else wether this may be a famous person or a friend. In 1911, a Swiss psychiatrist, Eugen Blueler created the term schizophrenia and also was the first to determine that there are both positive and negative traits of this disordrer.

Dating back to the early 19th century schizophrenia was defined as dementia; “French psychiatrist, Benedict Augustine Morel (1809-1873), coined the term dementia praecox, or precocious dementia” (Mueser 3). Alternatively, the modern concept of schizophrenia was

The population of the world has to be at least over 7 billion. There also has to be millions of people in the world, whose lives are affected by something psychological. From diseases, disorders, phobias and more. Neurological diseases affect the brain and the behaviors of people diagnosed with them. Although there are many neurological diseases, schizophrenia is one of them. Schizophrenia is one of the more known disorders in the psychological world. Throughout this paper the following questions are answered: what is schizophrenia, what are the causes of schizophrenia, what are some of the types of schizophrenia, and what are the treatment options for those who are diagnosed with schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is one of the oldest mental illnesses known to man. There are accounts of the illness dating back to the stone age. In the 19th century Dr. Emil Kraepelin coined the term Dementia Praecox, dementia meaning slow, or mentally challenged, and praecox meaning young, because he thought this illness only happened in young people usually in their late teens and early twenties. It was seen as “the terminal cancer of the mind.” Jung’s mentor, Dr. Eugene Bleuler found this theory to be incorrect as patients with Dementia Praecox to be neither stupid or always young, and did not always go though the three stages of diagnosis required in Dementia Praecox: depression, paranoid, hebephrenic by which he concluded the illness was not a dementia. In 1911 Bleuler published a book Dementia

Paranoid Schizophrenia is a serious psychotic disorder that impairs a person’s perception of reality, causing the mind to lose contact with the real world. This disorder greatly affects one’s ability to negotiate the activities of everyday life, such as school, work, or social situations. In 1898, Emil Kraepelin was to the first to provide information regarding schizophrenia naming it “dementia praecox”, and defining it as a psychosis with an early onset of intellectual deterioration (Schiffman & Walker, 1998). Ten years later, a Swiss psychiatrist, Eugen Bluler renamed the disorder using a combination of the Greek words “skhizein” and “phren” meaning split mind (Barlow &

A quick overview of schizophrenia that I learned in the class was that it is a chronic brain disorder that affects the way that person goes about life such as, the way they think, feel and behave isn’t normal. About one in one hundred Americans are diagnosed with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia affects men and women equally, usually occurs between the ages fifth- teen to thirty. People with schizophrenia withdrawal themselves from reality as in they tend to hear or see things that don’t exist and at times say things completely off the wall. Day to day life can be very challenging and difficult for them because it can be so severe; that they have to rely on other people because they have a hard time keeping a job or even caring for