Taking a Look at Schizophrenia

(Salinger 173). Holden has molded his life around this fantasy and fails to realize that

In the United States and Europe, schizophrenia occurs in about 3 to 6 of every 10,000 individuals. Schizophrenia occurs equally in males and females; however, the age of onset of the disease is different between the sexes. The primary age of onset in males occurs roughly between the ages of 15 and 25,

The word schizophrenia is less than 100 years old. Schizophrenia is a mentality or approach characterized by inconsistent or contradictory elements. Depression, dementia, and thought disturbances that are found in schizophrenia and are described in the Book of Hearts. The disorder was noticed as symptoms of the heart and the uterus and originating from the blood vessels or from purulence, fecal matter, a poison, demons.

The debate of whether schizophrenia is a brain disorder has been a controversial issue for decades. Most researchers consider schizophrenia a brain disorder for numerous reasons. The evidence revolves around the symptoms that can impact a patient biologically, psychologically, and socially. Some speculations suggest that schizophrenia begins in the womb which also contributes to the evidence towards schizophrenia being a brain disorder.

Many people today believe they are experts on schizophrenia due to hollywood titles such as 1948 blockbuster The Snake Pit or the 2001 hit A Beautiful Mind. However, many people do not know the cause, the symptoms, or the experiences people who suffer from schizophrenia face. Schizophrenia is a psychological disorder characterized by a split between thought and emotion where a person has difficulty distinguishing whether altered thoughts, perceptions, & conscious experiences are real versus imagined (Grison, Heatherton, and Gazzaniga, 2015, p. 518).

What is Schizophrenia? Schizophrenia is a mental disorder where the person suffering it is afflicted by numerous different symptoms, which primarily include vivid hallucinations and paranoia. People who suffer it tend to have abnormal perceptions of the world around them, and as mentioned above they tend to have hallucinations that appear very real to them, sometimes to the point where they are unaware that they are hallucinating. (John Nash, Professor who was notable for having Schizophrenia, is a good example of someone who was largely unaware that they were hallucinating). Conditions such as the ones mentioned above can be very disorienting and confusing or scary, to the people suffering them,

Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that affects 300,000 Canadians (3). Although it affects both men and women equally, it tends to be more severe in men than in women (1). Schizophrenia most often appears in men in their late teens or early twenties, while it appears in women in their late twenties or early thirties (3). Finding the causes for

Schizophrenia is quite possible the most dreaded psychological disorder there is. It is also one of the most heavily researched (Myers, 477). Unfortunately there is no concrete evidence to point toward one simple cause. However, there are several factors that have been researched, and have been proven to increase vulnerability to this disorder. Genetic predisposition, brain abnormalities, prenatal and perinatal have been discussed as an array of contributing causes. There is no doubt that genetic predisposition enhances the probability of schizophrenia. A child who has a biological parent that has been diagnosed with schizophrenia has approximately a one in eight chance of developing this dreaded disorder (Berger, 407). Being a

Socially the term Schizophrenia has a certain caricature about it that society has turned into a very serious social stigma. Many associate the disorder with criminals, nut houses, and extreme uncontrollable violence. Schizophrenia is portrayed in literature, and in movies so horrendously negative that those who experience symptoms of this very serious mental disorder can be in a stage of denial that can ultimately cause them to go undiagnosed, that is until something goes wrong. In spite of myths and portrayals in pop culture schizophrenia is sometimes viewed as split personality, but the root of the word comes from the Greek word schizo and phrene which loosely translates into split mind (Internet Mental Health Initiative 2010).

Schizophrenia is a complex mental illness which has several differing theories exploring the underlining neurological causes. This paper will focus on giving insight into aspects of schizophrenia as well as discussing the following leading theories on the topic: neurodevelopment, dopamine, glutamate, and brain abnormalities. Methods of research focus on studying twins, adopted family members as well as genetics. As it is such a complex illness it presents many different symptoms that have been categorized as positive, negative, and cognitive. Treatment is crucial to managing a life with this illness which includes a combination of therapy and antipsychotic drugs. Since a wide array of the symptoms

During your lifetime, chances are you’ve probably met someone who has been affected by schizophrenia in some way and you might not have even known. So what is Schizophrenia? Schizophrenia is a group of severe disorders involving major disturbances in perception, language, thought, emotion, and behavior. People with schizophrenia are able to control the disorder with medications and therapy and can even lead normal lives. Schizophrenia is not something everyone understands. This disorder is more than just hearing voices. To be able to fully understand schizophrenia you must know the symptoms, how it affects you biologically, psychologically, socially, and how to treat it.

A common mistaken belief is that people with schizophrenia have multiple personalities. Many people confuse schizophrenia with 'split personality' or 'multiple personality disorder' (Lilienfeld et al, 2010). The misunderstanding stems from the meaning of the word schizophrenia, as in Greek it means 'split mind' (Boruck, 2008). In 1990, Carlson proposed “schizophrenia is probably the most misused psychological term in existence” . Vaughan (1977), performed a study which found that 77% of students who registered for introductory psychology classes supported the myth about schizophrenics having a split personality. Although, more recent studies have suggested lower support for the myth as 50% of college students, 40% of police officers and almost 50% of those in the community agreed with the myth (Stuart & Arboleda-Florez, 2001; Wahl, 1987). Not only does this belief occur among the general population but it is also present in scientific journals. For example, Drummer's (2003) medical journal subtitled "The dermatologist's schizophrenic attitude towards pigmented lesions". As well as this, Shastry (1999) wrote in a journal schizophrenia is also known as split personality. Therefore terminological confusion seems to be one reason for this myth being common.

Research shows that males become ill in their early teens to early adulthood. Men tend to get develop schizophrenia slightly earlier than women. Most males become ill at age 16 or 25 most females develop symptoms several years later. This disease is noticeably higher in women after age 30. Schizophrenia is quite possible the most dreaded

It occurs at the same rate in males as it does in females, though average males seem to be more severely disabled than females (Chapman 1). All social classes are affected by schizophrenia though in large cities about three or four times more frequent in lower classes than in middle or upper classes. This disease usually develops in late adolescence or early adulthood but may develop later. Childhood schizophrenia is relatively rare, but does exist.

Schizophrenia is a mental illness that affects the brain. It interferes with mental functions in a person and may cause changes to a person’s personality. It usually starts from adolescence unto adulthood which also affects the elderly. At first the illness may be rapid due to acute symptoms or it can develop slowly and prolong into months or even years. People with schizophrenia show symptoms of hearing voices that others are unable to hear, they believe that people are reading their mind or trying to harm them. The illness affects men and women,