The Inclusion Of Education On Mental Illness

According to NAMI (), schizophrenia is a long term mental illness that interferes with a person’s ability to think clearly, make decisions, and relate to others, impairing a person from functioning to their full potential when left untreated. For these persons affected, it is many times difficult to distinguish what is real from what is not. “Unfortunately, no single simple course of treatment exists.” Research has linked schizophrenia to a multitude of possible causes” (NAMI).

Schizophrenia consists of a broad spectrum of diagnostic criteria (both cognitive and emotional dysfunctions) that cause problems in every day functioning (Barlow et al., 2015). This criteria includes the presence of delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, grossly disorganized/catatonic behaviour, and/or negative symptoms, such as diminished emotional expression (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The prevalence rate of this disorder is estimated to be in the range of 0.2% to 1.5% in the general population (Barlow et al., 2015).

Many individuals in United States have been diagnosed with a mental disorder of some type. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) about 1% of the American people have been diagnosed with the devastating mental disorder called schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness that deeply affects the everyday life of not only the patient but their family and friends as well. Although there are many people who suffer from this demoralizing mental illness, experts say one thing they are sure on is that there’s a lot they don’t know about the disorder.

2016 reports state that there has been a 4 percent increase of American adults suffering from mental illness (18.53 percent) when compared to 2015 (18.19 percent) (“2016 State of Mental Health in America - Adult Data”, MHA). Mental disorders have been a continuous public health concern within the United States, one of most chronic, disabling, costly, and recognizable being Schizophrenia. Contrary to popular belief, this mental disorder is rather common, an estimated 1.5 percent of the United States population being diagnosed within their lifetime (“What is Schizophrenia?”, SRF). Although treatment provided by specialty services may be highly effective, only 44 percent of Americans diagnosed seek treatment. In order to encourage that number to rise, the United States government needs to update the costs per treatment, increase the effectivity, and inform the population of the demands it deserves in order to achieve effective recoveries.

Schizophrenia is more common than the average person believes it to be. According to SARDAA (Schizophrenia and Related Disorders Alliance of America), approximately3.5 billion people in the United States have schizophrenia. Additionally, a great portion of this population is homeless, and about half of everyone diagnosed have never received treatment for it (SARDAA, 2014) . For something that is so popular in our society today, it is important to understand what schizophrenia is and how it is diagnosed.

Schizophrenia is an illness that affects an estimated 3.2 million people in America alone (Nemade). Often, people have scattered reactions when they hear the word “schizophrenia.” Some may associate this word with uncontrollable actions that could potentially cause harm to those around them. People may think of serial killers, rapists, or any form of negative archetype seen in the media. According to the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), schizophrenia is diagnosed if the patient experiences delusions, hallucinations, and/or disorganized speech for more than a month. Delusions include, but are not limited to, the belief you are going to be harassed or harmed, belief environmental cues are directed at oneself, belief

Schizophrenia stands to be inherently rare, however, the illness is, “among the worlds top ten causes of long-term disability” (Meuser, 2015). The onset of the disorder takes place over a period of approximately five years and during this time, symptoms begin to appear. Schizophrenia has negative, positive, and cognitive symptoms all of which stem from a breakdown in relation between thought, emotion and behavior (Meyer). These symptoms include but are not limited to withdrawal, hallucinations and delusions; without proper treatment a person could potentially become a danger or threat to themselves and those around them, “Because of the disruptive effects of relapses on patients lives, and the

Schizophrenia is a mental illness that affects an estimated 3.2 million people in America alone (Nemade). Often, people have scattered reactions when they hear the word “schizophrenia.” Some may associate this word with uncontrollable actions that could potentially cause harm to those around them. People may think of serial killers, rapists, or any form of negative archetype seen in the the media. According to the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), schizophrenia is characterized by a patient experiencing delusions, hallucinations, and/or disorganized speech for more than a month. Delusions include, but are not limited to, the belief one is going to be harassed or harmed, environmental cues are directed at oneself,

Schizophrenia is an extremely complex mental disorder that has yet to be fully understood. This particular disorder has affected much of the population today, causing many different emotional, physical, and psychological problems in every affected individual. These symptoms include: “distorted thoughts, hallucinations, and feelings of fright and paranoia. Psychiatrists evaluate symptoms, tests, and medical history, and prescribe medications and psychotherapy for treatment” (Kirkpatrick). Schizophrenia affects approximately 2.4 million adults in the United States today (We Live With...). Schizophrenia should be thought of as a neurological disorder with emotional and cognitive symptoms, rather than pure insanity.

Schizophrenia is a life-long disorder that affects about one percent of the population (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). The cause of this mental illness is still unclear. Studies have suggested that Schizophrenia does not arise from one factor but from a combination of genetic, environmental, and social factors (Liddle, 1987). People diagnosed with Schizophrenia struggle to deal with a multitude of symptoms that make it difficult to function (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). Antipsychotic medications are a popular treatment of the symptoms of Schizophrenia (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). Research is constantly being done to develop these medications to enhance the quality of life of those diagnosed with Schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a mental illness that still challenges the healthcare community today. This mental disorder has plagued people throughout history, from great artists and thinkers to your average run of the mill individual. People living with the disorder may hear voices others around them do not hear. “They may believe other people are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or plotting to harm them. This can terrify people with the illness and make them withdrawn or extremely agitated.” (Schizophrenia. (n.d.) Because of this internal battle, it becomes much harder for people with the disorder to hold down a job or have intimate relationships. “People with schizophrenia may not make sense when they talk. They may sit for hours without

A little over 1 percent of the world’s population has the acute mental disorder of Schizophrenia (World). It is one of the most common mental disorders in the world (World). Schizophrenia is a mental illness characterized by disordered thinking, delusions, hallucinations, emotional disturbance, withdrawing from reality (Gale), and thinking illogical, confused patterns (World). The disease causes impaired thinking, emotions, and behaviors in patients (Gale). The word Schizophrenia is a Greek meaning for a “splitting of the mind”, although it does not mean the patient has more than one personality (World). The disease is more common to start in people in their late teens to mid twenties, but men tend to develop the disease earlier and more severe than women. Schizophrenia has been proven to be incurable, but patients can be treated by being hospitalized, and can start therapy or treatment when their symptoms have come under control in reaction to the medications and drugs the patient was put on (World).

Approximately 22% of the American population suffers from some kind of mental disorder at any given time. (Passer and Smith, 2004) Schizophrenia is one of the most serious of these mental disorders, and there are many different kinds of treatment. While all mental disorders offer diagnosis and treatment challenges, few are more challenging than schizophrenia. It is both bizarre and puzzling, and has been described as “one of the most challenging disorders to treat effectively.” (Passer and Smith, 2004, 534)

Schizophrenia remains a prevalent mental disorder, which affects about 1% of the world’s populations (Olivares, Sermon, Hemels, & Schreiner, 2013). This psychiatric disorder is defined as a type of encumbering, incapacitating mental illness. Schizophrenia is known to affect 0.7% of the United States adult population (Lin, Wong, Offord, & Mirski, 2013). Schizophrenia disorder can become a weighty burden on patients as well as the families. According to (Ascher-Svanum, Novick, Haro, Bertsch, McDonnell, D., & Detke, 2013), schizophrenia is therefore defined as a chronic, relapsing psychiatric disorder that causes recurrent readmission into an inpatient psychiatric unit.

During a mental health event the First Lady, Michelle Obama said, “At the root of this dilemma is the way we view mental health in this country. [...] Whether an illness affects your heart, your leg or your brain, it’s still an illness, and there should be no distinction.” This shows that mental illness stigma in society is based on mental illness being perceived more negatively than other physical illness when it should actually be seen as the same. Stigma around mental illness has had very immense adverse effects on the willingness of undiagnosed suffers to not seek treatment when they need it. As a result of this one in five people with a mental illness will not get the treatment they need which has the effect of high suicide rates among the untreated sufferers. In an effort to reduce stigma around mental illness, so that more undiagnosed sufferers seek treatment, schools should devote more time to increasing awareness of mental illness and its effects.