What Is Schizoaffective Disorder?

“Schizoaffective disorder is a chronic mental health condition mainly characterized by its symptoms of schizophrenia,

Schizophrenia is a complex psychotic disorder evident by impaired thinking, emotions, judgment and behaviors. The person’s grasp of reality may be so disordered that they are unable to filter sensory stimuli and may have intense perceptions of sounds, colors, and other features of their environment. Although there are different levels of severity in symptoms, the Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine (Fundukian, Ed., 2014) states that schizophrenia may typically interfere with a person 's ability to think clearly and to know the difference between reality and fantasy. People with schizophrenic symptoms have hallucinations and delusions, and often have difficulty with everyday life. It is a complicated disease that is not well understood and carries significant stigma for its sufferers.

Schizophrenia is a mental health condition that is the base of several psychological symptoms. There are many people out there who suffer from this disorder and have no idea on how to cure it. Some people tend to spend their whole life with this disorder; whilst others get it treated as soon as they see first sign or symptom of it. Schizophrenia is not a disorder that cannot be treated; with the right kind of treatment, the disorder can be controlled and the individual suffering from it can be cured. The paper will discuss the schizophrenia disorder in detail, causes, risk, signs & symptoms, and treatments of it.

Psychotic disorders can be described as a mental health disability in which a person experiences changes in thinking, perception, mood and behaviour which can severely disrupt their lives. Some of the main psychotic disorders include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, psychotic depression, schizo affective disorder and drug induced pychosis. Some common symptoms when a psychotic disorder is developing include depression, anxiety, irritability, suspiciousness, blunted or flat or inappropriate emotion, changes in appetite, changes in thinking, difficulties in concentration or attention, a sense of alteration to ones self or the outside world, odd ideas and unusual perceptual experiences. Some behavioural symptoms can include sleep disturbance, social isolation or withdrawal and/or reduced ability to carry out work and social roles.

According to the World Health Organization, “Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder, characterized by profound disruptions in thinking; affecting language, perception, and the sense of self”. This serious brain disorder affects around 21 million people worldwide and causes people to interpret reality differently. People with schizophrenia tend to have strange or altered thinking and don't feel connected with themselves. They often go through psychotic experiences such as seeing hallucinations and delusions, or hearing voices. Mental health America states that “Some early warning signs of schizophrenia are confused and bizarre thoughts, increased sensitivity to light, sound, smells, or touch, fearfulness or suspicion that isn't warranted,

Various countries have differing methods of identifying the condition and there exist many different boundaries between this disease and similar ones. Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are two similar disorders where the patient can present with a high functioning psychosis. The distinction between the two is not an easy one to make due to the fact that they both deal with many identical symptoms but sometimes patients interpret them in different ways. One major common symptom they both share is illogical thinking, where they think or see situations differently than what actually occurred. Auditory hallucinations may also occur in either manic or depressive states of bipolar disorder, and it is also a common symptom for schizophrenics though the main difference is that for schizophrenics the auditory hallucinations are often commenting on the person’s actions or converse with one another. Delusions are also common because they give the individual's senses that they are being followed or controlled by outside forces, or that their thoughts are being broadcasted or interfered with. Since many symptoms are unusual and can have devastating effects when they are not treated, when they do receive the medication they can potentially

Additional, inferences about the disorder are provided by Whitcomb and Merrell (2013). The authors characterize the symptoms of schizophrenia as delusions that are “typically bizarre and implausible” and pronounced hallucinations such as hearing voices for long periods of time (p. 363). Additional, impairments noted by the authors include “severe disturbances in perception, thought and affect, a severe decline in personal and social functioning, poor personal hygiene, inability to function effectively at school or work, and a severe impairment in social relationships” (Whitcomb and Merrell, 2013 p.363).

Schizophrenia is a disease that has plagued societies around the world for centuries, although it was not given its formal name until 1911. It is characterized by the presence of positive and negative symptoms. Positive symptoms are so named because of the presence of altered behaviors, such as delusions, hallucinations (usually auditory), extreme emotions, excited motor activity, and incoherent thoughts and speech. (1,2) In contrast, negative symptoms are described as a lack of behaviors, such as emotion, speech, social interaction, and action. (1,2) These symptoms are by no means concrete. Not all schizophrenic patients will exhibit all or even a majority of these symptoms, and there is some

Schizoaffective disorder is a common mental illness that can be simply characterized as a mixture between schizophrenia and various mood disorders,

A Schizoaffective disorder is a mental illness. The symptoms of this illness include having strange or unusual thoughts or perceptions, paranoid thoughts and ideas, delusion (i.e. having false, fixed beliefs), hallucination, such as hearing voices, and experience disorganized thinking (i.e. unclear and confused thoughts). They may have manic episodes or a sudden increase in energy and behavioural displays that are out of character. They may become irritable and have poor temper control, and even have thoughts of suicide or homicide. Their speaking style can be erratic, and difficult of others to understand, they may have problems with attention and memory. Their behaviour will be at extreme ends of the normal spectrum (catatonic behaviour)

Schizophrenia is a mental illness that interferes with a person’s ability to think clearly, manage emotions, decision making, and relate to others. It’s a long-term medical illness affecting 1% of Americans. The causes of schizophrenia include genetics, environment, brain chemistry, and substance abuse. Schizophrenia occurs roughly in 10%of people who have a first-degree relative with the disorder such as a parent or sibling. ("NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness | What is Schizophrenia?," n.d.) “Problems with certain brain chemicals, including neurotransmitters called dopamine and glutamate, may contribute to schizophrenia”.

Schizophrenia is known to be a devastating brain disorder that negatively affects many aspects of a person’s life, such as; thinking, language, emotions, social behavior, and ability to perceive reality (Varcarolis, 2010). Due to the high comorbidity of schizophrenia, patients often suffer from multiple disorders, when a mood disorder, such as mania, or depression, coexists with the schizophrenia, it is known as a schizoaffective disorder. Patient, A.S., is diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder due to her hallucinations, her manic state and paranoia. The purpose of this paper is to form an individualized Care Plan for A.S. in accord with the evidence-based practice and clinical manifestations. It will include the patient’s history (past and present) along with the appropriate interventions. In the paper we will discuss schizoaffective disorder as well as well as the symptoms, thoughts, and actions of a schizoaffective person. Furthermore, the pathophysiology of schizophrenia will be explained thoroughly, followed with the medications and interventions used for this disorder. The hope is to better understand the aspects of schizoaffective disorder and its manifestations, so one better care for a patient with such a disease.

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Schizophrenia vs. Bipolar Disorder Page 1 Schizophrenia vs. Bipolar Disorder Angela M. Powell English Composition I Kim Elliott-White April 18, 2011 Schizophrenia vs. Bipolar Disorder Page 2 Brain disorders are commonly misunderstood due to the actions of the person living with the disorder. Education about brain disorders should decrease the misunderstanding of the disorders, and increase the support for those suffering with the disorder. A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with distress or disability that occurs in an individual and which is not part of normal

Some of the chemicals may be low, or too high, causing a person to not be able to process decisions and emotions correctly (‘Schizoid Personality” 1). Another possibility is stress, emotional stress to be exact. This stress can originate from untimely deaths, financial stress, or traumatic situations (“Schizoid Personality” 1). The final and my personal belief of the cause are the parents and family of the effected. If the effected person grows up in a family of emotionally detached individuals, parents that abuse them, or parents that neglect them fully, they are at a dramatically increased risk of developing Schizoid personality disorder.