Understanding Schizophrenia

Understanding Schizophrenia

While the term schizophrenia comes from the Greek term 'split mind', that is not the entire story of this mental disorder. Often confused with multiple personality disorder, schizophrenia is a psychiatric diagnosis that plagues many people in soci

ety today. But what's more striking about this disease is the lack of proper diagnosis in many patients and the improper management of the disease.

Schizophrenia dates back to the years of the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. The idea of 'craziness' or 'madness' seems to be the first indication that this psychiatric disorder was present in those early societies.

Affecting more men than women in late adolescence and early adulthood, schizophrenia is a mental disorder that has many symptoms associated with it:
<ul>
<li>Hallucinations </li>
<li>Delusional thinking </li>
<li>Incoherent speech patterns </li>
<li>Disorganization in thoughts </li>
<li>Problems with appropriate behavior </li>
<li>Lack of motivation </li>
<

li>Lack of emotions </li>
<li>Problems with interacting with others</li>
</ul>

In order to be diagnosed with schizophrenia, the patient needs to exhibit these symptoms for more than six months.

There are also subcategories that relate to the disorder of schizophrenia:
<ul>
<li>Disorganized </li>
<li>Catatonic </li>
<li>Residual </li>
<li>Paranoid </li>
<li>Undifferentiated</li>
</ul>

Each of these subcategories of schizophrenia comes with its own set of symptoms that are focused on certain behaviors, as stated in the names of each subcategory. For undifferentiated schizophrenia, this would be a case in which the symptoms of the schizophrenia do not meet the criteria specifically.

What's interesting about schizophrenia is that many people can have the disorder, but it may not be recognized. Because they may seem completely 'normal' in other areas of their life outside of the social realm, they aren't always noticed as having a problem. For example, a person with schizophrenia may be completely able in their job or at school, but at the same time, they can have no social skills that allow them to have meaningful relationships.

It's unknown as to whether there are any direct causes for schizophrenia in a patient. Some studies have alluded to the idea of a genetic component, while others are focusing on possible brain damage or the patient's surroundings.

Treatment for schizophrenia is often medicine based, with antipsychotic drugs. This will help to create a better balance of chemicals in the brain that are attributed with the schizophrenia symptoms presentation. There are some side effects to taking these kinds of medications and the patient will need to be monitored for compliance with their treatment.

ECT or electroconvulsive therapy is also being studied as a way to treat schizophrenia that is associated with brain damage. It is generally considered a last resort in terms of therapies.

Basic therapy can also work for a schizophrenia patient when used in conjunction with medication.

In many cases, a schizophrenia that has been newly diagnosed or has not been taking their medication will need to be admitted to an inpatient program in order to bring them back into balance.

When it comes to the outlook for schizophrenia patients, the future is not always clear. While some patients recover completely, others will struggle with this disease their entire lives. Often, these schizophrenia patients will have troubles with suicide and depression, often killing themselves during a psychotic episode or a delusional situation.

There is also a newer link between schizophrenia and violence and drugs that is causing mental health givers to be more scrutinizing of behaviors that might be indicative of schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia can be a manageable disorder in many cases, if treated by a competent psychiatrist. But the real treatment begins with the patient realizing there is a problem in the first place.

Grant Eckert is a writer for Carelink. Carelink is a leading provider of http://www.carelink-svs.org">Community Support Services| Schizophrenia Support

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