The Major Types and Possible Causes of Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a severe, debilitating disabling disease. There are more than two million Americans who suffer with schizophrenia in any given year. Some of the symptoms of schizophrenia are hallucinations, delusions, apathy, lack of emotion, disorganized thoughts, difficulty concentrating or following instructions and memory problems. There are no lab tests to diagnose schizophrenia and most times the patient is misdiagnosed with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder or major depression (Daily schizophrenia news, 2013). There are several major types of schizophrenia but there are five that are more common; disorganized, catatonic, paranoid, undifferentiated and residual. Scientists are leaning toward prenatal difficulties as to the development of schizophrenia with genetics also playing a big part. Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disease with approximately one percent of the population developing schizophrenia during their lifetime. There are more than two million Americans suffering from the illness in a given year. Schizophrenia affects men and women equally, although, the disorder often appears earlier in men, than in women. Men are usually affected in their late teens or early twenties, and women in their twenties to early thirties. People with schizophrenia often suffer terrifying symptoms such as hearing internal voices, or believing that other people are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or plotting toShow MoreRelatedIs Schizophrenia A Unique Mental Disorder?1335 Words   |  6 Pagesthe Health Reference Series, schizophrenia affects 1.1% of the US population and the majority of those who suffer with schizophrenia go untreated or are unaware that they even have the disorder. Approximately 2,200,000 people in the United States su ffer from schizophrenia, and they have a lifespan 20% shorter than those who do not have schizophrenia (Fentress, Moller 1). Schizophrenia is a unique mental disorder that is made up of distinctive characteristics, causes, signs and symptoms, and requiresRead MoreDifferent Aspects of Schizophrenia Essay1126 Words   |  5 PagesDifferent Aspects of Schizophrenia The devastating mental illness of Schizophrenia is a major concern of modern medicine. Schizophrenia associates any one person with multiple problems. These problems include delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized behavior (Long 1999). The illness is a disease of the brain that is explained clinically as, disease of the mind, a simple explanation given by Nancy Andreasen (1999). It is important to understand that there are different types of this mental illnessRead More Dangerous Mind - Psychology Essay1747 Words   |  7 Pages Since Ive chosen to major in psychology, Ive chosen to do my paper on something that pertains to my major. In this case the mental disorder schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a severly disabilitating disease that has stricken the lives of almost two million people in the United States alone (Keefe 20). Since this disease is so devastating the majority of people that suffer from it either live on the streets or in mental institutions. In fact, forty percent of the beds in American mental hospitalsRead MoreProblems Surrounding Schizophrenia1497 Words   |  6 PagesProblems Surrounding Schizophrenia Believe it or not, schizophrenia is a serious mental problem that has been around for much longer than most people tend to think. Most professionals are certain that schizophrenia is a disease process that takes place within the brain and that the disease is, in fact, influenced greatly by certain life experiences(Anderson 80). The one significant problem surrounding schizophrenia is that no one is absolutely positive as to what causes schizophrenia and of how itRead MoreSymptoms And Symptoms Of Schizophrenia1569 Words   |  7 Pagesdealing insomnia for the past 4 months. When meeting him, he showed signs of movement disorders and thought disorders. After Complete Blood Count tests and interviews with multiple mental health professionals, Jaime was confirmed to have paranoid schizophrenia. Jaime was immediately put on antipsychotic medication, and after about 3 months of taking that medication, he started attending psychological treatment. He has been continuing with both proced ures for about a year. Today, his medication doseRead MoreThe Myth of the Nervous Breakdown Essay1021 Words   |  5 Pagesof the nerves, but of the mind. It seems psychology, over the years, has separated the term nervous breakdown into more definite categories. Today, they seem more likely to be schizophrenic episodes, manic breaks, or more closely resembling major depressive disorder. Diagnosis depends on different patients and symptoms they experience. In the movie, Shine, Australian concert pianist David Helfgott is thought to experience a nervous breakdown due to the pressures of life with an overbearingRead More Schizophrenia Essay1617 Words   |  7 PagesSchizophrenia is a psychotic disorder that causes severe mental disturbances which disrupt ones thoughts, speech, and behavior. According to Paul Thompson, Associate Professor of Neurology, one percent of the world’s population suffers from this disorder. There is no one specific cause of schizophrenia, because it is caused by a combination of problems during development. It is a disorder which not only affects the patient, but their family and society as well. Schizophrenia can be a debilitatingRead MoreHow Schizophrenia Affects The Lifespan1595 Words   |  7 PagesHow Schizophrenia affects the Lifespan 3 How Schizophrenia affects the Lifespan Schizophrenia is a mental illness that inhibits a person’s ability to think clearly, manage their emotions, make their own decisions, and associate with others. It is a complicated, long term illness that affects one percent of Americans. Even though Schizophrenia can occur at any age, it is more common forRead MoreSchizophrenia: Treatment and Diagnosis Essay1187 Words   |  5 Pages Schizophrenia: Treatment and Diagnosis In 1809, physician John Haslam published an account of what he considered â€Å"A form of insanity†. Haslam described many symptoms that are relevant to modern day schizophrenia including delusions of grandeur and hallucinations. During the latter part of the nineteenth century, a German psychiatrist named Emil Kraepelin expanded on Haslam’s views and gave a more accurate description of schizophrenia as we know it today. Kraeplin startedRead MoreA Research On Schizophrenia And Anorexia Nervosa1269 Words   |  6 Pagesdisorders such as schizophrenia, major depressive disorder (MDD), post-dramatic stress disorder (PTSD), anorexia nervosa, and substance dependence. Even though the review article covers five types of mental disorders, I’m going to focus on schizophrenia and anorexia nervosa. Overtime, research has shown a robust relation between the social environment and the prevalence of mental illness. In large western cities, like NYC, there is a hi gher frequency in those that have schizophrenia, increased labor