Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia

We have been watching multiple movies in this unit and today’s video describing children, teens, and people in their early twenties was the one I found most interesting. Seeing what these kids have to go through, the suicide attempts, mood swings, change in personality, all of these factors when combined with a normal teen-agers sense of confusion can lead to a very troubled young person. I found Sabrina’s case the most interesting because she was the most severe. The slow onset of the disease really made her condition worse overall because she never really got better.

Along with schizophrenia, the video spoke about addiction to alcohol and drugs. How it affects teens and adults was portrayed in many scenarios. The case that intrigued me the most was the recovering crack addict who was paralyzed from the waist down. When he took the medication for his leg, it ended up helping him overcome his addiction, which was interesting to me as well as the scientists who studied him. The fact that he has totally overcome his addiction to crack is extremely impressive as well as a miracle. Although as the teen addicts say that there is an incredible fear of relapse, the strength that they have is unbelievable.

Overall, I have thoroughly enjoyed this unit so far. I am interested in these personality disorders, especially because my uncle had schizophrenia. It is a very hard thing for the family members to go through as well as the actual patient. But seeing how these families have support systems and are strong for one another really is impressive.