Schizophrenia

Lesson on Schizophrenia

As an overview, schizophrenia is a disease to the brain. It is one of the most disabling and emotionally devastating illnesses known to man. It has been misunderstood for a long time. It has a biological basis, so it is like other diseases. It is a very common disease; one percent to one and a half percent of the U.S. has been diagnosed within some point in their life. There is no cure for this disease, although there is treatable medicine. Schizophrenia is not a multiple personality disorder. People who take medicine for it are able to lead normal fulfilling lives.

There are two ways that schizophrenia begins. One way is called Acute Onset. This happens very fast, about a couple of weeks. It is easier to recover from this. You are able to get help faster because people notice it sooner. The other way is called Process Onset. This takes a longer period of time to show. It is gradual, sometimes up to years. You may say or do strange things every now and then. It could be a long time before you go to the doctor.

There are three main types of delusions a person can have. Delusion of Persecution is when the person thinks that people are out to get him or her. For example the government. Grandeur is when the person thinks he or she is very important, rich, famous, ect. Reference is when the person thinks that the TV is talking directly to him or her. They also think some outside source is talking to them.

Schizophrenia has three main subtypes. Paranoid schizophrenia is when the person believes someone is out to get them. Disorganized schizophrenia is people who do silly strange behaviors, inappropriate emotions, and have messed up speech patterns. They do a thing called a word salad, when they talk with bunches of words randomly thrown together. Catatonic schizophrenia is when the person gets in a position and stays in that exact position for a long time (like hours).