Schizophrenia

Over the last few years I have heard many people talking about Schizophrenia. Only, they are confused about what it really is. I get offended very easily when I hear people use the word "crazy", or talk about insanity in a rude way. I also get upset when they make an attempt to discuss it with me, because they do not understand. The thing that upsets me the most is that people often associate schizophrenia with multiple personality disorder. That is 100% not true. Although they do have voices in their head, they are not separate personalities created by them.

The project assigned was to pick a topic of interest that somehow dealt with the field of psychology. This of course, as I discussed before, was more than an easy choice for me. And even though it is easy for me to choose it, it is not easy for me to speak about. I get very emotional when I am merely thinking about it.

I am writing this paper to clear up any misunderstandings about this disease. I want everyone to know what it is truly about. Because of the wide spread misunderstanding of this disease, I feel that it is not getting the true attention it deserves. People do not understand how frustrating, disappointing, and seemingly hopeless this illness can become.

During my research I found out that many more people have Schizophrenia than most would like to admit. In fact, one percent of our entire population suffers from this disease. That is over 2 million people. The only good news is that this disease has a low rate of genetic inheritance. If one of your parents has this disease you would only have a 10 percent chance of getting it yourself. And only a one percent chance if you have no known sufferers in your family.

Schizophrenia is a disease that takes over your brain. It distorts your reality and turns life into a confusing daily journey. The newest theory is that children are born with it. During their childhood and early teen years schizophrenics go through a latency stage where the disease is not apparent. The first occurrence of this disease may transpire in their late teens or early twenties. This may be as simple as any shocking change in behavior. Schizophrenia emerges at different times in men and women. It can become

visible as early as 17 in males, while it appears in their late twenties and early thirties for females.

The classic symptoms include delusions, hallucinations, false reality experiences, social isolation, unusual speech or behavior, and disorganization of thoughts of speech. They may become preoccupied with their fictitious world. The hallucinations deal with your taste, smell, sight, sound, and visual senses. During these hallucinations they hare voices in their head. These voices may be telling them to perform certain activities, talk to the person they are hearing, or even may be warning them of a future dangerous situation. There can be seven different voices all talking at once, thus causing the patient to become confused.

Because people with Schizophrenia cannot grasp the cause of what is affecting them, they do not believe they are sick. This causes problems with doctors who are trying to give them treatment. Because the patient is