FREE ESSAY ON SCHIZOPHRENIA

SCHIZOPHRENIA

schizophrenia 
Schizophrenia is a serious, chronic mental disorder characterized by loss of contact with
reality and disturbances of thought, mood, and perception. Schizophrenia is the most
common and the most potentially sever and disabling of the psychosis, a term encompassing
several severe mental disorders that result in the loss of contact with reality along
with major personality derangements. Schizophrenia patients experience delusions,
hallucinations and often lose thought process. Schizophrenia affects an estimated one
percent of the population in every country of the world. Victims share a range of
symptoms that can be devastating to themselves as well as to families and friends. They
may have trouble dealing with the most minor everyday stresses and insignificant changes
in their surroundings. They may avoid social contact, ignore personal hygiene and behave
oddly (Kass, 194). Many people outside the mental health profession believe that
schizophrenia refers to a "split personality". The word "schizophrenia" comes from the
Greek schizo, meaning split and phrenia refers to the diaphragm once thought to be the
location of a person's mind and soul. When the word "schizophrenia" was established by
European psychiatrists, they meant to describe a shattering, or breakdown, of basic
psychological functions. Eugene Bleuler is one of the most influential psychiatrists of
his time. He is best known today for his introduction of the term "schizophrenia" to
describe the disorder previously known as dementia praecox and for his studies of
schizophrenics. The illness can best be described as a collection of particular symptoms
that usually fall into four basic categories: formal thought disorder, perception
disorder, feeling/emotional disturbance, and behavior disorders (Young, 23). People with
schizophrenia describe strange of unrealistic thoughts. Their speech is sometimes hard to
follow because of disordered thinking. Phrases seem disconnected, and ideas move from
topic to topic with no logical pattern in what is being said. In some cases, individuals
with schizophrenia say that they have no idea at all or that their heads seem "empty".
Many schizophrenic patients think they possess extraordinary powers such as x-ray vision
or super strength. They may believe that their thoughts are being controlled by others or
that everyone knows what they are thinking. These beliefs are caused by delusions. Most
specialists agree that symptoms are provoked by chemical disturbances of the brain, but
no exact mechanism is known (Mueser, 102). Those with schizophrenia regularly report
unusual sensory experiences, especially when the illness is in an acute stage. Often
these experiences are in the form of hearing voices. Persons may hear one or two voices
making comments on their behavior. They may not know the voice, or they may believe it is
the voice of God, the Devil, or a friend. When the voice issues orders to behave in a
particular way, the experience is known as a command hallucination. These hallucinations
can be very dangerous to the sufferer and others. When the voice commands the person to
do something, the schizophrenic person will perform that task as instructed (Kass, 188).
Particular, repetitive movements sometimes are seen in schizophrenics. Victims might
swing one leg back and forth all day, or constantly shake their heads. Catatonic behavior
is another symptom; a victim might keep the same position for hours, unable to talk or
eat. Catatonic schizophrenia is marked by striking motor behavior. Some victims may be
overly intrusive, constantly prying into the affairs of those around them (Gingerich,
64). When compared to other people in general, those with schizophrenia are less likely
to marry or remain married; more likely to have school problems; often unable to keep
their jobs; more prone to suicide attempts. People with schizophrenia also tend to fall
into other groupings that can help in diagnosis. The majority range in age from
adolescence to the mid twenties at the time the psychosis begins. No single patient is
likely to show all the symptoms associated with the illness or fall into all of the
categories listed. One person may experience only auditory hallucinations and exhibit
only inappropriate emotions. Another might become reclusive and suffer from delusions
(Arasse, 210). The modern era of medical treatment for schizophrenia began in 1952 with
the use of the tranquilizer chlorapromazine. This drug, for the first time, controlled
acute systems, reduced hospitalization from years to days, and lowered the rate of
relapse by more than fifty percent. Not everyone responds to these drugs. Long term
control is less successful than short term alleviation. Prolonged medication may bring
harmful side effects, especially the neurological muscle disorder known as tardive
dyskinesia (TD), which causes involuntary facial movements. Dopamine is the primary
neurotransmitter that appears to be involved in this disorder, and most medications used
to treat schizophrenia target this neurotransmitter and its receptors in the brain.
Schizophrenia seems to be a syndrome of multiple causes and types. Genetics seem to play
a role, but there is no single "schizophrenia gene". While it is clear that a supportive
family can be helpful in preventing relapse, it is also agreed that family strife does
not cause schizophrenia (Young, 35). One of the most recent advances in treating
schizophrenia is the drug clozapine. This drug has been used in Europe and China for a
number of years and now has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1990 for
use in the United States. Clozapine is sometimes effective in cases where other drugs
have failed to blunt systems. This drug appears to have fewer side effects than some of
the anti-psychotic drugs. A major drawback to its use is that it can dangerously lower
the count of white blood cells. Other new medications that have beneficial effect similar
to clozapine but that appear to be safer are now undergoing testing and may be available
in the near future. Various medications are handled by the body in different ways, so one
drug may be selected over another because it has less chance of damaging a diseased
liver, worsening a heart condition, or affecting a patient's high blood pressure. For all
the benefits that anti-psychotic drugs provide, clearly they are far from ideal. Some
patients will show marked improvement with drugs, while others might be helped only a
little, if at all. Ideally, drugs soon will be developed to treat successfully the whole
range os schizophrenia symptoms. Roughly one third of schizophrenic patients make a
complete recovery and have no further recurrence, one third have recurrent episodes of
the illness, and one third deteriorate into chronic schizophrenia with severe disability
(Kass, 206). 
Bibliography
Bibliography 
BIBLIOGRAPHY Arasse, Daniel. Complete Guide to Mental Health. Allen Lane Press,New York,
1989. Gingerich, Susan. Coping With Schizophrenia. New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
Oakland, 1994. Kass, Stephen. Schizophrenia: The Facts. Oxford University Press. New
York, 1997. Muesen, Kim. "Schizophrenia". Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. Microsoft
Corporation, 1998. Young, Patrick. The Encyclopedia od Health, Psychological Disorders
and Their Treatment. Herrington Publications. New York, 1991.