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Schizophrenia

Essay by   •  February 10, 2011  •  Research Paper  •  2,083 Words (9 Pages)  •  1,091 Views

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Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. It is very difficult for the person to tell the difference between real and unreal experiences, to think logically, to express feelings, or to behave appropriately. People with schizophrenia may hear internal voices not heard by others or may see things that are not really there. These experiences can seem threatening and can make them fearful and withdrawn. They also may have trouble organizing their thoughts and expressing them. Their speech and behavior can be so disorganized that they may seem like they are scared of others. The situation of human personality is logical thinking, feelings and expression, perception, and concerning to others. “Schizophrenia affects about one percent of the world's population and is found all over the world, in all ethnic and social groups” as Dr. Richard J. Frances said at Columbia University. People with schizophrenia often have difficulty functioning in society, at work, and in school. The illness can be difficult on both the individuals who are affected and on their families. But the symptoms of schizophrenia generally differ from one person to another. In some people, the distance feelings caused by the illness are a regular part of life. In others, the symptoms will come and go. People with schizophrenia do not always act abnormally. They may appear perfectly responsible and in control, even when experiencing hallucinations or delusions. Schizophrenia cannot be cured, but the symptoms can be reduced a lot with treatment. The majority of people with schizophrenia are living either full and helpful lives or relatively independent lives. “About 10 percent of people with schizophrenia commit suicide, and many others attempt suicide,” as Dr. Peter J. Weiden and his associates reported. Once people develop schizophrenia, they usually suffer from the illness for the rest of their lives. Although there is no cure, treatment can help many people with schizophrenia lead helpful lives. Also people with schizophrenia report for at least 10 percent of the homeless population in the United States. The National Institute of Mental Health has estimated that schizophrenia costs the United States billions of dollars each year in direct treatment, social services, and lost productivity.

Schizophrenia is a complex illness, and no single cause has been found. Stressful life events may contribute to the development of schizophrenia in those who are predisposed to the illness. Heredity causes schizophrenia in some families. A person can succeed to a development of the illness especially if a parent has the disorder. “Schizophrenia accounts for about 40 percent of all long-term hospitalization. Schizophrenia can run in families. The risk for inheriting schizophrenia is 10 percent in those who have an immediate family member with the illness, and 40 percent if the illness affect both parents or an identical twin,” which was said Dr. Douglas F. Levinson of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Heredity does not explain all cases, however. Early treatment of schizophrenia and newer treatment options may control the illness in up to 85 percent of individuals. However, about 60 percent of people with schizophrenia have no close relatives with the illness brain chemistry. Dr. Levinson told Clinical Psychiatry news that “people with schizophrenia are either very sensitive to a brain chemical called dopamine, or produce too much of it.” Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, which are substances that allow nerve cells in the brain to send messages to each other. The difference of this chemical can affect the way a person's brain reacts to motivation.

Abnormality within the brain develops schizophrenia. They have accomplished that many individuals with the disorder have clever abnormalities in brain structure. These abnormalities include a small swelling of the fluid-filled cavities in the brain, and a little smaller size of some areas of the brain. But this is not true for all the people with schizophrenia and such abnormalities also have been known in people who do not have schizophrenia.

Complications during pregnancy and birth develop schizophrenia. Some researchers believe that an infection or starvation during pregnancy, or by complications during birth, may increase the chances of that child developing schizophrenia when he or she is older. “Evidence suggests that part in the prenatal environment and during birth can increase the risk of a person later developing schizophrenia,” told by the Doctor of Coney Island Hospital. For example, pregnant women who have been exposed to the cold virus or who have poor nutrition have a slightly increased chance of giving birth to a child who later develops schizophrenia.

Genetic Factors were researchers that suggested that the genes one inherits strongly influence another which develops schizophrenia. “Studies of families have shown that the more closely one is related to someone with schizophrenia, the greater the risk one has of developing the illness,” said Dr. Weiden of the State University of New York, Brooklyn. The children of one parent with schizophrenia have about a 13 percent chance of developing the illness, and children of two parents with schizophrenia have about a 46 percent chance of eventually developing schizophrenia,” that was said by Dr. Gershon, professor and chairman of psychiatry at the University of Chicago, and his colleagues. This increased risk even when such children are adopted and raised by mentally healthy parents. In relationship to this children in general have a 1 percent chance of developing schizophrenia.

In schizophrenia, the symptoms of schizophrenia are when the world changes for those people. Familiar things like colors, sounds, or tastes may appear altered in a strange way. The brain receives information from the senses but interprets it in an abnormal fashion. The symptoms of schizophrenia vary from one person to another, and they can appear either slowly or suddenly. At first, symptoms may include calm feelings of tension, failure to sleep or concentrate, and a loss of interest in school, work, or friends. As the illness progresses, people with schizophrenia experience symptoms like psychosis, psychosis is a major psychiatric illnesses which a person incorrectly tells the truth of what they’re thoughts are and says wrong things about reality. Some of the symptoms are Hallucinations and illusions, Delusions, Disordered thinking, Lack of emotional expression, and Inappropriate reactions.

Hallucinations and illusions are disorders of opinion that are common in people with schizophrenia. Hallucinations

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