Schizophrenia is a very
severe mental disorder that disrupts a person’s everyday life. In earlier history,
those suffering from Schizophrenia were thought to be possessed by demons.
People were afraid of them, tormented them, and kept them away from society by
locking them up. Just by reading that people used to think that people with
Schizophrenia were possessed by demons, it is easy to tell that Schizophrenia
is a very severe and serious disorder.
To this day,
Schizophrenia affects over 2 million Americans which is about 1% of the U.S.
population. People with Schizophrenia can no longer function normally because
they are no longer in touch with reality. Schizophrenia makes it
difficult to distinguish between what is real and unreal, think clearly, manage
emotions, and relate to others. The five main symptoms of Schizophrenia are delusions,
hallucinations, disorganized speech, disorganized behavior, and the so-called
“negative” symptoms.
The symptoms vary from
person to person and may be more severe in some than others. Delusions are very
common in this disorder. They occur in about 90% of those affected. They can
include delusions such as delusions of persecution where those affected think
someone is out to get them, or delusions of grandeur where they think they are
a grandiose figure such as God. Hallucinations are also common in people with
Schizophrenia. They include hearing and seeing things that are not there.
Auditory hallucinations are most common. Disorganized speech is when people say
illogical things and speak incoherently. They may shift rapidly from topic to
topic, make up words, or repeat the same things over and over. Disorganized
behavior includes behaviors that appear bizarre and have no purpose, and inappropriate
emotional response. The negative symptoms refers to absence of behaviors that a
normal person should have. People with Schizophrenia lack emotional expression and
interest in things that used to interest them.
What causes
Schizophrenia is not 100% concluded although it has been shown that genes and
environmental factors play a role in the cause of Schizophrenia. Schizophrenia
strikes without regard to gender, race, social class or culture
It is very interesting to know that people though that schizophrenics were possessed by demons, and how much we have progressed in medicine to know now that isn’t the case, hopefully soon there will be better medication out there to help reduce positive symptoms and bring back negative ones with out all the side effects.
ReplyDeleteSchizophrenia is a very disturbing psychological disorder. No direct causes or cures; just treatments to control. Very interesting history of this disorder, I think that maybe even today people with schizophrenia are thought to be possessed by demons.
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