schitzophrenia : Schizophrenia Information

Conditions & Diseases: Psychological & Mental Health

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia Introduction and Overview

Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling mental disorder in which the person's emotions, thinking, judgment, behavior, and perception of reality are so disturbed that the person cannot function normally. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM-IV-TR) lists schizophrenia as a functional psychotic disorder. The term "functional" refers to the fact that based on the current information, schizophrenia is not caused by a nervous system lesion or a chemical or endocrine disturbance, while the term "psychotic" (according to DSM) refers to a group of symptoms which include delusions, prominent hallucinations, disorganized speech, disorganized or catatonic behavior.

Those that suffer from schizophrenia experience hallucinations, have delusions and a disturbed perception of reality, express blunted or flat emotions, and display distorted behaviors. They can hear voices that others don't hear, live with the impression that others can read their mind, control their thoughts, and/or plot against them. They may appear bizarre to those around them either because they act odd (they can site for hours without moving or saying anything), or in most cases, because they don't make sense when they talk. Due to the nature of this disorder, individuals with schizophrenia withdraw from people, society, and activities around them to retreat into a inner world.

Some of the first signs of the disorder occur typically around late adolescence or early adulthood, and "its symptoms differ from person to person and can fluctuate over time". When active, the disorder is "characterized by episodes in which the patient is unable to distinguish between real and unreal experiences", but when controlled by medication, the disorder subsides and the individual can lead a meaningful and rewarding life. Some individuals experience only one acute episode and either progress through a good recovery, or fall into a "continuous and progressive deterioration" while others experience multiple acute episodes which alternate with brief episodes of partial recovery or remission. Usually, the frequency of the acute episodes decrease with age. (1)

Schizophrenia was a source of bewilderment and was problematic in terms of classification since the beginnings. According to Mesopotamian literature and written documents from the old Pharaonic Egypt, schizophrenia was present from the beginning of civilization, and those that suffered from this disorder were viewed as eccentric or possessed by demons in the Middle Ages. Only later, in the last century-and-a-half, schizophrenia was conceptualized as a medical disorder. However, the first physician that provided a comprehensive description of the disorder was Emil Kraepelin in 1896, a German doctor that referred to this condition as dementia praecox (early dementia). According to this term, schizophrenia was considered a form of dementia. Only in 1911, Eugen Bleuler, a Swiss psychiatrist changed the name of the condition in schizophrenia to prevent the misleading sense of the initial term.

The word "schizophrenia" comes from two Greek words "schizo" which means split and "phrenos" which means mind. Even today, when the research in understanding the cause, course, and treatment of schizophrenia is so advanced, the disorder continues to confound the health professionals and the public. In 2003, a debate held at the Institute of Psychiatry from London argued the existence of this disorder. The debate ended by half of the audience recognizing the existence of schizophrenia as a disease, and half as it did not existed.

Antipodal to the common perception sometimes reinforced by media and movies, schizophrenia does not mean split or multiple personalities. It is not caused by child abuse, bad parenting, or personal weakness, and people that suffer from this disorder are not mysterious, alien, and violent. Schizophrenics are usually not dangerous or violent, are not homeless, they don't live in hospitals, and most of them reside with their families, in group homes, or on their own.

According to the World Health Organization, schizophrenia was nominated as one of the ten most debilitating diseases affecting human beings and the incidence rate is about 1 to 4 cases per 10,000 population at risk per year. Approximately 2 million American adults suffer from this condition which represents 1 percent of the population over the age of 18. According to National Institute for Mental Health, approximately 51 million people suffer from schizophrenia worldwide.

Schizophrenia equally affects men and women, although it seems to be more severe in men than women. It occurs in similar rates in all ethnic groups around the world. The median age of onset for American population is 21 for men and 27 for women. In rare cases, schizophrenia can occur during childhood and early adolescence years (although the symptoms are slightly different), but an early onset is associated with a severe manifestation of the disorder.

Life expectancy among individuals with schizophrenia is shorter than the normal population, and one of the factors that contributes to this is a high rate of suicide attempts. Approximately 10 percent of individuals with schizophrenia commit suicide, while 20 to 40 percent have at least one suicide attempt.

Article by Alina Morrow,
MS Psychology
OmniMedicalSearch.com

Schizophrenia is sometimes misspelled as: scizophrenia, scizophrenic, schizoprenia shizophrnia schitzophrenia schizofrenia and schizophenia.