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Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder

that effects your brain, and alters reality.

Believe it or not, schizophrenia is

somewhat hereditary; meaning it can be

passed on through your genes. People

with a first relative (mom, dad, sibling)

who have the disorder have a strong

chance of getting the disorder.

Schizophrenia also has environmental

factors that play a role in getting the

disorder. For example, research shows

that one of the key components is

stress. Stress during pregnancy can in a

schizophrenic child. An example of a

stressor that may cause the disorder

could be if the mother gets a viral

infection during pregnancy. A few other

examples are; child abuse, childhood

virus, low oxygen levels during birth

(premature birth/prolonged birth) and

early loss or separation from a parent.

In some people, schizophrenia just

appears, but most of the time people

with the disorder show signs. Early

warning signs of schizophrenia include;

social withdrawal, depression, no or less

facial expression, oversleeping or

insomnia, forgetful; unable to

concentrate, strange use of words,

inappropriate laughter or crying and

irrational/odd statements. Lots of people

could look at this list of symptoms and

say that the schizophrenic, but those are

only EARLY warning signs. With time the

symptoms get much worse. There are

five symptoms to better point out this

disorder. the first symptom is, delusions.

Delusions are very common in a person

with schizophrenia. A delusion is an idea

in your head that you have, even tough

you know that it isn't true. Common

types of delusions are: delusions of

persecution (believing people are always

out to get you), delusions of grandeur

(belief that you're famous or a very

important figure), delusions of control

(believing that your thoughts or actions

are being controlled by an outside

force), and lastly, delusions of reference

(believing a neutral environmental event

is believed to have special meaning just

for you). The second major symptom of

schizophrenia is, hallucinations.

Hallucinations can be sounds or other

sensations that feel real, meanwhile

they only exist in your head.

Hallucinations can be experienced with

any of the five senses, hearing is the

most common sense related to

hallucinations in a person with

schizophrenia. research suggests that

the "hearing hallucination" happens

when people mistake their own selves

talking (inner voices) as coming from

something or someone else. Most

commonly the voices people hear are

threatening, abusive or harsh. Also,

hallucinations get very bad when the

person is isolated or alone. The third

major symptom is disorganized

behaviour. This means that the person

with the disorder may behave more

different than their normal self. The

person may act out or have spontaneous

or bizarre actions that seem like they

have no purpose behind the action. This

person will also experience a lack of

impulse controls which can cause

confusion in their daily functioning. This

person may also have inappropriate

emotional responses that don't seem to

"fit" well with the situation, for example,

laughing instead of crying. These

actions make it very hard for the person

to take care if them-self and and to

achieve every day goals and activities

either alone or with others. The fourth

major symptom is disorganized speech.

People with schizophrenia can

sometimes have trouble keeping one

train of thought, may start speaking

about one topic and finish somewhere

completely different, or speak

incoherently. A few common types of

disorganized speech are; loose

associations (quickly changing between

topics with no connection between

them), neologism (made up w

phrases), perseveration (repeating

words or sentences; saying the same

things over and over), and lastly, clang

(meaningless use of rhyming words).

The last major symptom of

schizophrenia is absence of "normal"

behaviours. common examples are; lack

of emotion or facial expression (staring

blankly, not making eye contact), lack of

interest and enthusiasm (no motivation

lack of self care), lack of interest in the

world (unaware of surroundings, like

the environment, also social withdrawal)

and lastly speech difficulty or

abnormalities (can't carry a

conversation, short and disconnected

replies to questions, speaking

monotone).

Currently there is no cure for

schizophrenia, but it can be treated and

managed by taking medicine and going

to therapy. Majority of people with

schizophrenia do get better over time

and not worse. Recovering from

schizophrenia usually occurs over the

lifetime.Recovering means that you learn

how to live with your symptoms and lead

how to manage them. A key to

recovering is to have a strong support

system. Talking to people who care

about you can calm your nerves and

ease stress. Find someone you can talk

to who won't judge you or criticize you.

This person could also be a professional

therapist. The earlier you catch

schizophrenia the better, so you can so

you can start getting the help you need

right away.It is important for persons to

educate themselves on their condition,

as well so they understand and can

communicate their feelings. Also, it's

important not to buy in to rumours you

may hear about schizophrenia. Many of

people's fears of the disorder are not

based on realty. For example, the belief

that if you have schizophrenia you have

multiple personalities or that people with

schizophrenia are violent and dangerous.

First of all persons with schizophrenia

only have one personality, they have

justly at touch with reality. schizophrenia

and multiple personality disorder are two

different things. Secondly the myth that

these people are dangerous is probably

associated with the media, like movies or

tv shows. When people with

schizophrenia are violent it is associated

with another disorder. Therefore, it's

important to ask your doctor questions

you may have, instead of reading on the

Internet or asking friends. Lastly, it's

important to keep an open mind. There

are medications to help you manage

your symptoms. Communicate with your

doctor to help ensure you're getting the

right kind of treatment. Set goals, and

work toward them. Having schizophrenia

does not mean you can't work, have

relationships or life experiences. Setting

goals beyond your illness can help you

stay on track and organized, and make

sure you don't miss out on life.

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