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What Is Schizophrenia??
A major mental disorderof unknown cause typically characterized by a separation between the thought processes and the emotions, a distortion of reality accompanied by delusions and hallucinations, a fragmentation of the personality, motor disturbances, bizarre behavior, etc., often with no loss of basic intellectual functions: this term has largely replaced dementia praecox, since it does not always result in deterioration (dementia) or always develop in adolescence or before maturity(praecox). |
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Who Develops Schizophrenia??
Schizophrenia can affect anybody; no matter what the age is. Some young children may also have the disease. The most cases evolve from the ages of sixteen through thirty. At the younger age it is more likely to appear in males than females. At the present moment there are 2.2 million schizophrenics in the United States. |
Symptoms of Schizophrenia
* Personality change- such as a normally outgoing person begins to withdraw themself from people, become quiet, or moody.
* Thought disorder- may go from topic to topic, seems confused, or has fifficulty making simple decisions.
* Perceptual changes- begin to hear, see, smell, or feel sensations that are not real.
* Sense of self- person may feel free floating and bodiless.
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What Causes Schizophrenia??
"We do not yet understand precisely the cause or the causes of schizophrenia, although research is progressing rapidly."-Seeman, Littmann, et al
~Biochemistry-nuerochemical imbalance
~Cerebral Blood Flow-some areas of the brain have more activity than other areas
~Molecular Biology-an irregular pattern of certain brain cells
~Genetic Predisposition-can be inherited, but not yet identified as being a herditary disease
~Stress-not the cause of the disease, but can make symptoms worsen
~Drug Abuse-not the cause of the disease, but can make symptoms worsen
Schizophrenia is not...
* a "split personality"
* caused by childhood trauma, bad parenting, or poverty
* the result of any action or personal failure by the individual
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Early Warning Signs of Schizophrenia
~Deterioration of personal hygiene
~Depression
~Bizarre behavior
~Irrational statements
~Sleeping excessively or inability to sleep
~Social withdrawal, isolation, and resclusiveness
~Shift in basic personality
~Unexpected hostility
~Deterioration of social relationships
~Hypractivity or inactivity-or alternating between the two
~Inability to concentrate or to cope with minor problems
~Extreme preoccupation with religion or with the occult
~Excessive writing without meaning
~Indifference
~Dropping out of activities-or out of life in general
~Decline in academic or athletic interests
~Forgetting things
~Losing possessions
~Extreme reactions to criticism
~Inability to express joy
~Inability to cry, or excessive crying
~Inappropriate laughter
~Unusual sensitivity to stimuli
~Attempts to escape through frequent moves or hitchhiking trips
~Drug or alcohol abuse
~Fainting
~Strange posturing
~Refusal to touch persons or objects: wearing gloves, etc.
~Shaving head or body hair
~Cutting oneself; threats of self-mutilation
~Staring without blinking-or blinking incessantly
~Flat reptile-like gaze
~Rigid stubbornness
~Peculiar use of words or odd language structures
~Sensitivity and irritability when touched by others
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