schizophrenia

Chris and John

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a confusing mental disorder that makes the patient have haluncinations, have difficulties understanding what is real and what is imaginary, have a logical conversation with another person, and react normally in social situations. There are three type of schizophrenia called paranoid, disorganized, and catatonic schizophrenia.

Signs and Symptoms:

Signs of developing schizophreniamedia type="custom" key="10487076" align="right" If the disease progresses
 * Irritable or tense feeling
 * Difficulty sleeping
 * Difficulty concentrating
 * Having hallucinations
 * Becoming delusional
 * Odd behaviors
 * Other symptoms may be present depending on the variation of schizophrenia

Diagnosis: There are no tests today that can clearly diagnose you with schizophrenia. It is based off of the judgment of a psychiatrist. A doctor might look at your family history to see if there are any other mental disorders or schizophrenics in your family because it is a genetic disease. The doctor will also ask the following questions: How long have you been having the symptoms? How does this affect your daily life?

Treatment: Depending on the severity of your schizophrenic episode, you may need to stay in the hospital to be safe. The best medication for schizophrenia are anti-psychotic medications. Doctors used to perform lobotomies on schizophrenics, but now it is viewed as morally wrong to perform.

Prognosis: People with schizophrenia, depending on the severity, need to be monitored and supported in all aspects of life. If a person does not take there medication then the symptoms are most likely to return.

Public View: [|Schizophrenia]

Most people do not know what to think of schizophrenia. 85% of Americans know that schizophrenia is an illness but only 24% are familiar of what schizophrenia is about.

Sources:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001925/ http://www.nami.org/Content/NavigationMenu/SchizophreniaSurvey/Analysis_Public_Attitudes.htm http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/index.shtml