What Is Schizophrenia Affective Disorder?
Schizophrenia affective disorder, also known as schizoaffective disorder, is a debilitating mental illness that can disrupt life. According to emedicine.com, Dr. Jakob Kasanin developed this term in 1933 to describe the myriad of mood and delusional symptoms characterizing this disease.-
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Schizophrenia Affective Disorder
Symptoms
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According to Mayoclinic.com, schizoaffective disorder combines mood symptoms (depression and mania) with schizophrenia symptoms (hallucinations, delusion, paranoia). The following are a list of specific symptoms: hearing voices, paranoia, strange thoughts, depression, irritability, suicidal thoughts, memory problems and problems with sleeping and speech. The combination of symptoms presented is different in each person.
Population
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Schizoaffective disorder targets young and old men and women. Predominately, this disease affects women. According to eMedicine.com, young people display bipolar symptoms (depression and mania) while older people display depression.
Cause
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According to Mayoclinic.com, there is no clear cause for schizoaffective disorder. Some theories include the following: genetics, an imbalance between the brain hormones serotonin and epinephrine and toxic exposure during childhood.
Treatment
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A mixture of medication and talk therapy effectively treat schizoaffective disorder. The type of treatment and extent of counseling depends on the symptoms. Antipsychotics like Zyprexa, antidepressants like Celexa and mood-stabilizing medications like lithium work to stabilize schizoaffective symptoms.
Famous People
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A famous person suffering from schizoaffective disorder include Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys.
Hollywood made schizophrenia, a more pronounced mental illness than schizoaffective disorder, well-known through the character of Professor John Nash in the movie "A Beautiful Mind."
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