About Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a serious and chronic brain disorder, causing severe mental illness which can be very debilitating even with lifelong medication. Schizophrenia affects about one percent of adults worldwide. A person with schizophrenia has trouble distinguishing between reality and delusion, and thus has problems thinking clearly and behaving in socially acceptable and functional ways.

Early Signs

• Most schizophrenia cases begin in a person's late teens or early 20s, but occasionally occurs in younger and older age ranges. Other people notice the schizophrenic in the initial stages beginning to behave strangely. The person becomes more isolated and loses interest in family, friendships and hobbies. Work or school performance deteriorates. Schizophrenics may become paranoid and suspicious, speak in confusing ramblings and ignore personal hygiene. They stop showing emotion or respond to situations in an emotionally inappropriate manner.

Severe Symptoms

• Eventually the person's delusions become so severe it is impossible to function in any normal way. A schizophrenic may believe very irrational things, such as thinking terrorists are sneaking into his house and poisoning his food, or that Satan is sending him messages through the stock market ticker running across the television screen. Schizophrenics often speak in nonsensical rhymes or complete gibberish. They hear non-existent voices, which usually are nasty and abusive.

Causes

• Schizophrenia has both genetic and environmental causes, and often seems to be a combination of both. People with a parent or sibling suffering from schizophrenia also have a 10 percent chance of developing the illness. Brain chemical imbalances and structural abnormalities are contributing factors. These factors are exacerbated by stressful occurrences in the prenatal period through early childhood, such as viral infections, low oxygen levels during birth, early separation from a parent and physical abuse. Definitive causes have proved impossible to pinpoint, often making diagnosis and treatment difficult.

Diagnosis

• Schizophrenia can also be difficult to diagnose because symptoms may appear very gradually, and the person's loved ones do not realize it is a serious illness until behavior becomes bizarre. The disease has been recognized throughout history, but has also been confused with other mental illnesses. Schizophrenics exhibit similar disordered and irrational thinking to people with bipolar disorder. The disease also has similarities to multiple personality disorder, as people wonder why the schizophrenic is acting like a completely different person.

Treatment

• People with schizophrenia who are diagnosed early and receive prompt treatment, including regular medication and psychotherapy, can do well and continue to perform productively in society. However, it is rare for them to function as well as they once did, and they most likely will have significant personality changes as a result of the disorder. Medication with anti-psychotic drugs is the primary treatment, and individual or group psychotherapy is included to help the person learn to have social relationships and behave normally in the workplace and other situations. The person may also need vocational rehabilitation.