Schizophrenia - Mental Illness

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is an extremely puzzling condition, the most chronic and disabling of the major mental illnesses. Approximately one percent of the population develops schizophrenia during their lives. With the sudden onset of severe psychotic symptoms, the individual is said to be experiencing acute schizophrenia. Psychotic means out of touch with reality, or unable to separate real from unreal experiences.

Schizophrenia is a disorder characterized by loss of touch with reality, thought disorders, delusions, hallucination, and affective disorder. Two psychiatrists came up with two-different concept of schizophrenia. One of the psychiatrists was Emil Kraepelin. He came up with the theory of dementia praecox. Two major aspects of the disorder is a early onset and a progressive intellectual deterioration. He presented this concept in 1898 as “The Diagnosis and Pronosis of Dementia Praecox.” Eugene Bleuler another psychiatrists took the definition further. From 1885 to 1897 he worked as a professor of psychiatry at the University of Zurich. His views were the opposite from Kraepelin theory. He believed that the disorder did not necessarily have an early onset and that it did not inevitably progress toward dementia. The differences between Kraepelin and Bleuler:

Kraepelin writings then fostered a narrow definition of schizophrenia and an emphasis on description. … Bleuler’s work, in contrast, led to a broader concept of schizophrenias and a more pronounced theoretical emphasis.

Schizophrenic disturb though, perception and attention, motor behavior, emotion and life function.

Thought disorder is one symptom of schizophrenia. This is when your thought and speech is delusion. There are several types of delusion of control, and hypochondriacally delusions. One of the most dramatic symptoms is hallucination. Hallucination is strange voices heard in the air. There are three types of hallucination: aucible (repeated thoughts), arguing voices, and connecting voices. Affective symptoms is another sign of schizophrenia. This is when they show no form of expression. Being happy on somebody misery or feeling sad on somebody happiness. Motor abilities of an schizophrenia is weird. This symptom is when they’re not aware of their actions. They can also stand or sit in a uncomfortable positions for a long period of time.

Recent studies says, dopamine and serotonin play some roles in this treacherous disease. Dopamine has been the main theory regarding the cause of the disease. Antipsychotic medication, block dopamine and serotonin transmission in the brain. Clozaril, resperdal, zyprera, and seroquel are four newer antipsychotic medications. The symptom is alleviated with older antipsychotic medication. These are divided into groups depending on their potency. If a drug has a low potency, more of it is needed to relieve the symptom. Medium potency is only affective if medium dose is taken. High potency drug can be taken with smaller amount to be effective. Note that the antipsychotic drug, only reduces the psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia and usually allow the patient to function more effectively and appropriately. Most patients don’t need the drug. Even though the drug can’t elminate the disease. It can help the patient determine the difference between psychotic episodes from the real world. With continued drug treatment, about forty percent of recovered patient will suffer relapses within two years.

During the early phases of treatment the patient may experience drowsiness, restlessness, muscle spasms, tremor, dry mouth, or blurring of vision. These can be corrected by lowering the dosage. About 15 to 20 percent developes a long term sede effects called tardive dyskinesia.

Psychosocial therapy is available for patients with schizophrenia. Psychosocial therapy focus on improving the patient’s functions. Rehabilitation includes a wide area of nonmedical interventions for these with schizophrenia. The programs in the rehabilitation center are vocational counseling, job training, problem-solving and money management skills and social training. Individual psychotherapy involves regularly scheduled talks. The therapy talks is run by psychiatrist, psychologist, psychiatric social worker, or nurse. Schizophrenic go to these sections to understand more about themselves and their problems.

Electroconvulsive therapy and insulin coma are two forms of treatment. Electroconvulsive therapy is use when you are having a severe depression episode. Insulin coma treatment is never used, because of the effective treatment methods that have complications. Lobotomy, a brain operation formerly used in some patients with severe chronic with schizophrenia. This is performed only under extremely rare circumstances.