Schizophrenia is a condition appearing in late adolescence or early adulthood and is associated with delusional thinking as well as hallucinations. The state is characteristic of social tendencies, odd behavior, difficulty with language, paranoid, and magical thinking. An individual with the disorder is often described as eccentric or odd and usually, have few or no close relationships. Such individuals are termed as psychotic in which they speak incoherently and act in a manner that is not predictable. According to Holen-Hoeksema and Marroquin, (2017), the symptoms that appear in schizophrenia can range from mild to moderate form for individuals who do not meet the full criteria for any disorder. A cording to the authors, people with schizophrenia at times act well in their daily life, correctly view life and can think and communicate clearly. However, such individuals in the active phase of their condition, have disorganized speech, lose touch with reality. Schizophrenia affects 1% of the world population. Over two million Americans are affected or have been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Holen-Hoeksema and Marroquin, (2017), psychosis is the core characteristic symptoms of this condition. There are five kinds of symptoms as elaborated. Positive signs which include disillusionment disorganized thought, hallucination, and disordered behavior. The symptoms are known as positive because they show overt expression for unusual behavior. The other traits are perceived as negative symptoms and are associated with the loss of given qualities for an individual and not their conditions. Some of the symptoms include restricted affect and avolition or sociality. The other kind of symptoms includes cognitive symptoms that affect an individual thought process and can either be positive or negative. The last category is emotional symptoms which are always negative.
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Majority of the patients who have schizophrenia have to rely on relatives or other individuals as they are unable to maintain their jobs or care for themselves. People with the disorder resist treatment arguing that they are not suffering from any condition. Some of the patients may present some symptoms but can also seem alright until they are scrutinized. The diagnosis of schizophrenia can only commence after other conditions have been ruled out. The typical symptoms include delusion, hallucination, thought disorder, lack of motivation, social withdrawal, expression of emotions, cognitive difficulties and unawareness of illness (Schizophrenia international research society, 2014).
Causes
It is believed that a wide range of factors is involved in the development of schizophrenia. Evidence shows that environmental and genetic factors contribute to the condition. Some of the elements that thought to lead to the disorder include; genetic inheritance, a chemical imbalance in the brain, environmental factors, family relationships, and drugs contribute to the condition. According to an article in the New York Times by Carey Benedict, (Jan 27, 2016), scientists have made significant progress in identifying the cause of schizophrenia in a rigorous test to determine the causes of any psychiatric disorder. According to the article, the findings are beneficial to scientists as it provides an insight into the origins of one of the diseases that has affected millions. Similarly, the discovery explains other mysteries like why the disorder starts in adolescence or during early adulthood. According to the scientist, the risk of developing schizophrenia is embedded in a natural process known as synaptic pruning whereby the brain shed weak connections between neurons with maturity. This action takes place in the section of the mind where planning and thinking skills are concentrated, i.e., the prefrontal cortex. Individuals with genes that intensify the pruning are at higher risks of developing the disorder. Some of the researchers had postulated that the pruning must go awry in individuals with schizophrenia as earlier studies indicated that their prefrontal areas showed a reduced number of neural as opposed to those of unaffected individuals.
Diagnosis
Schizophrenia has a remained a psychological disorder for close to three decades. A precise observation of the actions of the patients needs to be conducted. Medical and psychiatry history is essential in the diagnosis of schizophrenia. The additional test must be performed to rule out any other disorder or illness that can have similar symptoms like those of schizophrenia. Imaging studies, blood test, and psychological evaluation are conducted on the patient (Holen-Hoeksema and Marroquin, 2017; Schizophrenia international research society, 2014).
According to DSM -5, the diagnosis of schizophrenia depends on the symptoms displayed by the patient. The patient must show at least two or more signs of psychosis. One of the symptoms must be hallucination or delusions or disorganized speech. The symptoms should be acute and consistent for at least a month. Similarly, the individual must have some of the symptoms for at least six months to the extent that it affects the social or occupational functioning of the patient. The symptoms cannot be as a result of ingesting something, mood disorder or a medical condition. Patients to be diagnosed must meet the DMS criteria a manual by healthcare professionals for addressing mental illness and diseases. Doctors must exclude other disorders. It is critical to identify that the observed symptoms were not caused by other factors like a prescribed medication (Holen-Hoeksema and Marroquin, 2017; Schizophrenia international research society, 2014).
Treatment
Patients who have received treatment for the condition can lead a healthy life as some of the symptoms are likely to disappear. However, the majority of the patients have to live with the disease for their entire life. According to psychiatrists, the most effective treatment is a combination of psychological counseling, medication and self-help resources. Some of the common medications for the condition include; risperidone, olanzapine, Quetiapine clozapine, and Haloperidol (Holen-Hoeksema and Marroquin, 2017; Schizophrenia international research society, 2014).
References
Carey, B. (2016, January 27). Scientists Move Closer to Understanding Schizophrenia’s Cause. Retrieved December 06, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/28/health/schizophrenia-cause-synaptic-pruning-brain-psychiatry.html
Holen-Hoeksema, S., & Marroquin, B. (2017). Abnormal psychology . New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Schizophrenia international research society, (2014). Schizophrenia research. An official journal of the schizophrenia international research society, 153 .
