What Is Schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is one of the most misconceived mental illness. Whether it be with symptoms or people suffering from this illness. Few people really do know what schizophrenia really is. Sufferers of the illness can not determine what is the difference between reality and their imagination. The illness tends to affects the patient's brain and Schizophrenia was a mental illness discovered in 1887 by Emile Kraepelin but in 1911 Eugen Bleuler was the first to name and determine that there were positive and negative symptoms of the illness (Hawkes). Emile Kraepelin ,a German physician, first called Schizophrenia “dementia praecox”. He believed that Schizophrenia was related to dementia and that it was a disease of the brain (Hawkes). Bleuler’s
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that causes its sufferers to think, feel, and behave differently than they normally would ("Schizophrenia"). Schizophrenia also has many causes such as genetic or by the chemistry in the brain. The illness can also be caused by environmental factors such as stress or an infection (NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness). Many sufferers tend to be in a different reality than the people around them. Schizophrenia is not a common mental illness it only affects 1% of the population. About 2.5 million people around the world are suffering from Schizophrenia (Mental Health America). It tends to strike early usually between the ages of 13-25 and tends to show symptoms in men earlier than women (Mental Health America). Schizophrenia tends to have positive and negative symptoms. Positive meaning adding to the sufferer's personality and negative meaning taking away. Some positive symptoms are Delusions, Hallucinations,Disordered thinking, and speech . Negative symptoms are Social withdrawal, unresponsiveness emotionally, a decrease in speech, and a lack of drive (Mental Health
Antipsychotics are the most popular medicine to help Schizophrenia. They are taken every day by the suffer to help he/she control their symptoms by affecting the brain neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin (“Schizophrenia”). A second treatment option is Psychosocial. It is mostly to be used after the patients have found a medication that works for them and learns coping skills for everyday life (“Schizophrenia”). The last popular treatment for Schizophrenia is Coordinated Special Care. This treatment involves medication, psychosocial therapies, case management, family involvement, education and employment services. It's aimed to reduce symptoms and improve the quality of life for sufferers