Nancy Phan

Kathy Trinh
ROP EMR
Mr. Yuuki
13 May 2014
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is defined as a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disorder that is
often confused with multiple personality disorder. A major difference between multiple
personality disorder (MPD) and schizophrenia is that those with MPD are not born with
MPD. Multiple personality disorder is a mental condition, characterized by the presence
of two or more distinct or split identities or personality states that continually have power
over the person's behavior, and is induced by something that happens in life or a trauma
that occurs during childhood, such as physical or sexual abuse. On the contrary, those
who have schizophrenia can hear voices that other people dont. Some believe that
other people are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, and even trying to harm
them, which makes this hard for them to think clearly. Its also hard for them to tell what
is real and not real. Individuals who have this illness can find this irritating and
frightening. Also, people who have schizophrenia dont make sense when they speak.
Sometimes, they may sit for hours without moving or talking and seem normal until they
actually speak whats on their mind. Its hard for them to act normal in social situations.
Additionally, they have lack of emotional responses. Since its difficult for individuals with
this disorder to act normally, it doesnt just affect them but everyone around them. They
rely on others for help because its hard for them to hold a job or care for themselves.

Although there are treatments that relieve many symptoms of schizophrenia, most
people will live with the symptoms for the rest of their lives. Fortunately, there is still
research being done to find treatments and to understand what causes schizophrenia.
Experts believe there are several factors for the causes of schizophrenia. They
know that the brain disorder runs in genes. They say there is a 1% factor for the general
population but 10% for people who have first-degree relatives. If their second-degree
relatives, such as aunts, uncles, and cousins, who have it, they have a higher risk than
the general population. If identical twin has schizophrenia, they have about a 40-65%
chance of getting the disorder. However, scientists say it takes more than genes to
cause the disorder. Various environmental factors may play a role in the development of
schizophrenia. Environmental factors associated with schizophrenia include: viral
infections from living in urban environments, large families, winter and spring births,
prenatal and perinatal problems such as a baby experiencing lack of oxygen during
delivery, the fathers age since older fathers can affect their childs risk for schizophrenia
when he or she born because of a greater chance of genetic mutations in the sperm
that can be passed on, and childhood trauma including sexual and physical abuse.
Moreover, scientists have been studying brain chemistry and its link to schizophrenia.
Also, the brains of individuals who have schizophrenia have a slightly different brain
than healthy humans. For example, the fluid-filled cavities called ventricles in the middle
of the brain are larger in schizophrenia than in healthy individuals. Some areas of the
brain of people with the illness tend to have less or more brain activity. Although
scientists know a lot about schizophrenia, there is still more to discover.

About 1% of Americans, or approximately 2.2 million people in the United States

alone, are at risk of getting schizophrenia. It happens to women and men all around the
world. Symptoms such as hallucinations occur between the ages of 16 and 30. In men,
symptoms often develop in late adolescence or the early 20s; for women, symptoms
often appear in the 20s or 30s. Sometimes, symptoms do develop during childhood, but
this is rare. On most occasions, schizophrenia do not occur to people after age 45.
Additionally, it rarely happens in children, but awareness are starting to increase. In
teens, its difficult to tell whether they have schizophrenia or not because first signs can
include: drop in grades, change in friends, sleep problems, and irritability, which are all
common in teens. Some other factors that can predict schizophrenia in teens are
isolating oneself, withdrawing from others, having strange thoughts and suspicions, and
a family history of psychosis - a severe mental disorder in which thought and emotions
are so impaired that contact is lost with external reality. Young people who develop this
disease, the stage of the disorder is called prodromal period.
For some people, schizophrenia can appear suddenly without warning; however,
for most, it comes on slowly with subtle warning signs and a gradual decline in
functioning before the first severe episode. In the early phases, people with
schizophrenia may often seems eccentric, emotionless, and unmotivated. They may
withdraw themselves from society, neglect themselves, be depressed, have insomnia,
make odd and peculiar statements, be unable to concentrate, abandon hobbies, and
their performance in school or at work can gradually decrease. The symptoms of
schizophrenia fall into three categories: positive symptoms, negative symptoms, and
cognitive symptoms. Positive symptoms are psychotic behaviors not seen in healthy

people that cause people to lose touch with reality. Sometimes positive symptoms are
severe and at other times hardly noticeable. Positive symptoms include hallucinations,
delusions, thought disorders, and movement disorders. Negative Symptoms are
associated with disruptions to normal emotions and behaviors. These symptoms are
harder to recognize and can be mistaken for depression. Negative symptoms include
the flat affect, where a persons face does not move or speak with a dull, monotonous
voice, lack of pleasure in everyday life, lack of ability to keep up with everyday activities
such as personal hygiene, and may seem lazy. Cognitive symptoms are subtle and may
be difficult to recognize. Cognitive symptoms are often detected only when tests are
performed. Cognitive symptoms include poor ability to understand information, trouble
focusing or paying attention, and problems with using information immediately after
learning it. Cognitive symptoms often make it hard to lead a normal life, earn a living
and can cause great emotional distress.
Depending on the signs and symptoms stated above, there are five other
subtype of schizophrenia. Paranoid-type schizophrenia is characterized by delusions
and auditory hallucinations but relatively normal intellectual functioning and expression
of emotions. People with paranoid-type schizophrenia can exhibit anger, aloofness,
anxiety, and can be argumentative. Disorganized-type schizophrenia is characterized by
speech and behavior that are disorganized or difficult to understand, and flattening or
inappropriate emotions. Their disorganized behavior may disrupt normal activities, such
as showering, dressing, and preparing meals. Undifferentiated-type schizophrenia is
characterized by some symptoms seen in all of the above types, but not enough of any
one of them to define it as another particular type of schizophrenia. Residual-type

schizophrenia is characterized by a past history of at least one episode of

schizophrenia, but the person currently has no "positive" symptoms, such as delusions,
hallucinations, disorganized speech, or behavior. It may represent a transition between
a full-blown episode and complete remission, or it may continue for years without any
further psychotic episodes.
Schizophrenia is a disorder that cannot be cured but there are several methods
of treatment for patients with schizophrenia to help patients while he or she go through
lifes transitions. These treatments include: medications, support programs, and
therapies. Antipsychotic medicines are the most effective treatment for schizophrenia
since they have the ability to change the balance of chemical sin the brain and can help
control symptoms. Some antipsychotics are: Chlorpromazine (Thorazine), Haloperidol
(Haldol), Perphenazine (Etrafon, Trilafon), and Fluphenazine (Prolixin). Like many other
medicines, while helpful, antipsychotic medicines can cause side effects. Common side
effects from antipsychotics may include: dizziness, restlessness, jitteriness, sedation,
slowed movements, tremor (twitching), and weight gain. Long term use of an
antipsychotic may also increase the risk of tardive dyskinesia, a movement disorder that
causes repeated movements that a person cannot control. Unfortunately, because
schizophrenia is a lifetime illness, some people may need to take antipsychotics.
Support programs and therapy may be helpful for many people with schizophrenia.
Some programs include social skills training and behavioral techniques that can help
patients that suffer from schizophrenia function better in social and work situation. Other
important skills that may be learned at such special programs are: a healthy lifestyle,
taking medicines correctly, how to manage side effects, watching for the return of

symptoms, getting the right support services, how to challenge delusional beliefs, ignore
voices in your head, protection against relapse, and motivation.

Works Cited
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/index.shtml#part3
http://www.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/schizophrenia/overview.html#Treatment
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/schizophrenia_treatment_support.htm
http://schizophrenia.com/family.php#
http://www.everydayhealth.com/emotional-health/schizophrenia/schizophreniadiagnosis.aspx

http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-the-difference-between-schizophrenia-and-multiplepersonality-disorder.htm
http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/dissociative-identity-disorder-multiple-personalitydisorder
http://umm.edu/health/medical/reports/articles/schizophrenia
http://www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/guide/schizophrenia-types