Schizophrenia Essay, Research Paper

& # 8220 ; SCHIZ-O-PHRE-NI-A, n. Any of a group of psychotic reactions characterized by backdown from world with extremely variable affective, behavioural and rational perturbations & # 8221 ; ( Long, www.mentalheath.com ) Schizophrenia is the word for a group of mental unwellnesss marked by a battalion of symptoms. Literally, the term means & # 8220 ; split mind & # 8221 ; but, though many people think it, schizophrenic disorder is non multiple personalities. It is by and large thought of as the authoritative instance of insanity. When most people think of person as being brainsick, they think of the hallucinations, confounding address, and psychotic beliefs of schizophrenics. But non all schizophrenics suffer the same mental unwellness. Attempts have been made to turn schizophrenic disorder into several signifiers and groups. Knowing one signifier of the unwellness from another would assist the patients and assist research workers understand the causes and larn what treatments work best in what signifiers. But these attempts have been wholly unsuccessful. It is non known whether or non people suffer from mild, undetectable signifiers of the disease. There is no nonsubjective manner to name schizophrenic disorder, such as there are no chemicals in the blood, the encephalon, or the spinal fluid. X raies and scrutinies of cells do non demo it, either. Psychiatrists rely on symptoms, but many diseased may hold similar symptoms. The demands for diagnosing are found in the 3rd edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental upsets ( DSM III ) , which is the official diagnostic system of the American psychiatric association. At least one of the symptoms from the list of symptoms must be present for six months or more to be a schizophrenic symptom. If a individual does non run into DSM III standards, he or she is does non hold schizophrenic disorder. In the late 1800 & # 8217 ; s there were three different mental diseases for modern schizophrenic disorder. There was paranoia psychosis, discovered in 1868, hebephrenic schizophrenia, discovered in 1871, and catatonia, discovered in 1874. Then in 1896, Emil kraepelin grouped them all together into one disease called dementedness praecox, which means early insanity to bespeak the early age of oncoming. These three upsets still serve as a subgrouping. SUBTYPES OF SCHIZOPHRENIA

Subtype Symptoms Remarks

Paranoia ( paranoid psychosis ) Delusions of magnificence or persecution, frequently by a big organisation like the FBI Occurs among older and more intelligent victims. Delusions can rule life if non treated.

Hebephrenia Clownish or absurd effusions. Gradual lessening in societal contact. Patient seems to be playing like a kid in some episodes, though no grownup mental maps have really been lost.

Catatonia Extreme musculus tenseness. & # 8220 ; Waxy flexibility. & # 8221 ; Robot-like motions or frenzied, even deadly gesture. More treatable with drugs than other subtypes. Frenzy can take to decease by exhaustion if non stopped.

Catatonia is Grecian for tenseness. The most memorable symptom is alterations in voluntary musculus tenseness. Catatonics may presume one place or they may run around in a craze. Some patients alternate such provinces. during a catatonic daze, the patient may presume one statuesque place and remain at that place for hours, their limbs unmoving and their faces expressionless. Though they seem by and large unmindful to the outside universe, they perceive everything around them. If somethin

g is said by a physician or nurse around a catatonic in such a province, the physician or nurse may hear the patient say it once more hebdomads, possibly months from when it was foremost said. If the limb of a catatonic is moved, it will remain in whatever place it is moved to. This is called “waxy flexibility.” Catatonics besides may hold robotic motions, garbage to eat to the point of decease, or lose control of their bowels and vesica. Another utmost behaviour is rapid movements-they may run around, shriek, call, laugh, sing aloud, and knock on walls or floors. Their actions are frenzied and perchance lethal. Some catatonics die of exhaustion and bosom failure due to their behaviour. Hebephrenia is when the patient is disorganized. Their behaviour is infantile, silly, sometimes inappropriate, and absurd. They giggle, make faces into mirrors, and say nonsensical rimes. They suffer a gradual lessening in societal contact. They have some hallucinations and psychotic beliefs, but these are non the major characteristics of this subgroup. Paranoia schizophrenic disorder is psychotic beliefs of persecution or magnificence, though it is normally both. These patients suffer hallucinations, anxiousness, choler, arguementativeness, and are sometimes violent. This subgroup normally occurs subsequently in life and the victims are normally more intelligent and watchful. The psychotic beliefs dominate their lives as they ever feel that person is out to acquire them. They come up with really specific and elaborate grounds to back up this and they know precisely why and who it is ( normally a authorities establishment such as the FBI or CIA or even foreigners ) . They are besides consumed with psychotic beliefs of their ain great importance. Sometimes they introduce themselves as the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ, Abraham Lincoln, Napoleon Bonaparte, or Cleopatra and they frequently dress the portion as good. There are others who say they bring messages of utmost importance, words from God, or other absurd things. But non all paranoiacs are schizophrenics. Less terrible types are given other names, such as paranoid upset, paranoia, of paranoid personality upset. Of all the schizophrenic disorder subtypes, paranoia is the most annihilating. Some research workers believe that it is non even schizophrenia. They think it and all the other paranoiac upsets should be classified as a different sort of mental unwellness. Though there are three classs, most schizophrenics have a mixture of the symptoms. But these symptoms change over clip. Most schizophrenics suffer uniform schizophrenic disorder, which is a mixture of all the symptoms. The symptoms frequently change over clip, therefore altering the type of schizophrenic disorder and the intervention. In all, schizophrenic disorder is a annihilating mental upset and research workers are invariably seeking for new medicines and ever look for a remedy. Whether it is one or one hundred different upsets and a remedy have yet to be found. “For the hosts of enduring schizophrenics, that twenty-four hours can non come excessively soon.” ( Nichols, 13 )

Bibliography

& # 8220 ; Schizophrenia. & # 8221 ; Internet Mental Health. Online. World Wide Web ( www.mentalhealth.com ) . 12 March 1997. Young, Patrick. Schizophrenia. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1988. Nichols, Mark. & # 8220 ; Schizophrenia: Hidden Torment. & # 8221 ; Macleans & # 8217 ; s Magazine. 30 Jan. , 1995. Andreasen, Nancy C. & # 8220 ; Schizophrenia. & # 8221 ; Lancet. 19 Aug. 1995: 477. & # 8220 ; Schizophrenia. & # 8221 ; Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia. 1990 erectile dysfunction.

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