Schizophrenia
Stephanie Renee Huston
PSY 326 Research Methods
Instructor: Keisha Keith
11/23/2015
Schizophrenia
Introduction
Schizophrenia is a serious brain disorder that gives a misleading or false account of the way a person thinks, behave, communicate their feelings, realize or understand, and relates to others. Schizophrenia has been considered as one of many chronic ...view middle of the document...
Not being able to control their own thoughts and feelings not in the world of reality but that of the mental illness. Schizophrenia is a lonely and frightening illness, data says that 10 percent of people with schizophrenia commits suicide. Sad world even though there are many treatments and drugs that are being used to help these individuals some just can’t cope with the situation (Funk & Wagnall’s 2014).
Literature Review:
About 1 percent of the world’s population is affected with this mental illness.
Schizophrenia affects men and women equally. It occurs at similar rates in all ethnic groups around the world. Symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions usually start between ages 16 and 30. Men tend to experience symptoms a little earlier than women. Most of the time, people do not get schizophrenia after age 45. Schizophrenia rarely occurs in children, but awareness of childhood-onset schizophrenia is increasing. It can be difficult to diagnose schizophrenia in teens. This is because the first signs can include a change of friends, a drop in grades, sleep problems, and irritability—behaviors that are common among teens. A combination of factors can predict schizophrenia in up to 80 percent of youth who are at high risk of developing the illness. These factors include isolating oneself and withdrawing from others, an increase in unusual thoughts and suspicions, and a family history of psychosis. In young people who develop the disease, this stage of the disorder is called the "prodromal" period (Nicolson, Lenane, Hamburger, Fernandez, Bedwell, & Rapoport).
Genes and environment is one of several factors that experts believe that causes schizophrenia. Scientists have long known that schizophrenia runs in families. The illness occurs in 1 percent of the general population, but it occurs in 10 percent of people who have a first-degree relative with the disorder, such as a parent, brother, or sister. People who have second-degree relatives (aunts, uncles, grandparents, or cousins) with the disease also develop schizophrenia more often than the general population. The risk is highest for an identical twin of a person with schizophrenia. He or she has a 40 to 65 percent chance of developing the disorder (Harrison, &Weinberger, 2005).
Because the causes of schizophrenia are still unknown, treatments focus on eliminating the symptoms of the disease. Treatments include antipsychotic medications and various psychosocial treatments. Antipsychotic medications have been available since the mid-1950. The older types are called conventional or "typical" antipsychotics. Some of the more commonly used typical medications include: Chlorpromazine (Thorazine), Haloperidol (Haldol), Perphenazine (Etrafon, Trilafon) and Fluphenazine (Prolixin). In the 1990's, new antipsychotic medications were developed. These new medications are called second generation, or "atypical" antipsychotics.
One of these medications, clozapine (Clozaril) is an...
