Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe mental disorder which involves a range of problems with thinking (cognition), behaviour and emotions.
The signs and symptoms of Schizophrenia may vary, but usually involve delusions, hallucinations or disorganized speech, and reflect an impaired ability to function.
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Schizophrenia is not a split or multiple personality disorder and also involves a psychosis, a type of mental illness in which a person can’t differentiate between reality and imagination.
People with schizophrenia lose touch with reality and the world may seem like a jumble of confusing thoughts, images, and sounds.
Symptoms of Schizophrenia
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The Symptoms of Schizophrenia may include:
- Delusions -These are false beliefs that are not based in reality. For example, you think that you’re being harmed or harassed; certain gestures or comments are directed at you; you have exceptional ability or fame; another person is in love with you; or a major catastrophe is about to occur. Delusions occur in most people with schizophrenia.
- Hallucinations -These usually involve seeing or hearing things that don’t exist. Yet for the person with schizophrenia, they have the full force and impact of a normal experience. Hallucinations can be in any of the senses, but hearing voices is the most common hallucination.
- Disorganized thinking (speech) – Disorganized thinking is inferred from disorganized speech. Effective communication can be impaired, and answers to questions may be partially or completely unrelated. Rarely, speech may include putting together meaningless words that can’t be understood, sometimes known as word salad.
- Extremely disorganized or abnormal motor behaviour -This may show in a number of ways, from childlike silliness to unpredictable agitation. Behaviour isn’t focused on a goal, so it’s hard to do tasks. Behaviour can include resistance to instructions, inappropriate or bizarre posture, a complete lack of response, or useless and excessive movement.
- Negative symptoms -This refers to reduced or lack of ability to function normally. For example, the person may neglect personal hygiene or appear to lack emotion. Also, the person may lose interest in everyday activities, socially withdraw or lack the ability to experience pleasure.
Causes
It’s still not known what causes schizophrenia, but it is believed that a combination of genetics, brain chemistry and environment contributes to development of the disorder. Problems with certain naturally occurring brain chemicals, including neurotransmitters called dopamine and glutamate, may contribute to schizophrenia. Neuroimaging studies show differences in the brain structure and central nervous system of people with schizophrenia. While researchers aren’t certain about the significance of these changes, they indicate that schizophrenia is a brain disease.
Complications caused by Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia can result in severe problems that affect every area of life. Complications that schizophrenia may cause or be associated with include:
- Suicide, suicide attempts and thoughts of suicide
- Anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Depression
- Abuse of alcohol or other drugs, including nicotine
- Inability to work or attend school
- Financial problems and homelessness
- Social isolation
- Health and medical problems
- Being victimized
- Aggressive behaviour, although it’s uncommon
Factors that develop schizophrenia
Several factors may contribute to a person’s risk of developing schizophrenia, including:
Genetics: Schizophrenia sometimes runs in families. However, just because one family member has schizophrenia, it does not mean that other members of the family also will have it. Studies suggest that many different genes may increase a person’s chances of developing schizophrenia, but that no single gene causes the disorder by itself.
Environment: Research suggests that a combination of genetic factors and aspects of a person’s environment and life experiences may play a role in the development of schizophrenia. These environmental factors that may include living in poverty, stressful or dangerous surroundings, and exposure to viruses or any nutritional problems before birth.
Brain structure and function: Research shows that people with schizophrenia may be more likely to have differences in the size of certain brain areas and in connections between brain areas. Some of these brain differences may develop before birth. Researchers are working to better understand how brain structure and function may relate to schizophrenia.