Mental Disorders- Schizophrenia (Claudia)

Not many people know what is exactly meant by the term schizophrenia. Even though this mental disorder is quite wide spread most people know less about it. People with schizophrenia are seen being more of alien like, mysterious and aggressive compared to any that diseases like cancer or aids. Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder. A person who suffers from schizophrenia usually has impaired emotions and thinking. Hallucinations are also common in the people who suffer from this mental disorder.

Hallucinations and abnormal experiences are often seen as the positive symptoms of this mental disorder. Even though these are not normal they are still seen as positive symptoms as they involve emotions and the persons indulgence with life that they have no clue about. On the other hand schizophrenia also has negative symptoms. These are that the suffers not having any emotion at all  in which they shut themselves from everyone. The behaviour of the people who get the negative symptoms is usually calmer than the ones with positive symptoms.

Schizophrenia has two common functional psychoses which are bipolar disorder and schizophrenia itself. Bipolar disorder usually has symptoms related to severe mood swings. Where as schizophrenia has symptoms related to a person lacking emotions completely or having too many inappropriate emotions. Hallucinations can occur in both conditions however, in schizophrenia the person hallucinating will often feel like they are being controlled by outside forces. The point of being controlled by outside forces is usually portrayed in many horror films.

Schizophrenia is developed due to a deficit in the regulation of the normal brain activity by interneurons and this causes the brain t over react to situations in the surrounding environment. Kraepelin argued that recovery from schizophrenia was impossible and that the suffers only got worse with time instead of getting better. However, Warner disagrees and differentiates between clinical recovery, in which the suffers undergo the loss of psychotic symptoms and complete recovery in which they have the loss of psychotic symptoms to gaining levels of functions that occurred before the diagnosis of Schizophrenia.


Ref:
Birchwood J & Jackson C, 2001. Schizophrenia. Psychology Press, Hove
Geekie J & Read J, 2009. Making Sense of Madness: Contesting The Meaning of Schizophrenia. Routledge, Hove
Warner R, 2000. The Environment of Schizophrenia: Brunner-Routledge, London