In a broad over view, Schizophrenia is basically a mental disorder that makes it difficult for a person to tell the difference between what is real and what is unreal, to think logically, to have normal responses, and to behave normally in social situations. Symptoms of Schizophrenia are usually unnoticeable at first and takes months, or even years, to develop. As time passes, psychotic systems develop which include: no emotions (flat effect), catatonic behavior (less reaction to the environment), delusions (false beliefs or thoughts that have nothing to do with reality), hallucinations (hearing, feeling, or seeing things not there), and disordered thinking (“jumping” thoughts between unrelated topics). There are different types of Schizophrenics and how they are affected by this disease that slowly takes over their common sense.
Symptoms can be different depending on the type of schizophrenia, there are several types: the catatonic type, the paranoid type, the disorganized type, the undifferentiated type, and the residual type. Some common effects of the different types of schizophrenia include agitation, delusions, flat effects, hallucinations etc. It is important for a schizophrenic to say in the hospital during an episode of schizophrenia because there may need to be the providence of food, rest, and hygiene maintenance. Some medicines that could help change the balance of the chemicals in the brain and help to control symptoms are called Antipsychotic or neuroleptic medications. Though these medications work, they have short-term and long-term side effects. There are now modern drugs called atypical antipsychotics that seem to cause fewer side effects. There are also supportive and problem-focused forms of therapy, such as behavioral techniques and family treatments that can be helpful.
There aren’t any clear signs as to what causes schizophrenia, but doctors believe that genetic, psychological, and social factors are possibly playing a role in the development of the disease. Schizophrenia begins, usually, before the age of 45 and symptoms last for six months or more. This disease is in equal balance between men and women even though it begins in later ages in women; this is the cause of more than half young adult patients being men. As of now there are no medical tests to help doctors suggest a schizophrenia diagnosis, just multiple factors (named earlier). The best way to keep symptoms away is to take the medicines the doctors prescribe—this is critical because the top reason why people stop taking their medication is because of the side effects.
There are many complications with schizophrenia, but it is very important to keep the medicine steady or there will be greater chances for relapse. It is important to contact a doctor if a patient experiences any of the following: voices telling them to hurt themselves, if they’re feeling helpless and overwhelmed, if they’re seeing things, if they feel that they cannot leave the house, or if they’re unable to care for themselves. It is important for people with schizophrenia to receive help because there are so many risks at hand—there is help out there, they just have to look.
The Biological Perspective
Schizophrenia in a biological standpoint is a mental disorder that makes it difficult to distinguish what is real and what is unreal. Although doctors do not know the main cause of schizophrenia studies have shown that a large amount of dopamine released in the brain could be the cause. Or there is an insufficient supply of monoamine oxidase, which helps break down the dopamine. An average of 1 to 1.5% of people will have schizophrenia in their lifetime. There is no real way to diagnose a person with schizophrenia, but there are some symptoms that can be observed with somebody who is developing schizophrenia. For example you may feel tense and have a hard time concentrating, and also become isolated and withdrawn. There are different symptoms depending on the type of schizophrenia, which develops slowly over months and even years.
It’s hard treating the disease, but in 1950 Dr. Henri Laborit discovered that chlorpromazine could reduce many symptoms of schizophrenia, and was used in the U.S. in 1956. Now doctors use antipsychotics also called tranquillizers to treat the disease. These drugs reduce confusion and excitement of the patient, but even with these drugs about 30% of patients do not respond to the treatment. Also if patients decide to stop taking the medicine their schizophrenia will come back, but if they continue to take it there will a less than likely chance that they will have a relapse.
The Psychological Perspective
For psychologists, schizophrenia poses many difficulties. It is both difficult to diagnose and difficult to treat, and there is no guarantee that it can be reversed.
Schizophrenia is often hard to diagnose because it can resemble many other mental and physical health problems, and because the nature of the disease, which causes a significant loss of contact with reality, can cause its sufferer to believe that nothing is wrong and avoid the doctor. Both psychological and biological symptoms need to be tested, both to identify symptoms and to rule out other explanations for those symptoms. The psychologist or psychiatrist looks for continuous signs of schizophrenia for at least the past six months, and active symptoms for at least one month. Psychological symptoms include hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech and behavior, and apathy or emotional flatness.
This may sound simple, like if a person has these symptoms they are schizophrenic; if not, they are fine. But in reality each of these markers can mean a variety of other things, meaning it can take six months or more to correctly diagnose schizophrenia. Schizophrenia can closely resemble other psychotic disorders, substance abuse, medical conditions such as epilepsy or brain tumors, and even post-traumatic stress disorder. Schizophrenia can be particularly difficult to distinguish from bipolar disorder. It causes mood swings, and has positive and negative symptoms. The positive symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized speech look a lot like the manic stage of bipolar disease, and the negative symptoms such as apathy and emotional flatness look a lot like the depressive stage.
As of yet, there is no cure for schizophrenia. However, treatments have been found that have helped 4 out of 5 patients effectively reduce their troublesome symptoms. With treatment, they become less likely to have long and frequent hospital visits, need intensive care at home, abuse drugs, or commit suicide. They are more likely to be able to live and work independently, and to have healthy relationships.
Medical treatments do exist, but psychology uses a different tactic. Working together, psychologists, doctors, and sociologists can create a support system tailored to each patient’s specific needs. Psychologists approach schizophrenia with individual and group supportive therapy designed to help patients adjust to their illness and the everyday occurrences and interactions in normal life. The primary goal is to educate the patient about the common symptoms and treatment options available, so that they can take an active role in treatment, by monitoring and recognizing their progress as well as signs of relapse, and be more successful in combating their illness. The other goal of therapy is to teach patients to deal with the side effects and symptoms that may persist despite treatment in a healthy way. Psychologists teach patients cognitive behavioral tricks to challenge delusions, ignore the voices in their heads, and motivate themselves.
The Sociological Perspective
When analyzing Schizophrenia from a sociological perspective, the goal is to gain a better understanding of the social construction of the illness. Something which has been socially constructed was ‘invented’ or ‘formed’ by a particular culture or society, “existing because people agree to behave as if it exists or follow certain conventional rules”. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_construction#Definition) When a persons behaviors are continuously different from what society considers “normal” they are labeled, categorized, and “diagnosed” with “diseases”. A sociologist wonders who, when, and why schizophrenia was labeled an illness.
After a person is labeled “abnormal” they are able to be treated, in other words, they are able to be medicated, numbed, in order to bring those persons back to socially acceptable and tolerable behavior. Biological psychiatrist feel that schizophrenia is a biologically-based “disease” of the brain, meaning that medication is appropriate if not the only way to handle the symptoms. On the other hand, ”the “antipsychiatry” movement argues that such “abnormal” behaviours emerge when individuals encounter problems in living (Szasz, 1960) or experience a psychospiritual crisis and psychological overwhelm (Breggin, 1991)”. (http://www.szasz.com/undergraduate/Kurz.htm) “ . . .The patient with schizophrenia is constructed as having a defective, diseased and unhealthy brain in comparison to normal, “healthy people.” (http://www.szasz.com/undergraduate/Kurz.htm) Tim Kurz of Murdoch University in Perth, Australia conducted a research analysis of websites about schizophrenia: the wording each site used, and how schizophrenia was portrayed. “Almost all of the pages promoted schizophrenia as being an illness or disease was by categorically and unproblematically stating that its cause lay in the biologically-abnormal functioning of the brain. The key assertion inherent in such arguments was that the brain of the “schizophrenic” operates in some form of defective way, and that it can be seen as responsible for the observable “abnormal” behaviour of people so diagnosed.” (Kurz, 1999) Schizophrenia.com, and Mentalwellness.com are two examples of sites that depict schizophrenia as a disorder within the brain. Both websites uses scientific terms and phrases such as “years of research show” yet they do not provide proof of the research. Both websites “factualize” information, link schizophrenia to “other medical conditions,” and the deny psychosocial influences by categorizing them as societal myths. “Any publication must be written by an author, and as such, its construction will always be influenced to some degree by the personal ideology of that particular author in regards to the issue being considered.” (http://www.szasz.com/undergraduate/Kurz.htm)
“… A particular view can be constructed, through discourse, in such a way as to give the impression that it represents an unambiguous truth regarding the way things are, rather than simply one opinion of the way things are.” (Kurtz, 1999) A sociologist job is to look past what the peers in society are are putting out as the “truth” and dig deeper. Is schizophrenia really a mental “disease” or a means to control those who threaten the “normal” that we as people have created?
Sources Used
Introduction-
Ÿ U.S. National Library of Medicine
Biological Perspective-
Ÿ www.google.com/health/ref/schizophrenia.com
Ÿ http://library.thinkquest.org/C0122164/bio_main.html
Psychological Perspective-
Ÿ Smith, Melinda, et al. “Schizophrenia Treatment: Diagnosis, Treatments, Medication and Therapy.” Helpguide.org, January 2008. Web. 15 November 2009.
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/schizophrenia_treatment_support.htm
Sociological Perspective-
Ÿhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_construction#Definition
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