SCHIZOPHRENIA...???

dear bloggy,
yesterday during biology class,we've learned about schizophrenia....and there's something wrong....all the characteristics that mr faris mention,i've experienced it everyday !!!! oH MY GOD !!!!

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is the most persistent and disabling of the major mental illnesses. It usually attacks people between the ages of 16 and 30, as they are beginning to realize their potential. It affects approximately one in 100 people worldwide, (one per cent of the population), affecting men and women almost equally. While it is treatable in many cases, there is as yet no cure for schizophrenia.

The mind controls the basic functions of thinking, feeling (emotions), perception (the five senses) and behaviour. These functions ordinarily work together, enabling us to:

• tell the difference between fantasy and reality
• keep anxiety at manageable levels
• have appropriate emotional responses
• make sense of what happens to us
• maintain a stable sense of who we are
• establish and maintain relationships with others

In schizophrenia, the interaction of these mental functions is disturbed in various ways. The word schizophrenia does not mean "split personality" but a disruption of the balance among mental functions.

Causes of Schizophrenia

We do not yet understand what causes schizophrenia. Scientists generally agree that schizophrenia is a group of conditions rather than one simple disease and may therefore be found to have several causes. It is generally accepted by researchers that differences in the brain — chemical or structural, or both — may play a part in the disorder. Genetic research also suggests that while no one gene has been found for schizophrenia, several genes may cause a predisposition that can be triggered by certain life events.

Symptoms of Schizophrenia

Symptoms vary greatly. Common symptoms of schizophrenia are:

Delusions: False, but strongly held beliefs, which feel entirely real to the sufferer. They can cause the individual to have a greatly exaggerated belief in his or her own importance, power, knowledge, abilities, or identity. Some people have delusions of persecution (paranoia)-for example, the false belief that they are being attacked, harassed, cheated, spied on or conspired against by others. Other people with schizophrenia believe that occurrences in the outside world are referring to them (ideas of reference). Examples are believing that other people are doing things because of you or that the TV or radio are referring specifically to you, often in negative ways.

Hallucinations: Seeing, hearing, feeling, touching smelling or tasting things that aren't there. Hallucinations have to do with the senses. Hearing voices is the most common hallucination among people with schizophrenia.

Illusions: Disturbances in perception that are less intense than hallucinations. An individual with schizophrenia may experience periods of heightened sensory awareness, during which sounds seem louder or sharper than usual and colours appear brighter, or periods of muted awareness, when sensory input seems closed off. Other illusions may include objects seeming closer or farther away than they really are, or one's own voice or reflection seeming different or even threatening.

Thought Disturbances: Often called muddled thinking by those who experience them, thought disturbances are characterized by an inability to concentrate, to connect thoughts logically, or to think clearly. Thought processes may speed up (racing thoughts) or slow down, or may seem blocked so that the person's mind feels completely blank. Disturbances in thinking are sometimes compared to a broken filter that allows everything that enters the mind to have the same importance — for example, attaching the same significance to licence plate numbers as to a questions from a teacher.

Emotional & Behavioural Changes: A person with schizophrenia can experience sudden, inexplicable changes in mood, such as intense sadness, happiness, excitement, depression or anger that come on without reason or warning. Lack of feelings can be equally disturbing. Symptoms that deprive a person of a range of normal emotions are often described as "negative." The person seems less able to feel anything, including pain or joy. Sometimes this loss of feeling extends to the "sense of self". The individual experiences a sense of unreality about who and where they are or where their body ends. More than any of the symptoms described above, the behavioural changes indicate to others the possible presence of schizophrenia.

An early sign of disturbance is often social withdrawal, as the individual finds interactions with people and things progressively more difficult. One such common response is inability to take an interest in personal hygiene and appearance. Lack of energy, interest and motivation or decreased levels of activity, movement or speech should alert friends and family that something may be amiss. Similarly, behaviour patterns that are unusual in the particular individual, or responses that are clearly inappropriate (excessive laughing or crying in inappropriate circumstances, or excessive talking to oneself) may indicate the approach of an episode of schizophrenia.

Treating Schizophrenia

New medications for schizophrenia along with better prescribing practices (more appropriate dosing), make treatment more successful than in the past. Schizophrenia is treated with medications called antipsychotics. In the last 10 years new compounds have been introduced that have a significantly reduced side-effect profile. In addition it has been recognized that stabilization and recovery from schizophrenia are significantly enhanced with the complimentary treatment of social, employment, and family supports.

Antipsychotic medications work on several levels. They can have an immediate calming effect, reducing anxiety, agitation and restlessness in the person with symptoms of schizophrenia. It can take up to four weeks to reduce symptoms such as hallucinations. Thought disturbances and paranoia are more resistant to medications.

Some people are unwilling to take tablets, even for a short period, because they do not believe they are ill, or because of a previous unpleasant experience with medication. In addition to tablets, medications are also available by injection every two to three weeks. These are especially helpful for people who forget to take their pills.

People with schizophrenia are particularly vulnerable and need social supports — decent housing, income support, supportive friends and family, and something worthwhile to do. Most people with schizophrenia become ill at the age they would be making career choices, undergoing training and forming adult relationships. As a result, they often lack social and work skills. So in addition to medication, people with schizophrenia may need training in social skills, money management and problem-solving. Those who can work often need further training and employment support.