Symptoms and Treatment for this Non-Curable Disorder
Schizophrenia is a brain disorder affecting a person's ability to think clearly, to know what is real, to manage his or her emotions, to make decisions, and to relate to others (Schizophrenia defined, 1998). The disease is not to be confused with multiple personality disorder, a condition in which patients manifest two or more personalities. Somewhere between one to two million Americans are affected every year with schizophrenia, and one out of one hundred people will be afflicted with the disorder at some point in life. The first symptoms usually appear sometime between the ages of sixteen and thirty. For men, it is often earlier, between sixteen and twenty-five. For women, it may occur later, typically between the ages of twenty and thirty. It is rare for those over thirty or still in childhood to exhibit symptoms, but it is has occurred (Discussion of schizophrenia, 1998).
It is uncertain at this point what causes the disorder. In some cases, there has been a genetic history, but in others, there has been no evidence of schizophrenia in the family. It has been noted that there seems to be a predispensation to "decompensate" during stressful situations in schizophrenics, but this has not been linked to genes, environment or upbringing (First, 1998). Researchers have found that symptoms occur as a result of chemical imbalances in the brain. Thus far, abnormal dopamine and serotonin levels are the primary causes associated with the disorder. Dopamine affects emotion and motivation; serotonin acts as a messenger and is involved in the stimulation of muscle movement (Index, 1998).
Schizophrenics display three categories of symptoms as a result of this chemical malfunction in the brain: positive, negative, and disorganized. Positive symptoms, so labeled because they are added to an individual's personality or behavior, include hallucinations and delusions. Ha...